Bland, low-fiber, easy-to-digest foods are your best options when your stomach hurts. Think plain white rice, bananas, applesauce, broth, and dry toast. These foods require minimal effort from your digestive system, which lets your stomach settle instead of working overtime. What you should reach for depends on the type of stomach pain you’re dealing with, whether it’s nausea, cramping, bloating, or diarrhea.
Start With the Basics: Bland, Binding Foods
The classic recommendation for an upset stomach is the BRAT diet: bananas, white rice, applesauce, and white toast. These foods are low in fiber, easy to digest, and help solidify loose stools without irritating your stomach further. They’re a good starting point during the worst of your symptoms, especially if you’re dealing with diarrhea or vomiting.
That said, the BRAT diet is meant to be a short-term strategy, not a multi-day meal plan. It lacks the protein, fat, and variety of nutrients your body needs to actually recover. The American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends a strict BRAT diet for children because it’s too restrictive and can slow down gut recovery if followed for more than 24 hours. The same logic applies to adults: use these foods as a gentle re-entry point, then expand your choices as your stomach allows.
Other foods in the same category include plain crackers, chicken broth, boiled potatoes, and oatmeal. The common thread is that they’re low in fat, low in seasoning, and soft enough to break down quickly.
Best Foods for Nausea
If your stomach pain comes with nausea, ginger is one of the most effective natural options. The active compounds in ginger work by blocking serotonin receptors in the gut that trigger the vomiting reflex. This is the same pathway that prescription anti-nausea medications target. You can get the benefit from ginger tea, ginger chews, or even flat ginger ale, though real ginger (not just ginger flavoring) matters.
Cold, bland foods tend to be easier to tolerate when you’re nauseous because they have less aroma than hot meals. Plain crackers, a few bites of dry toast, or small sips of clear broth can help you get something in your stomach without making the nausea worse. Eating small amounts frequently, rather than a full meal, keeps your stomach from being overwhelmed.
Best Foods for Cramping and Gas
Stomach cramps often come from muscle spasms in the digestive tract, and certain herbal teas can help relax those muscles. Peppermint tea is the standout here. A 2023 review found that peppermint oil relaxes intestinal muscles and relieves pain, with potential benefits for people with irritable bowel syndrome. Chamomile tea works similarly, helping to soothe gas, indigestion, and nausea by relaxing the digestive muscles.
If your pain feels like pressure or bloating, the issue may be gas-producing foods you ate earlier. In that case, steering toward low-FODMAP options can help. FODMAPs are types of carbohydrates that ferment in the gut and produce gas. According to the American College of Gastroenterology, bloating and abdominal pain are the symptoms most likely to improve on a low-FODMAP approach. Safe choices during a flare-up include:
- Grains: white rice, oatmeal, quinoa, plain popcorn, sourdough bread
- Fruits: unripe bananas, blueberries, grapes, kiwi, oranges, pineapple
- Vegetables: carrots, cucumber, spinach, lettuce, kale, tomato
- Proteins: eggs, chicken, fish, firm tofu
Portion size matters with FODMAPs. Some foods shift from low to high FODMAP depending on how much you eat, so keeping portions moderate is part of the strategy.
What to Avoid Until You Feel Better
Fried and fatty foods are the biggest offenders when your stomach is already hurting. Fat slows digestion, which means food sits in your stomach longer and can worsen nausea, bloating, and cramping. Greasy meals, rich sauces, and heavily seasoned dishes should wait until you’re feeling more like yourself.
Dairy can be a problem too, especially if your stomach pain involves diarrhea. When the gut lining is irritated, it temporarily loses some of its ability to digest lactose, making milk, ice cream, and soft cheese more likely to cause cramping and gas. Hard cheeses and lactose-free options are gentler alternatives if you want something dairy-like.
Caffeine, alcohol, acidic foods like citrus juice or tomato sauce, and carbonated drinks can all irritate an already sensitive stomach lining. Spicy food is another common trigger. None of these are permanently off-limits, but they’re worth skipping for a day or two while your stomach recovers.
Transitioning Back to Normal Eating
Once the worst has passed (usually 12 to 24 hours), you can start reintroducing more substantial foods. Lean proteins are the next step up from bland starches. Skinless chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, and tofu are all relatively easy on the digestive system. Baking, steaming, or poaching these proteins is gentler than frying or grilling with heavy oils.
Cooked vegetables are easier to digest than raw ones, so lightly steamed carrots, spinach, or zucchini are good early additions. You can gradually add back whole grains, fruits with skin, and eventually fattier foods as your stomach tolerates them. Most people can return to their normal diet within two to three days after a typical stomach upset.
If your symptoms started with vomiting or diarrhea, staying hydrated matters more than eating. Water, clear broth, and oral rehydration solutions replace the fluids and electrolytes you’ve lost. Bananas are particularly useful here because they’re rich in potassium, one of the key electrolytes depleted by vomiting and diarrhea. Sip fluids steadily rather than drinking large amounts at once, which can trigger more nausea.