When indigestion hits, the best foods to reach for are bland, low-fat, and easy to digest: think bananas, oatmeal, rice, broth-based soups, boiled potatoes, and cooked vegetables like carrots or sweet potatoes. These foods require minimal digestive effort, which means your stomach produces less acid and contracts less forcefully, giving your irritated digestive tract a chance to settle.
What you eat matters, but so does how and when you eat. Here’s a practical guide to choosing foods that calm indigestion and avoiding the ones that make it worse.
Foods That Soothe an Upset Stomach
The goal is to eat foods that move through your digestive system without demanding much from it. Several categories work well.
High-fiber whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice, and couscous absorb stomach acid and keep things moving smoothly through your digestive tract. Plain crackers and unsweetened dry cereals are also gentle options when you’re not ready for a full meal.
Cooked root vegetables are easy to break down and unlikely to cause irritation. Sweet potatoes, carrots, and beets are all good choices. Cooked squash, like butternut or pumpkin, falls into the same category. Cooking softens the fiber, so your stomach does less mechanical work.
Alkaline fruits help counterbalance stomach acid. Bananas and melons are the top picks. They’re naturally low in acid, soft, and easy to digest. Watermelon has the added benefit of being mostly water, which helps dilute stomach contents.
Lean proteins provide the nutrients your body needs to recover without the digestive burden of heavy meals. Skinless chicken or turkey, fish, and eggs are all well tolerated. Avoid frying them. Baking, steaming, or poaching keeps the fat content low.
Watery, low-acid vegetables like celery, cucumber, and lettuce are gentle on the stomach and help dilute acid. Broth-based soups combine hydration with easy-to-digest ingredients, making them one of the most practical meals during a bout of indigestion.
Drinks That Help (and One to Watch)
Ginger tea is one of the most effective drink options. Ginger is naturally alkaline and anti-inflammatory, which eases irritation along the digestive tract. Sipping it warm at the first sign of heartburn or bloating can provide noticeable relief.
Chamomile tea relaxes the muscles in your digestive system, which helps with gas, bloating, nausea, and that uncomfortable feeling of fullness. Fennel tea works similarly, promoting stomach relaxation and helping food move through your system more efficiently.
Lemon water, made with a small amount of lemon juice in warm water with honey, has an alkalizing effect that can neutralize stomach acid. Nonfat milk acts as a temporary buffer between your stomach lining and acid, offering quick but short-lived relief. Low-fat yogurt does the same while also delivering probiotics that support overall gut health.
Peppermint tea is worth a note of caution. It can soothe general stomach upset, but it relaxes the muscular valve between your esophagus and stomach. If your indigestion involves acid reflux or heartburn, peppermint can actually make it worse. Stick with chamomile or ginger instead.
The BRAT Diet: Helpful but Limited
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s fine for a day or two when your stomach is at its worst, but there’s no clinical evidence that it works better than a broader bland diet. Harvard Health notes that restricting yourself to just those four foods isn’t necessary and can leave you short on protein and other nutrients you need to feel better.
A more practical approach is to start with BRAT-style foods when symptoms are acute, then expand to include brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, cooked vegetables, avocado, and lean proteins as your stomach settles. This gives you the gentleness of a bland diet without the nutritional limitations.
Foods That Make Indigestion Worse
Rich, fatty foods are the most common culprits. Fried chicken, greasy takeout, and heavy cream-based dishes require more digestive effort, meaning your stomach pumps out more acid and contracts more forcefully. That extra activity irritates an already sensitive digestive tract.
Other well-established triggers include:
- Carbonated drinks, which introduce gas and increase stomach pressure
- Coffee, which stimulates acid production
- Chocolate, which relaxes the valve between your esophagus and stomach
- Spicy foods, which directly irritate the stomach lining
- Shellfish like shrimp and lobster, which are harder to digest for some people
Alcohol and citrus juices (outside of small amounts of diluted lemon) are also worth avoiding until symptoms resolve. The pattern is straightforward: anything acidic, fatty, or gas-producing will likely make things worse.
How You Eat Matters as Much as What
Overeating is one of the most common causes of indigestion, even when the food itself is perfectly fine. Large meals stretch the stomach, which prevents the valve at the top from closing completely. That lets stomach contents wash back up into the esophagus, causing heartburn and discomfort.
A practical rule: stop eating when you feel about 75% full. Your brain takes time to register satiety, so pausing before you feel stuffed allows your stomach to empty faster and reduces the chance of reflux. Eating smaller portions every four to six hours, rather than two or three large meals, keeps your digestive system from being overwhelmed at any one sitting. If you tend to skip meals and then overeat, setting a regular schedule helps break that cycle.
Timing matters at night too. Your metabolism slows in the evening, so food sits in your stomach longer. Setting an eating cutoff around 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. gives your stomach enough time to empty before you lie down. Going to bed with a full stomach is one of the most reliable ways to trigger nighttime heartburn.
When Indigestion Lasts More Than Two Weeks
Most indigestion is temporary and responds well to dietary changes. But if symptoms persist for more than two weeks, or if you experience severe pain, unintended weight loss, difficulty swallowing, or vomiting, those are signs that something beyond diet may be going on. Persistent indigestion can sometimes point to conditions like ulcers, gallbladder problems, or other digestive disorders that need medical evaluation rather than just food adjustments.