Plain, low-fiber foods like white rice, bananas, toast, and broth are some of the fastest ways to calm an upset stomach. These foods are easy to digest, unlikely to trigger more nausea, and gentle enough to eat even when nothing sounds appealing. But you don’t have to limit yourself to just a handful of bland options. A wider range of soothing foods can settle your stomach while still giving your body the nutrients it needs to recover.
Start With Simple Starches
White rice, plain crackers, boiled potatoes, and dry toast are reliable go-to foods when your stomach is in revolt. They work because they’re low in fiber and fat, two things that slow digestion and can worsen nausea or diarrhea. White rice is specifically easier to digest than brown rice because the milling process strips away the fibrous outer layer. That’s the opposite of what you’d normally want, but during a flare-up, less fiber means less work for your gut.
Oatmeal and unsweetened dry cereals also fall into this category. Cook oatmeal with water instead of milk, and skip any added sweeteners. The goal is to give your stomach something to work with that won’t irritate it further.
The BRAT Diet: Useful but Limited
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 of stomach flu, food poisoning, or traveler’s diarrhea. But Harvard Health notes there’s no reason to restrict yourself to just those four foods. A less restrictive approach that includes brothy soups, boiled potatoes, and crackers gives your body more to work with nutritionally while still being gentle on your digestive system.
Once your stomach starts to settle, typically after a day or two, you can expand to more nutrient-dense options: cooked squash (butternut or pumpkin), cooked carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, avocado, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, and eggs. These foods are soft, low in irritants, and provide the protein and vitamins your body needs to bounce back.
Broth and Soup for Hydration and Healing
Broth does double duty. It replaces fluids and electrolytes you’re losing, and it provides amino acids like glutamine, glycine, and proline that support the gut lining. Bone broth in particular is rich in these compounds, which help maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier and reduce inflammation. Chicken, beef, or vegetable broth all work. Sip it warm in small amounts rather than drinking a full bowl at once.
If you’re dealing with significant fluid loss from vomiting or diarrhea, plain broth alone may not replace electrolytes fast enough. You can make a simple oral rehydration solution at home by mixing 4 cups of water with half a teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar. This ratio helps your body absorb the fluid more efficiently than water alone. Diluted fruit juice (half water, half juice) and popsicles are other options that go down easily.
Bananas and Applesauce
Bananas are one of the easiest fruits to tolerate on an upset stomach. They’re soft, relatively low in acid, and contain potassium, an electrolyte you lose quickly during bouts of vomiting or diarrhea. Riper bananas are even easier to digest because their starches have converted to simple sugars.
Applesauce works similarly. It contains pectin, a type of soluble fiber that can help firm up loose stools without adding the bulk of insoluble fiber. Choose unsweetened varieties, since added sugar can pull water into the intestines and make diarrhea worse.
Chamomile and Peppermint Tea
Chamomile tea has a long history of use for digestive discomfort, and the science backs it up. Chamomile contains a compound called apigenin that relaxes the smooth muscle in the digestive tract, which can ease cramping and spasms. Brew it weak and drink it warm, not hot.
Peppermint tea can also calm an upset stomach through similar muscle-relaxing properties. However, there’s an important caveat: peppermint relaxes the muscle at the bottom of the esophagus, the valve that keeps stomach acid from creeping upward. If your stomach trouble involves acid reflux or heartburn, peppermint can actually make things worse. Stick with chamomile if reflux is part of the picture.
Yogurt With Live Cultures
Plain yogurt is one of the few dairy products that may actually help during digestive distress, provided you tolerate dairy in general. The beneficial bacteria in yogurt can shorten the duration of infectious diarrhea by roughly one day, based on clinical trials involving specific probiotic strains. Look for yogurt that lists “live and active cultures” on the label. Avoid flavored varieties loaded with sugar, which can aggravate symptoms.
If dairy bothers you even on a good day, skip the yogurt entirely. Other fermented foods like miso can serve a similar role. You can dissolve about two tablespoons of miso paste in four cups of warm water with a tablespoon of sugar for a soothing, probiotic-rich broth.
What to Avoid Until You Feel Better
What you leave off your plate matters as much as what you put on it. These foods are the most common triggers for worsening nausea, cramping, and diarrhea:
- Fried and fatty foods like fries, chips, and donuts, which slow stomach emptying and increase nausea
- Dairy products such as milk, cheese, butter, and ice cream (plain yogurt with live cultures is the exception)
- Caffeine and alcohol, including coffee, sodas, and tea with caffeine, all of which can irritate the stomach lining and worsen dehydration
- Acidic foods like citrus fruits, tomato sauce, and anything with vinegar
- Spicy foods, which can inflame an already irritated digestive tract
- Sugary foods such as candy, cakes, and desserts, which draw water into the intestines
- High-fiber roughage like raw vegetables, leafy greens, popcorn, nuts, seeds, beans, and fruit skins
How to Eat When Nothing Sounds Good
Even if you can’t face a full meal, staying hydrated is the single most important thing you can do. Take small sips of water or suck on ice chips throughout the day. When you’re ready to try food, start with a few bites of something plain, like a couple of crackers or half a banana, and wait 20 to 30 minutes to see how your stomach responds.
Eat small portions frequently rather than three large meals. Your stomach processes smaller volumes more easily, and you’re less likely to trigger a wave of nausea. Room temperature or slightly warm foods tend to be better tolerated than very cold or very hot options, since temperature extremes can stimulate the gut. As you start to feel better over the next day or two, gradually reintroduce more variety, starting with the cooked vegetables and lean proteins listed above before returning to your normal diet.