Ginger tea is one of the most effective drinks for nausea, backed by decades of clinical research. But it’s not the only option. Peppermint tea, lemon water, chamomile tea, and electrolyte solutions all help settle an upset stomach through different mechanisms, and the best choice depends on what’s causing your nausea and what sounds tolerable in the moment.
Ginger Tea
Ginger is the most studied natural remedy for nausea. It works by speeding up the rate at which your stomach empties, which reduces that heavy, queasy feeling. It also blocks certain chemical signals in the gut and brain that trigger the urge to vomit. These effects aren’t subtle: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that doses between 975 and 1,500 mg of ginger per day significantly reduced nausea, including in pregnant women dealing with morning sickness.
To make ginger tea at home, slice about an inch of fresh ginger root into thin rounds and steep them in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes. The longer you steep, the stronger the flavor and the more active compounds end up in your cup. If fresh ginger feels too intense, powdered ginger stirred into hot water works too. Many people find that adding a squeeze of lemon or a small spoonful of honey makes ginger tea easier to drink when their stomach is already upset.
Peppermint Tea
Peppermint relaxes the smooth muscles in your digestive tract, which helps relieve the spasms and cramping that often accompany nausea. Animal studies show it eases pain in the gut and prevents the kind of involuntary muscle contractions that make nausea feel worse. Even the scent alone has measurable effects: one study found that inhaling peppermint oil reduced both the frequency and severity of nausea in people undergoing chemotherapy.
Peppermint tea is a good pick when your nausea comes with bloating, gas, or an uncomfortable tightness in your stomach. Steep a peppermint tea bag or a tablespoon of dried peppermint leaves in hot water for five to seven minutes. If hot liquids don’t appeal to you, let it cool to room temperature first.
Lemon Water
Lemon works through both taste and smell. In a randomized clinical trial of 100 pregnant women, those who inhaled lemon essential oil reported lower nausea scores compared to those who didn’t use it. The sharp, clean scent of citrus seems to interrupt the sensory signals that feed into nausea, and the sour flavor can cut through that thick, sickly feeling in the back of your throat.
The simplest version is just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice into a glass of cool water. If even sipping feels like too much, try freezing lemon water into ice chips or popsicles. Sucking on them lets you absorb small amounts of fluid gradually without overwhelming your stomach. Some people also find that simply slicing a lemon open and breathing in the scent provides quick relief, even before they take a single sip.
Chamomile Tea
Chamomile is gentler than ginger or peppermint, making it a solid option when your stomach feels raw or irritated. Its anti-inflammatory properties help calm the lining of the digestive tract, and it may reduce excess stomach acid. Chamomile tea has traditionally been used for nausea, indigestion, and gas pain, and it has the added benefit of being mildly calming, which helps when anxiety is making your nausea worse.
Drink chamomile tea warm rather than hot, and consider having it after meals if indigestion is part of the problem. It’s mild enough to layer with other remedies: a cup of chamomile between rounds of ginger tea, for example, can keep fluids coming in without overloading your system with one flavor.
Electrolyte Drinks for Nausea With Vomiting
If your nausea has led to vomiting or diarrhea, replacing lost fluids becomes the priority. Plain water alone isn’t ideal because it doesn’t restore the sodium, potassium, and sugars your body loses. Commercial rehydration solutions like Pedialyte contain these in the right proportions to help your body actually absorb and retain the fluid.
If you don’t have a rehydration solution on hand, you can make a simple version by mixing 360 ml (12 oz) of unsweetened orange juice with 600 ml (20 oz) of cooled boiled water and half a teaspoon of salt. Getting these proportions right matters, because too much sugar or salt can pull water into your intestines and make things worse.
Sports drinks like Gatorade are better than nothing, but they contain more sugar and less sodium than what your body needs during active vomiting. They’re fine for mild nausea with light dehydration, but not the best choice for a full-blown stomach bug.
What to Avoid
Carbonated sodas like ginger ale are a classic home remedy, but they often do more harm than good. Most contain very little actual ginger, and the high sugar content can slow stomach emptying and worsen nausea. The carbonation itself can also distend your stomach and trigger more discomfort. Coffee and other caffeinated drinks stimulate acid production and can irritate an already upset stomach. Dairy-based drinks, fruit juices with pulp, and anything very acidic (like straight citrus juice without water) are also common triggers.
Alcohol is an obvious one to skip, but it’s worth noting that even drinks marketed as “digestive aids,” like certain herbal liqueurs, will irritate your stomach lining and dehydrate you further.
How to Drink When You Feel Too Sick to Drink
The way you drink matters almost as much as what you drink. Gulping any liquid, even the gentlest herbal tea, can stretch your stomach and trigger vomiting. The goal is to get fluid in without your body rejecting it.
Take one small sip every 5 to 10 minutes. Use a teaspoon if that’s all you can manage. Let each sip settle before taking another. Room temperature fluids tend to be easiest on the stomach. Very cold or very hot drinks are more likely to trigger a vomiting reflex. Sit upright while sipping, since lying down can increase pressure on the stomach and make nausea worse.
If even small sips feel impossible, switch to ice chips. Letting them melt slowly in your mouth delivers tiny amounts of fluid without requiring you to swallow a full mouthful. You can freeze ginger tea, lemon water, or an electrolyte solution into ice chips to get both hydration and nausea relief at the same time. Once you can tolerate ice chips for 30 minutes without vomiting, try graduating to small sips through a straw, then to normal sipping as your stomach settles.