What to eat when recovering from a stomach bug? A comprehensive guide to healing foods

October 28, 2025 •

4 min read

Dehydration is one of the most serious complications of a stomach bug, with vomiting and diarrhea depleting the body of fluids and electrolytes. Understanding what to eat when recovering from a stomach bug is crucial for restoring your energy, soothing your digestive system, and ensuring a faster, more comfortable recovery.

Quick Summary

This guide outlines a gradual approach to eating after a stomach virus, emphasizing hydration, bland foods, and slow reintroduction of more complex meals to help your digestive system heal.

Key Points

Prioritize Hydration: Your first step should be to replace lost fluids and electrolytes with water, clear broths, or oral rehydration solutions.
Start with Bland Foods: Once fluids are tolerated, introduce easy-to-digest items like bananas, white rice, applesauce, and white toast (the BRAT diet).
Gradually Expand Your Diet: Slowly add lean proteins (like cooked chicken) and soft, cooked vegetables as your symptoms improve.
Avoid Irritating Foods: Steer clear of fatty, spicy, high-sugar, high-fiber, and caffeinated items that can upset a sensitive stomach.
Listen to Your Body: Pay close attention to how new foods affect you. Revert to a blander diet if discomfort or symptoms return.
Reintroduce Dairy Slowly: Lactose can be difficult to digest for some people post-illness, so it should be added back into your diet with caution.
Support Gut Health: Once tolerated, consider incorporating probiotics from yogurt or other sources to help restore beneficial gut bacteria.

Rehydrate First, Eat Later

Your top priority after a stomach bug is replacing lost fluids and electrolytes, not eating solid foods. Your digestive system needs a rest. Start with small, frequent sips of clear liquids once vomiting has stopped for a few hours. A slow approach prevents overwhelming your sensitive stomach.

The Importance of Electrolytes

Electrolytes are crucial minerals like sodium and potassium that your body loses during a stomach bug. Replenishing them is vital for recovery. While plain water is essential, it won't replace lost electrolytes on its own.

Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS): Commercial products like Pedialyte or Gastrolyte are formulated with the ideal balance of sugars and salts to promote fluid absorption.
Clear Broths: Chicken or vegetable broths are excellent sources of sodium and are gentle on the stomach.
Diluted Juices: Small sips of diluted apple juice can provide fluids and some energy. Avoid sugary juices that can worsen diarrhea.

The BRAT Diet and Beyond

After successfully tolerating clear fluids for several hours, you can slowly reintroduce solid foods, starting with very bland, low-fiber options. The classic BRAT diet serves as a good starting point, though modern advice encourages a slightly more varied diet sooner rather than later.

Gentle, Easy-to-Digest Foods

Bananas: High in potassium, which is often lost during vomiting and diarrhea. They are also easy to digest and can help bind stool.
Rice: Plain, white rice is low in fiber and provides a simple carbohydrate source for energy.
Applesauce: A gentle source of carbohydrates and pectin, a type of soluble fiber that can aid digestion. Choose unsweetened varieties to avoid excess sugar.
Toast: White toast is a simple, low-fiber carbohydrate source. Saltine crackers are another gentle option.

Expanding Your Bland Diet

Once the initial BRAT-stage foods are tolerated, you can add other soft, easy-to-digest items.

Cooked Cereals: Cream of wheat or oatmeal are good options, provided they are not high in fiber.
Boiled or Mashed Potatoes: A simple carbohydrate that is easy on the stomach.
Lean Proteins: Baked or broiled skinless chicken, turkey, or fish can help rebuild strength.
Scrambled Eggs: Another soft, protein-rich food that is often well-tolerated.
Soothing Teas: Ginger or peppermint tea can help ease nausea.

Foods and Drinks to Avoid

Until your digestive system is fully recovered, certain foods and beverages can irritate the stomach and prolong symptoms.

Fatty and Greasy Foods: Fried foods, pizza, and rich sauces are difficult to digest and can aggravate the gut.
Spicy Foods: High-seasoning foods can irritate the stomach lining and cause more discomfort.
High-Fiber Foods: While healthy normally, too much insoluble fiber (found in raw vegetables and whole grains) can be tough to process initially.
Dairy Products: Lactose can be hard to digest for some people after a stomach bug and should be reintroduced slowly.
Caffeine and Alcohol: Both can act as diuretics and further dehydrate you.
Sugary Foods and Drinks: Excess sugar can draw water into the intestines, worsening diarrhea.

Comparison of Recovery Diet Stages

This table illustrates the transition from immediate rehydration to a more normal diet.


Stage	Key Focus	Example Foods and Drinks
Stage 1: Hydration	Replenish fluids and electrolytes. Give your stomach a rest.	Clear broths, Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS), ice chips, diluted apple juice.
Stage 2: Bland Foods	Introduce simple, easy-to-digest foods in small portions.	Bananas, white rice, applesauce, white toast, saltine crackers, scrambled eggs.
Stage 3: Reintroduction	Gradually add more variety, incorporating lean proteins and cooked vegetables.	Boiled chicken, cooked carrots, steamed fish, plain yogurt (if tolerated).
Stage 4: Normal Diet	Return to your regular, balanced eating habits.	Introduce raw vegetables, high-fiber grains, and lean dairy as tolerated.

Listening to Your Body for the Return to Normalcy

Recovery is a personal process, and listening to your body is the most important step. The gradual reintroduction of food allows you to gauge what your stomach can tolerate. If nausea, cramping, or diarrhea return after eating a new food, revert to the previous, gentler stage for a while longer. Most people feel better and can return to their normal diet within a week, but the timeline can vary. Patience is key to a full recovery, ensuring your digestive system has sufficient time to heal and strengthen.

Conclusion

Navigating your diet after a stomach bug requires a measured, gentle approach. Prioritize rehydration first, followed by a gradual reintroduction of bland, easy-to-digest foods like those found in the BRAT diet and beyond. Be sure to avoid fatty, spicy, and sugary items that can irritate your healing gut. By listening to your body and taking it slow, you can support your digestive system's recovery and get back to your regular routine without setback.

For more detailed information on viral gastroenteritis treatment and nutrition, consult resources from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Frequently Asked Questions

The most important first step is to focus on rehydration. Sip small amounts of clear fluids like water, electrolyte solutions, or broth to replenish fluids and electrolytes lost from vomiting and diarrhea.

The BRAT diet stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. While it was once a standard recommendation, modern advice suggests expanding beyond these foods to a more varied bland diet sooner, as the BRAT diet lacks essential nutrients.

Wait until you can tolerate clear liquids for several hours without vomiting. Start with very small portions of bland, low-fiber foods and eat slowly.

It is often wise to avoid dairy initially, as the lactose can be hard to digest and may worsen symptoms for some people. Reintroduce it slowly and see how your body reacts.

Avoid fatty, greasy, spicy, high-sugar, and high-fiber foods. Also, steer clear of caffeine and alcohol, as they can irritate your stomach and cause dehydration.

Yes, some herbal teas, particularly ginger and peppermint, can be very soothing for an upset stomach and can help reduce nausea.

Eating smaller, more frequent meals is recommended. This prevents overloading your digestive system and makes the process of reintroducing food easier on your body.