When your stomach is upset, the best things to eat are soft, bland foods that are low in fat and fiber. Think bananas, plain rice, broth, crackers, toast, and boiled potatoes. But what you eat also depends on where you are in your illness, whether you’re actively vomiting, just feeling nauseous, or starting to recover.
Start With Liquids, Not Food
If you’ve been vomiting, eating solid food right away can trigger another round. Your first priority is staying hydrated with clear liquids: water, broth, diluted fruit juice, or an oral rehydration solution. Take small sips rather than gulping, since drinking too fast can upset your stomach again.
Once you’ve kept liquids down for six to eight hours without vomiting, you can start introducing solid food. There’s no need to rush this. Your body will tell you when it’s ready, usually with a return of mild hunger.
The Best Foods for a Sick Stomach
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s a fine starting point for the first day or two, but there’s no medical reason to limit yourself to just those four foods. A wider range of bland options will give your body more of the protein and nutrients it needs to recover.
Good choices include:
- Starches: plain white rice, boiled potatoes, oatmeal, crackers, white bread or toast, unsweetened dry cereal
- Fruits: bananas, applesauce, canned fruit, melon
- Proteins: eggs, plain baked chicken or turkey, white fish, tofu, creamy peanut butter
- Soups: broth-based soups, especially chicken broth or vegetable broth
- Other: gelatin, popsicles, pudding, graham crackers, weak tea
All of these are soft, low in fiber, and easy for an irritated stomach to process. Eat small amounts more frequently throughout the day rather than sitting down to full meals. Chew slowly and thoroughly.
What to Avoid Until You Feel Better
Some foods slow digestion, irritate the stomach lining, or pull water into the intestines in ways that make nausea and diarrhea worse. Foods high in fat, sugar, caffeine, or dairy are the most common culprits.
Specifically, skip these while your stomach is still off:
- Greasy or fried foods: french fries, fast food, anything cooked in a lot of oil
- Full-fat dairy: whole milk, ice cream, rich cheeses, whipped cream
- Raw vegetables and salads: these are harder to break down and can irritate your gut
- Gas-producing vegetables: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, onions
- Caffeine and alcohol: both can worsen dehydration and irritate the stomach
- Spicy foods: hot peppers, garlic, strong seasonings
- Tough or fibrous meats: steak, sausage, smoked or heavily seasoned meat
- High-fiber foods: whole-grain bread, bran cereal, nuts, seeds, dried fruit
Citrus juice and tomato-based foods can also be irritating, especially if acid reflux is part of the picture.
Hydration Matters More Than Food
When you’re vomiting or dealing with diarrhea, you lose fluids and electrolytes fast. You can go a day or two without much food and be fine, but dehydration can become serious quickly. Water alone is good, but if you’ve been losing fluids for hours, you also need sodium and potassium. Broth, oral rehydration drinks, or diluted juice with a pinch of salt can help.
Watch for signs that dehydration is getting ahead of you: dark urine or urinating much less than usual, dry mouth, dizziness, or dry skin. In more serious cases, confusion, fainting, rapid heartbeat, or not urinating at all are signals that you need medical attention right away. Children can dehydrate faster than adults. For infants, no wet diaper for three hours or more is a red flag.
Easing Back to Normal Eating
Once your nausea has passed and you’re keeping bland food down comfortably, start adding back more nutritious options. Cooked vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes (without the skin), butternut squash, and pumpkin are gentle on the stomach while providing vitamins you’ve been missing. Avocado, skinless poultry, fish, and eggs give you protein to rebuild your energy.
This transition typically happens over two to three days. There’s no strict timeline. If something makes your stomach churn again, back off and return to plainer foods. Most stomach bugs and food poisoning episodes resolve within one to three days, and your appetite will gradually return on its own.
Probiotics may help speed recovery from diarrhea, particularly in children. One well-studied strain, Lactobacillus reuteri, shortened diarrhea duration by about 25 hours in a large analysis of clinical trials. You can find probiotics in supplement form or in foods like yogurt, though yogurt is best introduced once your stomach has settled enough to handle dairy. Low-fat or fat-free yogurt is the gentler option.
Timing Your Meals
How you eat matters almost as much as what you eat. Small, frequent meals put less strain on your stomach than three large ones. Avoid eating within two hours of lying down, since a horizontal position can worsen nausea and reflux. If you’re nauseated in the morning, try a few plain crackers before getting out of bed.
Sip fluids between meals rather than drinking large amounts with food. Cold foods like popsicles and gelatin can sometimes be easier to tolerate than warm foods, especially if the smell of cooking is triggering your nausea. Room-temperature or slightly cool foods tend to have less aroma than hot dishes, which helps when even the thought of food makes you queasy.