When you have food poisoning, start with liquids only and gradually work your way back to bland, easy-to-digest solid foods over 24 to 48 hours. Your stomach and intestines are inflamed, so the goal is to replace lost fluids first, then reintroduce foods that won’t make symptoms worse. Most cases of food poisoning resolve on their own within a few days, and what you eat during that window can make recovery faster or slower.
Start With Fluids, Not Food
During the worst of it, when you’re actively vomiting or dealing with frequent diarrhea, food isn’t the priority. Fluids are. You’re losing water and electrolytes rapidly, and dehydration is the most common complication of food poisoning. Take small, frequent sips rather than gulping large amounts, which can trigger more vomiting.
The best options are oral rehydration solutions like Pedialyte or similar products, which contain the right balance of sodium, potassium, and sugar to help your body absorb water efficiently. Clear broth is another good choice because it provides both fluid and sodium. Plain water works too, but if diarrhea is severe, water alone won’t replace the electrolytes you’re losing. Sports drinks like Gatorade don’t actually replace losses correctly and aren’t recommended for treating diarrheal illness, according to the CDC. Ice chips can help if even small sips are hard to keep down.
When to Try Solid Food Again
Once you’ve gone several hours without vomiting and can keep liquids down, you can start testing small amounts of solid food. For many people this happens roughly 24 hours after symptoms begin, but the real marker is how your stomach feels, not the clock. If eating a few bites brings on nausea, go back to liquids and wait longer.
You may have heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. These four foods became a go-to recommendation because they’re bland, starchy, and tend to firm up loose stools. They’re fine as a starting point for the first day or two at your sickest, but the BRAT diet is no longer considered the best approach for recovery. It lacks calcium, vitamin B12, protein, and fiber. The American Academy of Pediatrics specifically advises against following it strictly for children, noting it may actually slow recovery. For adults, think of BRAT foods as a few options on a longer list of gentle foods rather than a rigid plan.
Best Foods During Recovery
The pattern to follow is simple: bland, low-fat, low-fiber, and easy to digest. Beyond bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast, you have plenty of options:
- Plain boiled potatoes provide starch and potassium without irritating your gut.
- Saltine crackers are easy to nibble in small amounts and deliver sodium.
- Plain oatmeal is gentle and more nutritious than white rice alone.
- Plain grits work well if you prefer them over rice or oatmeal.
- Clear broths and soups bridge the gap between liquids and solids, adding some calories and electrolytes.
- Skinless chicken (boiled or baked plain) can be added once you’re tolerating starches, giving you protein your body needs to heal.
Eat small portions. Your digestive system is still recovering, and large meals will overwhelm it. Five or six small snacks spread through the day are easier to handle than three full meals. As your symptoms improve, gradually add more variety. Most people can return to a normal diet within two to three days.
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
Certain foods actively make food poisoning symptoms worse, and it’s worth knowing why so you can avoid them until you’re fully recovered.
Dairy products are one of the biggest culprits. Food poisoning can temporarily damage the lining of your small intestine, reducing its ability to break down lactose (the sugar in milk). This means milk, cheese, ice cream, and yogurt may trigger cramping and diarrhea even if you normally tolerate them fine. This effect can last a month or more after your illness resolves, so ease back into dairy slowly.
High-fat foods like fried foods, pizza, and fast food are hard to digest under normal circumstances. When your gut is inflamed, fat slows digestion further and can worsen nausea and diarrhea. Sugary drinks and fruit juices can also make diarrhea worse because high concentrations of simple sugar draw extra water into the intestines.
Caffeine from coffee, tea, and some sodas is a stimulant that speeds up your digestive tract, exactly the opposite of what you need when you already have diarrhea. Alcohol is similarly irritating and dehydrating. Spicy foods and acidic foods like tomato sauce or citrus can further inflame an already tender stomach lining.
Do Probiotics Help?
Some research suggests probiotics may shorten a bout of diarrhea, but the evidence isn’t strong enough for a firm recommendation. If you want to try them, fermented foods like plain (non-dairy) miso or a probiotic supplement are reasonable options once you’re past the acute vomiting phase. They won’t hurt, and they may help restore the balance of bacteria in your gut that food poisoning disrupted. Just don’t rely on yogurt as your probiotic source while you’re still recovering, since dairy can make symptoms worse.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most food poisoning runs its course without medical treatment, but certain symptoms signal something more serious. Seek medical care if you have bloody diarrhea, diarrhea lasting more than three days, a fever above 102°F, or vomiting so frequent that you can’t keep any liquids down. Signs of dehydration also warrant a call to your doctor: urinating very little, a dry mouth and throat, or feeling dizzy when you stand up. Young children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems face higher risks from food poisoning and should have a lower threshold for seeking help.