Bland, low-fat foods like bananas, plain rice, broth-based soups, and crackers are your best options when your stomach is upset. The goal is to give your digestive system something easy to process without triggering more nausea, cramping, or diarrhea. What you avoid matters just as much as what you eat, and timing plays a bigger role than most people realize.
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 clinical evidence that these four foods are superior to other bland options. Harvard Health notes that brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and unsweetened dry cereals are equally easy to digest and give you more variety.
The common thread is that all of these foods are low in fat, low in fiber, and mild in flavor. Fat naturally slows stomach emptying, which is the last thing you want when your gut is already struggling. Insoluble fiber (the kind in raw vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fruit skins) forces your digestive system to work harder, which can worsen cramping and diarrhea.
Once your stomach starts to settle, you can gradually add more nutritious foods: cooked carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, butternut squash, avocado, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, and eggs. These are gentle enough to keep digestion on track while giving your body the protein and nutrients it needs to recover.
Why Ginger Actually Works
Ginger isn’t just a folk remedy. It contains compounds called gingerols and shogaols that interact with the same chemical signaling systems your body uses to trigger nausea. Specifically, they affect serotonin and dopamine pathways in both the gut and the brain, and they help regulate how quickly food moves through your digestive tract. This is why ginger has been studied extensively for nausea from chemotherapy, pregnancy, and motion sickness.
The easiest way to use ginger when your stomach is off is to sip ginger tea (made from fresh sliced ginger steeped in hot water) or chew on a small piece of crystallized ginger. Ginger ale is less reliable because most commercial brands contain very little actual ginger and a lot of sugar, which can make things worse.
Peppermint Tea: Helpful but Not for Everyone
Peppermint tea can ease nausea and stomach cramps for many people, but it comes with an important caveat. Peppermint relaxes the muscle that separates your stomach from your esophagus. If your upset stomach involves acid reflux or heartburn, peppermint can make the problem significantly worse by allowing stomach acid to flow upward. If you have GERD or a hiatal hernia, skip the peppermint entirely.
For general nausea or indigestion without a reflux component, though, peppermint tea is a solid choice.
What to Drink (and What to Skip)
Dehydration is the most common complication of vomiting and diarrhea, and it can make nausea feel worse on its own. If you’ve been vomiting, start with ice chips or small sips of water every 15 minutes rather than gulping down a full glass. Your stomach tolerates small, frequent amounts of fluid far better than a large volume all at once.
Sports drinks like Gatorade aren’t the best rehydration choice despite their reputation. They don’t contain the right balance of sugar and sodium for true rehydration. Oral rehydration solutions like Pedialyte or Oralyte are formulated specifically for this purpose.
Avoid coffee, caffeinated teas, sodas, and alcohol until you feel fully recovered. Caffeine stimulates acid production, and alcohol irritates the stomach lining directly.
Foods That Will Make It Worse
Knowing what to avoid can save you from a setback:
- Dairy products. Milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, and ice cream are harder to digest and can worsen bloating and diarrhea, especially during a stomach bug.
- Fried and fatty foods. French fries, chips, and donuts slow stomach emptying and sit heavy in your gut.
- Sugary foods. Candy, cakes, and desserts can pull water into the intestines and worsen diarrhea.
- Acidic foods. Citrus fruits, tomato sauces, and vinegar-based dressings irritate an already inflamed stomach lining.
- Spicy foods. These stimulate acid production and can trigger more nausea.
- High-fiber foods. Leafy greens, popcorn, beans, nuts, and raw fruits with skin require a lot of digestive effort.
Timing Matters More Than You Think
If you’ve been vomiting, resist the urge to eat right away. Give your stomach a few hours of rest before trying anything solid. Start with clear fluids, then move to a small portion of something bland when you feel ready. Eat slowly, and keep portions small. Multiple mini-meals spread throughout the day are much easier on your system than three normal-sized ones.
Most stomach bugs and food poisoning episodes resolve within 24 to 48 hours. If you can keep bland food down for a full day, you can start reintroducing more varied foods gradually.
Fermented Foods for Ongoing Digestive Issues
If your stomach troubles are more chronic than acute (recurring bloating, irregular digestion, general discomfort after meals), probiotic-rich fermented foods may help over time. Multiple systematic reviews support the role of probiotics in reducing bloating, abdominal pain, and gas, particularly in people with irritable bowel syndrome. Foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and miso contain live bacteria that support a healthy gut environment. These aren’t quick fixes for acute nausea, but they can make a real difference for people whose stomachs are frequently unsettled.
Signs Your Stomach Pain Needs Medical Attention
Most upset stomachs pass on their own, but certain symptoms signal something more serious. Seek urgent care if you experience sudden, severe abdominal pain that comes on abruptly and feels excruciating. A fever combined with abdominal pain, especially alongside a rapid heart rate, suggests an infection or inflammation that needs evaluation. Vomiting blood, bloody or black stools, or inability to keep any fluids down for more than 24 hours all warrant a call to your doctor. Pain that gets significantly worse when you cough, tap your heel on the ground, or press and release your abdomen can indicate peritonitis, which requires emergency treatment.