Recovery Foods for Stomach Bugs | Centers Health Care (2024)

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Recovery Foods for Stomach Bugs | Centers Health Care? ›

Focus on drinking in small amounts of liquid frequently to stay hydrated. Ease back into eating. After you can tolerate drinking clear fluids, start eating smaller meals of bland, low-residual foods, such as mashed potatoes, plain noodles, crackers, toast, gelatin, bananas, rice and chicken.

Focus on drinking in small amounts of liquid frequently to stay hydrated. Ease back into eating. After you can tolerate drinking clear fluids, start eating smaller meals of bland, low-residual foods, such as mashed potatoes, plain noodles, crackers, toast, gelatin, bananas, rice and chicken.

There's no medicine for stomach flu. Antibiotics don't work on viruses — they're for bacterial infections. The best thing you can do to help your immune system do its work is to stay home and rest, stay hydrated and eat a little if you can. Give your body the energy it needs to fight the infection.

The most important thing to do is to rest the stomach and intestine. You can do this by not eating solid food for a while and drinking only clear liquids. As your symptoms go away, you can start eating soft bland foods that are easy to digest.

Bland foods like plain, boiled potatoes are great options when you have the stomach flu. Plain potatoes are soft, low in fat, and made up of easily digestible starches. They're also loaded with potassium, one of the primary electrolytes lost from vomiting and diarrhea.

What are some foods that are recommended to eat when you have diarrhea? The list includes simple foods like oatmeal, bananas, plain rice, applesauce, boiled potatoes, toast, plain crackers, pretzels, and baked chicken without skin or fat.

Once a healthcare provider diagnoses your bacterial gastroenteritis, it is easy to treat. Antibiotics work to cure some forms of bacterial gastroenteritis within a few days. You may need additional treatment to replace the fluids and electrolytes in your body. This will depend on the severity of your illness.

In case you are suffering from stomach flu, we advise you to avoid fatty foods. Go for low-fat dairy products such as low-fat milk, yogurt, etc. which might be soothing. Eggs are a great source of protein and provide energy which is often drained due to viral gastroenteritis.

How long does it take for digestion to return to normal after stomach bug? ›

Stomach bug and food poisoning symptoms can come and go as quickly as a couple of days, but they can also linger for several days to even weeks. As you start to improve, you can incorporate more and more foods back into your diet — making sure to monitor how they're making you feel.

Eggs: The protein in eggs provides important nutrition to the body and may be easier on the stomach than red meat or chicken.

So it seems that whether symptoms were bought on by eating contaminated food, or simply through contact with a person suffering with a stomach virus, Saccharomyces boulardii is the best probiotic for upset stomach. Another probiotic strain which could be of note here is Lactobacillus paracasei CASEI 431^®.

A bland diet would include small, frequent amounts of easy-to-digest foods, such as plain toast, crackers, rice, bananas, applesauce, clear broths, lean proteins, and starchy foods. Avoid fatty, sugary, and spicy foods that can irritate the stomach and may worsen symptoms.

The banana, rice, applesauce, and toast (BRAT) diet may help treat diarrhea, stomach flu, and other stomach complaints. However, many health professionals no longer recommend it due to the risk of nutrient and calorie deficiencies.

If you have an upset stomach, you may or may not consume eggs depending on your symptoms. If you have diarrhea, consuming eggs may provide relief. You may consume scrambled or boiled eggs that may slow bowel movements and provide relief from frequent trips to the bathroom.

After a week or so: You should be back to your normal diet

Knowing what you can and can't eat after a stomach bug or food poisoning (as well as when) is pretty personalized, but the guide above can help you ease back into things without overdoing it.

Probiotics: Lactobacillus casei GG and S boulardii may be helpful in some cases of viral gastroenteritis and can help with watery diarrhea. Yogurt often contains these probiotics. Choose low-fat or fat-free yogurt, if you can tolerate dairy products.