When you’re dealing with nausea and diarrhea at the same time, the best foods are bland, low-fiber, and easy to digest: think plain white rice, bananas, applesauce, white toast, and broth. These foods help solidify stools without irritating your stomach further. The goal isn’t to eat a full meal right away but to give your gut something gentle to work with while you recover.
Start With Fluids, Then Add Bland Foods
Your first priority is replacing the water and electrolytes you’re losing. Small, frequent sips of water, clear broth, or an oral rehydration solution work best. If even water triggers nausea, try sucking on ice chips or taking tiny sips every few minutes rather than gulping a full glass.
Once you can keep fluids down, you can start eating. There’s no medical reason to fast for a prolonged period. Research from Cochrane reviews found no evidence that early refeeding (within 12 hours of starting rehydration) increases complications or makes diarrhea last longer. In other words, eating sooner is fine as long as you choose the right foods.
The Best Foods for Nausea and Diarrhea
The classic BRAT diet (bananas, white rice, applesauce, white toast) remains a useful starting point. These are all low in fat, low in insoluble fiber, and unlikely to provoke nausea. But you don’t need to limit yourself strictly to those four foods. The American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends a strict BRAT diet for children because it’s too restrictive and lacks the nutrients needed for gut recovery. The same logic applies to adults: use BRAT foods as a foundation, then expand as tolerated.
Other well-tolerated options include:
- Plain crackers or pretzels: salty, easy to nibble, and they help replace sodium
- Boiled or baked potatoes (without butter or cream)
- Plain oatmeal: contains soluble fiber, which dissolves in water and forms a gel that helps firm up loose stools
- Steamed chicken breast: lean protein without the fat that can worsen diarrhea
- Clear soups and broths: provide fluid, salt, and a small amount of calories
Soluble fiber is your friend here. It absorbs water in the gut and adds bulk to watery stool. Bananas, applesauce, oats, and cooked carrots are all good sources. Avoid high-insoluble-fiber foods like raw vegetables, whole grains, and bran cereal, which speed material through your digestive system and can make diarrhea worse.
Ginger for Nausea
Ginger is one of the few natural remedies with real clinical evidence behind it. Studies have tested doses of roughly 1,000 to 1,500 mg per day (divided into smaller portions throughout the day) and found it effective for reducing nausea. You don’t need capsules to get the benefit. Ginger tea, ginger chews, or flat ginger ale made with real ginger can all help settle your stomach enough to tolerate food.
What to Avoid Until You Recover
Some foods and drinks actively make nausea and diarrhea worse. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases specifically flags these categories:
- Dairy products: your gut may temporarily lose the ability to digest lactose during and after a bout of diarrhea, sometimes for a month or more
- Caffeine: coffee, tea, and caffeinated sodas stimulate the gut and can increase stool frequency
- High-fat foods: fried food, pizza, fast food, and anything greasy slows stomach emptying (worsening nausea) while speeding up the lower gut (worsening diarrhea)
- Sugary drinks and fruit juice: high concentrations of fructose can draw water into the intestines, making loose stools even looser
- Sugar alcohols: found in sugar-free gum, candies, and some protein bars, these are notorious for causing gas and watery stool even in healthy people
- Alcohol: irritates the stomach lining and is dehydrating
Spicy food is also worth avoiding. Even if it doesn’t normally bother you, an inflamed gut is far more sensitive to capsaicin and strong spices.
How to Transition Back to Normal Eating
There’s no strict timeline for returning to your regular diet. The general approach is to let your symptoms guide you. Once you’ve gone several hours without vomiting and your stools are starting to firm up, you can begin adding more variety. Introduce one new food at a time so you can identify anything that triggers a setback.
A practical progression looks like this: start with broth and crackers, move to plain starches and banana, then add lean protein like chicken or eggs, then cooked vegetables, and finally return to your normal meals. Most people with a standard stomach bug can get back to regular eating within two to three days. Dairy is typically the last thing to reintroduce, since temporary lactose sensitivity can linger well after other symptoms resolve.
Probiotics Can Shorten Recovery
Certain probiotic strains have been shown to reduce the duration of diarrhea by roughly one day. The two with the strongest evidence are Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (often labeled LGG) and Saccharomyces boulardii, a beneficial yeast. If your diarrhea was triggered by antibiotics, the data is particularly compelling: Saccharomyces boulardii cut the rate of antibiotic-associated diarrhea roughly in half in clinical trials. Look for these specific strain names on the label, since not all probiotics are interchangeable.
Probiotic-rich foods like plain yogurt can also help, but keep in mind that dairy may not sit well during the acute phase. Probiotic capsules or sachets are an alternative if dairy is bothering you.
Signs You Need More Than Diet Changes
Most bouts of nausea and diarrhea resolve on their own within a day or two. But dehydration can become serious, especially in young children and older adults. Watch for dark-colored urine, urinating much less than usual, extreme thirst, dizziness, or confusion. Skin that stays “tented” when you pinch it (instead of flattening back immediately) is another reliable sign of significant fluid loss.
In infants, the warning signs include no wet diapers for three hours, no tears when crying, a sunken soft spot on the skull, and unusual sleepiness or irritability. Seek medical attention if diarrhea has lasted 24 hours or more, if you can’t keep any fluids down, if you notice blood or black color in your stool, or if you develop a fever above 102°F.