Is Rice Good for an Upset Stomach?

Plain white rice is one of the most reliably tolerated foods when your stomach is acting up. It is low in fiber, low in fat, mild in flavor, and digests relatively quickly, which is why it has been a go-to recommendation from doctors and grandmothers alike for generations. The story gets more interesting when you look at why rice works, when it might not be the best choice, and what can go wrong if you handle it carelessly after cooking.

Why Rice Sits Well in a Troubled Stomach

When your gut is inflamed or irritable, the last thing it wants is a food that demands a lot of digestive effort. White rice fits the bill because the milling process strips away the bran and germ, leaving mostly starch with very little fiber. That starch undergoes structural changes during cooking that make it easier to break down in the small intestine, so your body can absorb nutrients without forcing the lower gut to do heavy work.¹ Compared to whole grains, legumes, or high-fat meals, plain white rice produces less gas, draws less water into the intestines, and moves through the stomach more predictably.

There is also the flavor factor. Rice is almost aggressively neutral, which matters when nausea is part of the picture. Strong flavors and aromas can trigger the vomiting reflex in someone who is already queasy. A bowl of plain steamed rice does not provoke that response in most people, which is part of why it has been a staple of bland-diet recommendations for decades.

Rice in Oral Rehydration

One of the more studied uses of rice during digestive illness involves oral rehydration solutions, the fluid-and-electrolyte drinks used to treat dehydration from diarrhea. In the early 1990s, researchers tested whether replacing glucose with rice-syrup solids in these solutions could reduce stool output in infants with acute diarrhea. The results were promising: infants given the rice-based solution had roughly a third less fecal output in the first six hours and absorbed more fluid and potassium over 48 hours compared to infants given standard glucose-based solution.²

That finding generated enthusiasm, but a later trial added a wrinkle. When children were given a rice-based diet soon after rehydration was complete, those who had received the standard glucose-based solution actually had lower stool volumes and shorter diarrhea duration than those on the rice-based solution. The researchers concluded that standard glucose-based rehydration, combined with early reintroduction of food, was the better overall strategy.³ The takeaway is not that rice is bad during rehydration, but that the act of eating again quickly after rehydration matters at least as much as the specific type of rehydration fluid. Rice’s value during a stomach bug may come more from being an easy first food to resume than from any special property of rice-based solutions.

Specific Conditions Where Rice Helps

Not every upset stomach is the same. A hangover-induced stomachache, a bout of food poisoning, and chronic gastroparesis are very different situations, and rice’s usefulness varies accordingly.

In gastroparesis, a condition where the stomach empties too slowly, food choices matter a great deal. A survey of patients found that white rice was among a small group of foods consistently tolerated without provoking symptoms. Other tolerated options included sweet potatoes, clear soup, white fish, and applesauce. The pattern was clear: bland, starchy, low-fat foods were the safest bets.⁴

For children with viral gastroenteritis, clinical guidance supports early refeeding with age-appropriate foods once hydration is restored. Foods high in complex carbohydrates, including rice, cereals, bread, and potatoes, are better tolerated than sugary or fatty foods. Early refeeding helps the gut recover faster by stimulating digestive enzymes, promoting repair of the intestinal lining, and reducing the duration of diarrhea.⁵

White rice also shows up frequently in low-FODMAP diets, which are designed for people with irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia. FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates that ferment rapidly in the gut and can cause bloating, gas, and pain in sensitive individuals. White rice is naturally very low in FODMAPs, making it a safe staple. In a case report of a patient with overlapping functional dyspepsia and IBS, white rice served as the primary carbohydrate at nearly every meal during a seven-day low-FODMAP protocol.⁶

What Happens to Rice Starch in Your Gut

The benefits of rice during digestive distress are partly about what it does not do: it does not ferment aggressively, does not produce large volumes of gas, and does not draw excess water into the colon the way high-sugar foods can. But rice also has some genuinely useful downstream effects, especially when it comes to the resistant starch that forms after cooking and cooling.

When cooked rice cools, a portion of its starch crystallizes into a form that resists digestion in the small intestine and instead travels to the colon, where gut bacteria ferment it. This fermentation produces short-chain fatty acids, particularly butyrate, which is a primary fuel source for the cells lining the colon. Research on rice varieties found that resistant starch from cooked rice promoted the growth of butyrate-producing bacteria and increased butyrate output, with the effect varying by rice variety. Jasmine rice, for instance, produced the highest butyrate levels after fermentation.⁷

Separately, animal research has shown that even small amounts of resistant starch from cooked rice can shift the gut microbiome in favorable directions, increasing populations of bacteria associated with short-chain fatty acid production and reducing markers linked to metabolic stress from high-fat diets.⁸ This does not mean you should eat cold leftover rice specifically for gut health while you are sick. But it suggests that rice is not just a neutral placeholder food. Over time, it can contribute to a healthier gut environment.

The role of dietary fiber in managing diarrhea works through a related mechanism: fiber that ferments in the colon generates short-chain fatty acids that help the gut absorb sodium and water, reducing the watery stool output that defines diarrhea.⁹ White rice itself is low in fiber, but the resistant starch it forms after cooking can mimic some of these effects on a modest scale.

Fermented Rice and Gut Recovery

In some cultures, fermented rice beverages are traditional remedies for digestive trouble. There is early scientific evidence to support the idea, at least in animal models. A study using rats with antibiotic-associated diarrhea found that a fermented rice beverage reduced fecal water content, helped restore populations of beneficial Lactobacillus bacteria, and increased concentrations of beneficial short-chain fatty acids in the gut. Histological examination of the colon showed normal tissue structure in the fermented-rice group, with no abnormal changes or lesions.¹⁰

This is a single animal study, not a basis for clinical recommendations, but it aligns with the broader understanding that fermented foods can help repopulate the gut after antibiotic disruption. If you are recovering from a course of antibiotics and your stomach is off, fermented rice products may be worth exploring alongside more widely studied options like yogurt and kefir.

Where Rice Falls Short as a Recovery Food

Rice’s greatest strength during illness, its blandness and digestibility, is also its limitation. White rice is not a nutritionally complete food. It provides calories from starch but relatively little protein, very little fat, and minimal vitamins or minerals. When compared head-to-head with white bread in a controlled feeding study, rice produced significantly lower levels of beneficial Bifidobacterium bacteria in the gut, lower levels of the gut hormone GLP-1, and lower breath hydrogen, all indicators that rice provides less fermentable material to the gut microbiome than bread does.¹¹

This is not a problem for a day or two of eating mostly rice while your stomach settles. It becomes a problem if rice is the only thing you eat for an extended period during a prolonged illness. Your body needs protein, electrolytes, and micronutrients to repair tissue and fight infection. As pediatric gastroenteritis guidelines emphasize, the goal is to transition back to a full, varied diet as quickly as possible, not to remain on a restricted diet of rice and broth indefinitely.⁵ Think of rice as the bridge food that gets you from “I can’t eat anything” to “I can eat normally,” not as the destination.

The Leftover Rice Problem

Here is the part many people do not know about, and it is genuinely important if you are cooking rice while sick. Rice is frequently contaminated with spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacterium found in soil that survives the cooking process. If cooked rice is left at room temperature for too long, those spores germinate, the bacteria multiply, and they produce toxins that cause vomiting or diarrhea.¹² The emetic toxin, which triggers vomiting within a few hours, is heat-stable, meaning reheating the rice will not destroy it.

This is not a theoretical risk. An outbreak in Assam, India, in 2021 sickened over 200 people with abdominal pain and vomiting after they consumed fried rice at a public gathering. Cultures of the leftover rice confirmed Bacillus cereus.¹³ The irony is stark: you cook rice to soothe your upset stomach, leave it sitting on the counter because you are too sick to deal with cleanup, and then eat it again later only to get a second, completely different kind of food poisoning on top of whatever made you sick in the first place.

The prevention rules are simple but non-negotiable:

Refrigerate promptly: Get cooked rice into the fridge within an hour. Spread it in a shallow container so it cools quickly.
Reheat thoroughly: When you eat it again, heat it until it is steaming throughout. This kills actively growing bacteria, though it cannot neutralize the emetic toxin if it has already formed.
Discard after a day: Leftover rice that has been in the fridge for more than about 24 hours is not worth the risk when your gut is already compromised. Cook small batches you can eat in one sitting.

Arsenic in Rice

For short-term consumption during an illness, arsenic in rice is not a meaningful concern. But if you eat rice multiple times a day as a long-term dietary staple, it is worth knowing that rice accumulates inorganic arsenic from soil and water more readily than most other grains. Research using simulated gastrointestinal digestion found measurable arsenic bioaccessibility in cooked rice samples.¹⁴ The health risk scales with how much rice you eat and how often. Rinsing rice before cooking and cooking it in excess water that you then drain can reduce arsenic levels substantially.

If you are recovering from a stomach illness and eating rice for a few days, arsenic exposure is negligible. If rice is already the cornerstone of your diet and you are now eating even more of it because your stomach is upset, the combination of high baseline intake plus increased sick-day consumption is still unlikely to cause acute harm, but it is worth being aware of for the longer term.

Brown Rice, White Rice, and Congee

Most of the benefits described above apply specifically to white rice. Brown rice retains its bran layer, which means more fiber, more fat, and a slower, more demanding digestion process. For a healthy gut on a normal day, that is a good thing. For a stomach that is already inflamed, swollen, or struggling with diarrhea, the extra fiber can make symptoms worse by producing more gas and drawing more water into the colon. Stick with white rice when you are actively symptomatic.

Congee, the slow-cooked rice porridge eaten across much of Asia, may be the ideal format for a sick stomach. Cooking rice in a large volume of water for an extended time breaks the starch granules down further than standard steaming, creating a smooth, almost pre-digested consistency. The excess water also helps with hydration. If you are struggling to keep anything down, congee’s near-liquid texture can be easier to tolerate than a bowl of fluffy steamed rice. Adding a pinch of salt replaces some sodium lost through vomiting or diarrhea. Some people stir in a small amount of ginger, which has its own evidence base for reducing nausea, though the evidence is strongest for pregnancy-related nausea rather than gastroenteritis.

Fried rice, on the other hand, is one of the worst choices when your stomach is upset. The added oil slows gastric emptying, and fried rice is also the preparation most commonly linked to Bacillus cereus outbreaks because it is often made from rice that has been sitting out. If you are reaching for rice to calm your stomach, keep it as plain as possible.

What About the BRAT Diet

You have probably heard of BRAT: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. For decades this was the standard recommendation for recovering from gastroenteritis. It still works as a short-term comfort strategy, and rice is arguably the most tolerable component of the four for many people. But pediatric and gastroenterology guidelines have moved away from formally recommending BRAT as a prescribed diet, largely because it is too restrictive in calories and nutrients for anyone who follows it beyond a day or so. Children in particular need protein and fat to recover, and BRAT provides almost none of either.

The shift is not anti-rice. It is anti-restriction. Modern guidance says to return to a normal, varied diet as quickly as tolerated, using bland foods like rice as a starting point rather than as the entire menu. If rice is the only thing that sounds remotely edible to you on day one of a stomach bug, eat the rice. Just do not stay there. Add some chicken broth, then some banana, then some egg, and work your way back to your regular meals as your gut allows.