When your stomach is upset, the best foods are bland, low-fat, and easy to digest: bananas, rice, toast, broth-based soups, boiled potatoes, oatmeal, and crackers. You don’t need to limit yourself to just a handful of options, but you do want to avoid anything greasy, spicy, or high in sugar until your gut settles down. What matters most in the first several hours is staying hydrated and then gradually reintroducing simple foods as your appetite returns.
Start With Liquids, Then Ease Into Food
If you’ve been vomiting, give your stomach a break before eating anything. Start by sucking on ice chips or taking small sips of water every 15 minutes. Once you’ve kept liquids down for a few hours and your appetite starts returning, move to small portions of bland food. Rushing this process can trigger another round of nausea.
Good liquids to start with include water, clear broth, diluted fruit juice, and electrolyte drinks. Avoid anything carbonated, caffeinated, or very sugary at this stage. Your main goal early on is replacing lost fluids rather than getting calories.
The Best Foods for an Upset Stomach
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It works fine for a day or two, but there’s no research showing it’s better than other bland options. Harvard Health Publishing notes that a less restrictive approach makes more sense, since your body needs protein and nutrients to recover, not just starch.
Beyond the classic four, these foods are equally gentle on a sensitive stomach:
- Broth-based soups replace fluids and sodium at the same time
- Oatmeal is soft, easy to digest, and provides slow-burning energy
- Boiled or baked potatoes (without butter or sour cream) are starchy and soothing
- Plain crackers or unsweetened dry cereal can settle nausea when eaten in small amounts
- Bananas are rich in potassium, which you lose through vomiting and diarrhea, and they contain pectin, a type of fiber that helps firm up loose stools
Clinical studies on children with persistent diarrhea found that both bananas and pectin significantly reduced stool volume, improved stool quality, and shortened the duration of illness. That’s why bananas are such a go-to recommendation.
When to Add More Nutritious Foods
Once your stomach has settled for several hours and you’re tolerating bland starches, start adding foods with more protein and vitamins. Good next steps include skinless chicken or turkey, eggs, fish, cooked carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, cooked squash (butternut or pumpkin), and avocado. These are all still mild and easy to digest, but they give your body what it needs to actually recover rather than just coast on empty carbs.
There’s no exact hour-by-hour schedule. Let your body guide you. If a food sits well, you can try something slightly more substantial at your next meal. If it doesn’t, step back to simpler options for a bit longer.
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
Some foods actively make an upset stomach worse, even ones that seem harmless.
Fatty and fried foods are the biggest culprits. Fat in the small intestine slows down gastric emptying, meaning food sits in your stomach longer. When your gut is already irritated, that delay can increase nausea, bloating, and discomfort. Skip burgers, pizza, fried chicken, and creamy sauces until you’re feeling solidly better.
Dairy products can be problematic because stomach bugs sometimes temporarily reduce your ability to digest lactose. Milk, ice cream, and soft cheeses may cause cramping and diarrhea even if you normally tolerate them fine. Plain yogurt is often an exception since fermentation breaks down much of the lactose.
Sugar-free candy, gum, and drinks contain sugar alcohols like sorbitol, xylitol, and mannitol. These are poorly absorbed in the small intestine and accumulate in the colon, where they draw in water through osmotic pressure. The result is looser, more frequent stools. When you’re already dealing with diarrhea, sugar alcohols can make things significantly worse.
Spicy foods, alcohol, coffee, and acidic fruits (oranges, tomatoes, grapefruit) can all irritate an already-inflamed stomach lining. Save them for when you’re fully recovered.
Ginger and Peppermint for Nausea
Ginger is one of the most reliable natural remedies for nausea. Ginger tea, ginger chews, or even flat ginger ale with real ginger can help calm the stomach. It works well for nausea from stomach bugs, motion sickness, and pregnancy alike.
Peppermint tea is another popular option. Peppermint oil relaxes the smooth muscles in the digestive tract, which can ease cramping and that tight, queasy feeling. There’s an important caveat, though: peppermint also relaxes the valve between your stomach and esophagus. If your upset stomach involves acid reflux or heartburn, peppermint can actually make those symptoms worse. Stick with ginger if reflux is part of the picture.
Probiotics and Gut Recovery
After a bout of vomiting or diarrhea, your gut bacteria take a hit. Probiotics can help restore that balance, and some strains have decent evidence behind them. In one study of hospitalized children on antibiotics, those given a specific probiotic yeast recovered from diarrhea in an average of 2.3 days compared to 9 days in the control group. Other research on a common probiotic bacterium found it shortened diarrhea by about two days in children with rotavirus, though a larger trial found no significant difference.
The evidence is mixed, but probiotics are generally safe and inexpensive. Yogurt with live active cultures, kefir, and over-the-counter probiotic supplements are all reasonable options once you’re keeping food down. They’re most helpful after antibiotic-related stomach issues.
Staying Hydrated Matters Most
Dehydration is the most serious risk from prolonged vomiting or diarrhea, especially in young children and older adults. The foods you eat matter, but fluid replacement is the priority. Sip water, broth, or an oral electrolyte solution throughout the day rather than trying to drink large amounts at once.
Watch for signs that dehydration is becoming more than mild: very dark urine, urinating much less than usual, dizziness, confusion, extreme thirst, or skin that stays pinched up instead of flattening back quickly when you press it. In infants, sunken eyes or a sunken soft spot on the head are warning signs. Mild dehydration responds well to drinking more fluids at home, but severe dehydration needs medical treatment.