Skip to content
Browser Tools

Diarrhoea Diet Plan

Replace lost fluid with ORS, keep eating small bland meals, and ease back to normal food over a few days. Get a day-by-day plan with portions, desi and Western options, and the warning signs that need a doctor. Free, no sign-up, and it runs in your browser: your health details are never sent anywhere.

General guidance based on public guidelines, not a personal prescription. Check with your doctor or a registered dietitian, especially if you take medicines or have more than one condition.

1. Choose a condition

2. About you

Your plan

Diarrhoea (short-term, adults)

With acute diarrhoea the first job is replacing lost fluid and salts: sip oral rehydration solution (ORS) and keep eating small, plain meals. Starving the gut isn't needed and slows recovery. Most adults are back to normal food within 1–3 days. This plan is for adults; children need ORS, zinc and a doctor's advice.

  • This plan is for adults with short-term diarrhoea. If it lasts more than 2 days, you see blood, or you can't keep fluids down, see a doctor. Children and babies need ORS, zinc and medical advice.

Daily targets

Calories

1,880 kcal

Maintenance ≈ 1,884

Carbohydrate

259 g

55% of calories

Protein

85 g

18% of calories

Fat

56 g

27% of calories

Fibre

≥ 15 g

Sodium

≤ 2,300 mg

≈ 5.9 g salt in total

Saturated fat

≤ 21 g

Added sugar

≤ 24 g

≈ 6 tsp

  • 💧 Sip ORS through the day: about 1 cup (200–400 ml) after each loose stool, plus water, clear soups and coconut water. Keep going until urine is pale again.
  • Fibre is kept gentle for now. Once your stools are normal, build back up to 25–30 g a day.
  • ORS first: about 1 cup (200–400 ml) after each loose stool, plus other fluids through the day
  • Keep eating: small, frequent, bland meals rather than skipping food
  • Days 1–2 bland and soft; days 3–4 gentle foods; then back to your normal diet
  • Pale-yellow urine is a sign you're drinking enough

What to eat

Eat more

  • ORS from a pharmacy sachet, mixed exactly as the packet says (homemade only if no sachet is available)
  • Khichdi, plain rice, rice kanji (congee), curd rice, soft idli with thin moong daal
  • Dahi or yogurt with live cultures, in small bowls
  • Ripe bananas, boiled potatoes, stewed apple, plain toast, oats cooked in water
  • Clear soups, daal water, coconut water and plain water between ORS
  • Soft-cooked egg, steamed fish or chicken soup once you feel like protein

Limit

  • Milk and milky tea in large amounts (lactose can be hard to digest for a few days)
  • Raw salads, bran, whole-grain breakfast cereals and lots of beans until stools firm up
  • Very spicy curries, achaar and chilli
  • Fatty, fried and creamy food: parathas, pakoras, chips, takeaways
  • Coffee, strong chai, energy drinks

Avoid

  • Sugary drinks, fruit juice and sweetened sports drinks as your main fluid (sugar can make diarrhoea worse)
  • Sugar-free sweets and gum with sorbitol, xylitol or mannitol
  • Alcohol
  • Street food, raw or undercooked meat and eggs, unpasteurised milk

7-day meal plan

Monday · about 1,895 kcal, 299 g carbs, 54 g protein, 29 g fibre, 1,539 mg sodium

Recovery days 1–2: small bland meals, and ORS after every loose stool.

Breakfast

≈ 425 kcal

Rice idiyappam (2) with egg curry, mild

  • • 2½ rice idiyappam
  • • 1 egg
  • • 1¼ tsp oil

55 g carbs · 18 g protein · 15 g fat · 3 g fibre

Mid-morning snack

≈ 180 kcal

4 plain salted crackers with a glass of water

  • • 6 plain crackers

30 g carbs · 3 g protein · 5 g fat · 2 g fibre

Lunch

≈ 540 kcal

Baked potato with steamed carrots and courgette and a little olive oil

  • • 1½ large potatoes
  • • 2¼ cup carrots and courgette
  • • 1½ tsp olive oil

93 g carbs · 12 g protein · 14 g fat · 11 g fibre

Afternoon snack

≈ 180 kcal

Stewed apple (peeled, no sugar)

  • • 2 apples

46 g carbs · 0 g protein · 0 g fat · 4 g fibre

Dinner

≈ 570 kcal

Boiled potatoes and carrots with a boiled egg and a pinch of salt

  • • 1½ medium potatoes
  • • 1½ cup carrots
  • • 2 eggs
  • • 1½ tsp olive oil

75 g carbs · 21 g protein · 17 g fat · 9 g fibre

Shopping list for the week

Vegetables & fruit

Grains & bread

Pulses & legumes

Dairy & eggs

Meat & fish

Nuts & seeds

Oils, herbs & spices

Other

Tips

  • Make ORS with safe (boiled and cooled, or bottled) water, and make a fresh batch every 24 hours.
  • Sip slowly: small, frequent sips stay down better than big gulps, especially with nausea.
  • Wash hands with soap after the toilet and before preparing food, so others in the house don't catch it.
  • Don't take anti-diarrhoea medicines or antibiotics unless a doctor or pharmacist says they're right for you.

Easy swaps

  • Fruit juice or colaswap forORS or coconut water
  • Paratha with butterswap forPlain toast or a soft roti
  • Chicken karahiswap forChicken and rice soup
  • Milky chaiswap forThin daal water or weak black tea

When to see a doctor

  • Signs of dehydration: very little or dark urine, dizziness, a dry mouth, confusion or a fast heartbeat.
  • Blood or mucus in the stool, or black, tarry stool.
  • High fever, severe or constant belly pain, or vomiting that stops you keeping fluids down.
  • Diarrhoea lasting more than 2 days in adults (more than 24 hours if you're older or frail), or coming back often.
  • If you're pregnant, have diabetes, kidney disease or a weak immune system, have recently travelled abroad or taken antibiotics, or the person ill is a child or baby: contact a doctor early.

General guidance based on public guidelines, not a personal prescription. Check with your doctor or a registered dietitian, especially if you take medicines or have more than one condition.

Read the full guide: Diarrhea Diet: What to Eat and Avoid to Recover Fast

How to eat when you have diarrhoea

Quick answer: To eat when you have diarrhoea, start with ORS, keep eating small bland meals, skip what makes it worse and return to normal in steps.

  1. Start with ORS. Sip oral rehydration solution through the day: about a cup (200–400 ml) after each loose stool, plus water and clear soups.
  2. Keep eating small bland meals. Khichdi, plain rice, curd rice, idli with thin daal, bananas, toast, boiled potatoes and soups are easy to digest.
  3. Skip what makes it worse. Fried and fatty food, very spicy curries, sugary drinks and juice, coffee and alcohol, until your stools firm up.
  4. Return to normal in steps. After 1–2 days add cooked vegetables, eggs or chicken, then your usual meals as you improve.

Why ORS and not just water?

Diarrhoea drains water and salts (sodium and potassium) together. ORS has the right balance of salt and sugar to pull water back into the body, which plain water, juice or soft drinks can't do as well. Use pharmacy sachets mixed with safe water exactly as the packet says.

Should I stop eating?

No. Guidelines from the WHO and NHS say to keep eating as soon as you feel able. Small, plain meals give your gut the energy to repair itself; starving doesn't make diarrhoea stop sooner.

When diarrhoea needs a doctor

See a doctor urgently for signs of dehydration (very little urine, dizziness, confusion), blood or black stool, high fever, severe belly pain, vomiting that stops you drinking, or diarrhoea that lasts more than 2 days. Children, babies, older or frail adults and pregnant women should get advice early.

Frequently asked questions

What should I eat first when I have diarrhoea?

Plain, soft foods in small portions: khichdi, plain or curd rice, bananas, toast, boiled potatoes, idli or a clear soup, with ORS between meals.

Is dahi (yogurt) good for diarrhoea?

Plain dahi with live cultures is usually well tolerated and may help a little. Large glasses of milk can be harder to digest for a few days.

Can I drink juice or cola for diarrhoea?

It's better not to. Their high sugar can pull more water into the gut. Use ORS, water, clear soups or coconut water instead.

How long does diarrhoea usually last?

Most short bouts in adults settle within 2–3 days. If it lasts longer, keeps coming back, or you see blood, see a doctor.