When your stomach is upset, bland, easy-to-digest foods are your best bet. White rice, bananas, plain toast, applesauce, brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, and crackers all sit gently in the stomach and provide quick energy without triggering more nausea or cramping. The key is starting simple, then gradually reintroducing more nutritious foods as your symptoms improve.
Start With Simple, Bland Foods
The classic BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) has been a go-to recommendation for decades, and those foods remain solid choices. They’re low in fiber, low in fat, and easy for an irritated stomach to process. But you don’t need to limit yourself to just those four items. Brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and unsweetened dry cereals are equally gentle and give you more variety.
If you’ve been vomiting, wait until you’ve kept clear liquids down for a few hours before trying solid food. For children, the general guideline is to return to a normal diet slowly after 12 to 24 hours with no vomiting. Adults can follow a similar timeline, starting with small amounts and increasing as tolerated.
Add Protein and Nutrients as You Improve
Bland foods get you through the worst of it, but they don’t provide much protein or many vitamins. Once your stomach starts to settle, typically after a day or two, begin adding more nutritious options. Good next steps include cooked squash (butternut or pumpkin), cooked carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, avocado, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, and eggs. These foods are still mild enough to be easy on digestion while delivering the protein and nutrients your body needs to recover.
Bone broth deserves special mention here. It’s rich in amino acids like glutamine, glycine, and proline, which support cellular repair and help maintain the lining of your gut. It also counts as fluid, helping you stay hydrated while getting light nutrition. Sipping warm broth can feel soothing in a way that solid food doesn’t when your stomach is still tender.
Ginger and Peppermint for Nausea
Ginger is one of the most studied natural remedies for nausea. Its active compounds speed up the movement of food through the digestive tract and have anti-inflammatory effects that calm an irritated stomach. Clinical trials have used doses ranging from about 250 mg to 1 gram per day, split across several servings. You don’t need to measure precisely: a cup of ginger tea, a few slices of fresh ginger steeped in hot water, or even ginger chews can help take the edge off nausea.
Peppermint works differently. It relaxes the smooth muscle in your digestive tract, which can ease cramping and spasms. Peppermint tea is the simplest way to get this benefit. If your upset stomach comes with bloating or abdominal tightness, peppermint is often more helpful than ginger.
Why Fiber Type Matters
Fiber might seem like the last thing you want with an upset stomach, but the right kind can actually help, especially if diarrhea is your main symptom. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like material that slows digestion and absorbs excess liquid in the gut. This firms up loose, watery stool. Good sources of soluble fiber include bananas, applesauce, oats, cooked carrots, and avocados, which is part of why these foods show up on every “upset stomach” list.
Insoluble fiber is a different story. Found in whole wheat, wheat bran, nuts, and raw vegetables like cauliflower, it adds roughage that speeds things through your system. When your stomach is already irritated, that extra roughage can make cramping and diarrhea worse. Stick with soluble fiber sources until you’re feeling significantly better, then gradually bring back whole grains and raw vegetables.
Probiotic-Rich Foods
After a bout of stomach flu or food poisoning, the balance of bacteria in your gut takes a hit. Probiotic-rich foods can help restore that balance. Plain yogurt (without added sugar) is the most accessible option and is generally well tolerated even when your stomach is still recovering. Other sources include kefir, miso soup, and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, though these stronger flavors may be easier to handle once the worst has passed.
If you’re considering a probiotic supplement, look for one that contains well-studied strains. The research on probiotics for acute diarrhea is strongest in the context of shortening the duration of symptoms by about a day. For most people with a temporary upset stomach, probiotic foods are sufficient and gentler than jumping straight to supplements.
Foods to Avoid Until You Recover
What you don’t eat matters as much as what you do. Fat slows stomach emptying, meaning greasy or fried foods sit in your stomach longer and can intensify nausea, bloating, and discomfort. Skip fried foods, creamy sauces, fatty cuts of meat, and fast food until your digestion is back to normal.
Other common triggers to avoid:
- Dairy (other than yogurt): Milk, cheese, and ice cream can worsen diarrhea, especially if your gut lining is temporarily irritated and less able to digest lactose.
- Caffeine and alcohol: Both stimulate the digestive tract and increase the risk of dehydration, which is already a concern when you’re losing fluids.
- Spicy foods: Capsaicin irritates the stomach lining and can amplify cramping and nausea.
- Sugary drinks and fruit juice: High sugar concentrations can pull water into the intestines, making diarrhea worse. Small sips of diluted juice are fine, but full-strength juice or soda works against you.
- Raw vegetables and salads: The insoluble fiber and roughage are harder to break down when your gut is inflamed.
Staying Hydrated Is Half the Battle
An upset stomach, particularly one involving vomiting or diarrhea, drains fluids and electrolytes fast. Dehydration can make nausea worse and slow your recovery. Sip water frequently rather than gulping large amounts at once, which can trigger more vomiting. Oral rehydration solutions, coconut water, and clear broths all replace both fluid and electrolytes more effectively than plain water alone.
A practical approach: take small sips every few minutes rather than trying to drink a full glass. If plain water feels unappealing or comes back up, try sucking on ice chips or frozen fruit bars made without added sugar. Once you can keep liquids down consistently, you’re ready to start with those bland solid foods.
A Simple Recovery Timeline
For most cases of food poisoning, stomach flu, or general digestive upset, a rough progression looks like this. In the first several hours, focus only on clear liquids: water, broth, oral rehydration drinks, herbal tea. Once you’ve gone a few hours without vomiting, introduce bland solids like crackers, plain rice, bananas, or toast. After one to two days of tolerating bland food, begin adding lean proteins, cooked vegetables, and healthy fats like avocado. By day three or four, most people can return to their normal diet.
Listen to your body throughout this process. If a food makes your symptoms flare, back up a step. Recovery isn’t always linear, and pushing too quickly toward normal eating is one of the most common reasons symptoms drag on longer than they need to.