BRAT Diet: What It Is, USDA Nutrition and What Doctors Advise Now

The BRAT diet is a short list of plain, low-fiber foods (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast) that people have long eaten during a stomach bug. It is easy on the stomach, but it is not complete nutrition: USDA data show the four foods together supply very little protein or fat. The American Academy of Pediatrics now says the BRAT diet is no longer considered useful for children, and current guidance for most people is to keep drinking fluids and return to a normal diet as soon as you feel like eating. Here is what the BRAT diet is, what the foods actually provide, and when symptoms need a clinician.

Peptide Labs does not sell food or medical products for stomach illness. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice. If a clinician has given you specific diet instructions, follow those.

What is the BRAT diet?

BRAT is a memory aid for four foods: bananas, white rice, applesauce and white toast. The idea behind it is simple. These foods are soft, bland and low in fiber and fat, so they are easy to eat when your appetite is poor, and they are unlikely to add extra work for an upset gut. Bananas also add some potassium, a mineral lost through diarrhea and vomiting. It is a folk shorthand rather than an official medical diet with set rules.

For decades, parents were told to give children only these foods after a stomach bug. That advice has changed, mainly because the list is so narrow. The table below shows why.

BRAT diet foods: USDA nutrition per serving

Values come from the USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy database, with FDC IDs in brackets. The percent Daily Value (%DV) uses the FDA Daily Values printed on Nutrition Facts labels.

Added together, a banana, a cup of rice, a cup of applesauce and two slices of toast come to about 540 calories, 10 grams of protein (20% of the Daily Value) and under 3 grams of fat. That is not a recommended menu, just a way to see the gap: the BRAT foods are mostly starch and sugar, with almost no protein, fat, calcium or vitamin B12. Eaten for a day while appetite is low, that may not matter much. Stretched over several days, especially for a growing child, it can mean missing nutrition the body needs while it recovers. Bananas are one of the more useful items for potassium; our list of potassium-rich foods shows others, such as potatoes.

What official sources say about the BRAT diet now

• CDC (2003): a CDC report on managing acute gastroenteritis in children (King and colleagues, MMWR) said the BRAT diet is unnecessarily restrictive and, like juice-centered diets, can provide suboptimal nutrition. It recommended age-appropriate, unrestricted diets including complex carbohydrates, meats, yogurt, fruits and vegetables, and said withholding food for more than 24 hours is inappropriate.
• American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org, 2021): children can ideally resume a normal, well-balanced diet appropriate for their age within 24 hours of getting sick, and the BRAT diet is no longer considered useful.
• American Family Physician (2014): a review of acute diarrhea in adults (Barr and Smith) noted that the BRAT diet and avoiding dairy are commonly recommended, but supporting data are limited, and that going without solid food for 24 hours does not appear useful.
• NIDDK (2024): the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases says that in most cases you can eat your normal diet once you feel like eating, and does not mention the BRAT diet at all.

In short, the BRAT foods are fine to eat, but there is little evidence that limiting yourself to them helps, and good reasons to widen the menu as soon as you can.

The BRAT diet for kids

Children are where the advice has shifted most. The AAP and the CDC report both favor getting a child back to their usual age-appropriate diet quickly, while keeping up fluids. Infants should keep getting breast milk or formula, according to NIDDK. The CDC report also advised avoiding large amounts of sugary drinks such as soda, juice and gelatin desserts, because a heavy sugar load might make diarrhea worse, and the AAP suggests limiting juice and sweetened drinks. A pediatrician may suggest a commercial oral rehydration solution; the AAP advises against homemade versions. Check with the pediatrician before giving a child any medicine for diarrhea.

The BRAT diet for adults

Adults with a short bout of diarrhea or nausea often start with BRAT-style foods because that is what they can face. That is reasonable for a meal or two. MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine’s consumer site, lists a wider set of foods that are usually well tolerated during diarrhea: baked or broiled chicken, turkey, fish or lean meat, cooked eggs, pasta, white rice, cream of wheat, oatmeal, cooked carrots, green beans and peeled zucchini, plus bananas and potatoes for potassium. Our guide to the bland diet covers a similar, broader eating pattern that clinicians sometimes suggest.

Foods and drinks people often limit for a while

• Alcohol and drinks with caffeine (NIDDK, MedlinePlus).
• Foods and drinks with a lot of simple sugar, and sugar-free products made with sugar alcohols, which can loosen stools (NIDDK).
• Fried, greasy and high-fat foods (NIDDK, MedlinePlus).
• Milk products with lactose, if they seem to make symptoms worse (NIDDK).
• Gas-producing foods such as beans, broccoli and carbonated drinks (MedlinePlus).

If you take a GLP-1 medicine and stomach upset is a side effect, see our guides to diarrhea on GLP-1 medicines and nausea on GLP-1 medicines, and talk to your prescriber rather than changing your medicine on your own.

Fluids matter more than food

The bigger risk during diarrhea or vomiting is losing water and salts, not missing a few meals. The 2014 American Family Physician review calls rehydration, preferably by mouth, the first step. Oral rehydration solutions combine water, salts and a small amount of sugar in a balance designed to be absorbed well; our electrolytes guide explains how they differ from sports drinks. Sip small amounts often if you are nauseated, and follow the package directions or your clinician’s advice for how much to drink.

When to call a clinician

NIDDK, MedlinePlus and the AAP list these warning signs. Get medical care promptly if any apply.

• Signs of dehydration: extreme thirst or dry mouth, urinating less than usual, dark urine, dizziness or lightheadedness, or unusual tiredness.
• In infants and young children: no wet diapers for 3 hours or more, no tears when crying, a sunken soft spot on the head, or drowsiness.
• Blood in the stool, or black, tarry stools.
• A high fever, or any fever in an infant.
• Severe belly or rectal pain, or a swollen belly.
• Diarrhea lasting more than 2 days in an adult or more than a day in a child, or six or more loose stools a day in an adult.
• Vomiting that keeps you from holding down fluids.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Short-term diets like this one should follow your clinician’s own instructions, especially for children, older adults, during pregnancy, or if you take medicines or live with a digestive condition. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Bland Diet: Food List, Foods to Avoid and USDA Nutrition, Electrolytes: What They Do, Who Needs Them and How to Read Labels, Ozempic Nausea: How Long It Lasts and What Helps.