The most important thing to eat and drink with a stomach virus is whatever you can keep down, focusing first on fluids and then on food as your appetite returns. Despite decades of advice about restrictive diets, current guidelines from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) say most experts no longer recommend fasting or following a restricted diet during viral gastroenteritis. Your priority is staying hydrated and returning to normal eating as soon as you’re able.
Fluids Come First
Vomiting and diarrhea drain your body of water, sodium, and potassium fast. Replacing those losses matters more than any food choice you’ll make during the illness. Plain water helps, but it doesn’t replace the electrolytes you’re losing. Oral rehydration solutions work so well because they pair sodium and glucose in a ratio that helps your gut absorb fluid efficiently. The formula recommended by the World Health Organization uses a 1:1 sodium-to-glucose ratio, which optimizes a specific transport mechanism in your intestinal lining. Commercial rehydration drinks like Pedialyte use a roughly 1:3 ratio and still work effectively.
If you can’t keep liquids down, take small sips every few minutes rather than drinking a full glass at once. Ice chips, diluted broth, and electrolyte popsicles are all good options during the worst of the vomiting. Avoid gulping large amounts, which can trigger another round of nausea.
What to Eat When Your Appetite Returns
Once the vomiting slows and you feel even a flicker of hunger, start eating. You don’t need to wait a set number of hours or follow a rigid progression from clear liquids to bland solids. Research shows that restricted diets don’t help treat viral gastroenteritis, and the NIDDK recommends returning to your normal diet as soon as your appetite comes back, even if you still have diarrhea.
That said, your stomach will tell you what it can handle. Most people naturally gravitate toward simple foods at first: plain rice, toast, crackers, bananas, boiled potatoes, plain pasta, or chicken soup. These are easy to digest and unlikely to make nausea worse. As you feel better, add in whatever sounds appealing. There’s no medical reason to limit yourself to a handful of bland items once you’re ready for more.
The BRAT Diet: Helpful Start, Poor Long-Term Plan
The BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) was the standard recommendation for decades, but it’s no longer considered the best approach. Cleveland Clinic notes that the BRAT diet lacks calcium, vitamin B12, protein, and fiber. For adults, sticking to it for a day or two at the height of illness is fine, but extending it beyond that deprives your body of nutrients it needs to recover.
For children, the American Academy of Pediatrics says the BRAT diet is too restrictive and may actually slow recovery if followed for more than 24 hours. Kids should eat their normal foods as soon as they’re willing to eat. If your child wants chicken nuggets or scrambled eggs instead of plain toast, that’s not only acceptable, it’s better for their recovery.
Foods That May Make Symptoms Worse
While there’s no strict list of banned foods, some things are more likely to aggravate an already irritated gut:
- Greasy or fried foods take longer to digest and can worsen nausea
- Dairy products can be harder to process temporarily, since the virus may reduce your gut’s ability to break down lactose
- Sugary drinks and fruit juice can pull water into the intestines and make diarrhea worse
- Caffeine and alcohol both promote fluid loss when you’re already dehydrated
- Spicy foods can irritate an inflamed stomach lining
These aren’t hard rules. If dairy doesn’t bother you, there’s no reason to avoid it. Pay attention to how your body responds and adjust accordingly.
Ginger and Peppermint for Nausea
When nausea makes it hard to eat or drink anything, ginger tea can help settle your stomach. Grate a small piece of fresh peeled ginger, steep it in boiling water for several minutes, and strain. You can add honey or lemon. Most clinical research has focused on concentrated ginger supplements rather than tea, but ginger in any form has a long track record of easing nausea.
Peppermint tea is another option. Steep crushed peppermint leaves in hot water, or use a store-bought tea bag. Studies on peppermint oil have shown benefits for digestive discomfort, and the tea may offer similar relief. Either option gives you warm fluids alongside the potential anti-nausea effect.
Probiotics and Recovery Time
Probiotics can modestly shorten how long a stomach virus lasts. A large Cochrane review of clinical trials found that probiotics reduced the average duration of diarrhea by about 30 hours. For children with rotavirus specifically, the reduction was closer to 38 hours. The strain with the strongest evidence is Lactobacillus GG (often sold as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG), which appeared particularly effective against rotavirus.
You can get probiotics from supplements or from foods like yogurt, kefir, and fermented vegetables, though during active vomiting a supplement in capsule form may be easier to keep down. Starting a probiotic at the first sign of illness gives it the best chance of making a difference.
Feeding Children With a Stomach Virus
The guidance for kids is simpler than many parents expect: give them what they normally eat as soon as they’re willing to eat it. Don’t withhold food or force a bland diet. Breastfed infants should continue breastfeeding. Formula-fed babies should continue with their usual formula. For toddlers and older children, offer familiar foods in small portions and let them decide how much they want.
Hydration is the bigger concern with children because they dehydrate faster than adults. An oral rehydration solution like Pedialyte is more effective than water, juice, or sports drinks for young kids. Watch for signs of dehydration: fewer wet diapers, no tears when crying, a dry mouth, or unusual drowsiness. These signal that fluid replacement needs to be more aggressive.
What Recovery Looks Like
Most stomach viruses resolve within one to three days, though diarrhea can linger for up to a week. You don’t need to wait for all symptoms to disappear before eating normally. In fact, returning to a full diet sooner gives your gut the nutrients it needs to repair its lining. Your digestive system may feel slightly off for a few days after the virus clears. Temporarily sensitive digestion is normal and doesn’t mean you need to restrict your diet further.
The overall approach is straightforward: prioritize fluids and electrolytes from the start, eat whatever appeals to you as soon as you’re able, and don’t overthink the specific foods. Your body is better at recovering from a stomach virus when it has adequate calories and nutrition to work with.