"That made me sick to my stomach" - most people know this sentence. Whether in connection with an upsetting event or in relation to the consumption of spoiled food. But it also shows that the stomach can easily be upset. This is particularly uncomfortable. What can bring relief? For example, a stomach-friendly diet.
With a stomach-friendly diet, you prefer to eat food and dishes that are well tolerated and processed by the body (1.5). Nevertheless, it is helpful to take a closer look at your own eating habits: How big are the portions that I eat?
How much time do I take for the meal? How long do I chew? (2) In order to support you on this path, we have written a guide with the most important information on the subject of "stomach-friendly nutrition".
the essentials in brief
- A stomach-friendly diet means that you avoid foods and meals that are often difficult for the body to digest and can cause discomfort. (1.5)
- Even if you have a slightly upset stomach, you should avoid eating high-fat foods and instead opt for a low-acid, high-fiber diet. (8th)
- You can use a bland diet for mild gastrointestinal complaints (1) as well as for all functional diseases of the digestive tract. For example, this includes gastritis, diseases of the liver or diseases of the small and large intestine. (6)
Definition: what is stomach-friendly eating?
Eating that is easy on the stomach or even a light full diet means that food and dishes that experience has shown often cause symptoms or intolerances are avoided. (1,5) Because the digestive organs are relieved by this diet, gastrointestinal complaints are alleviated, which often occur after eating difficult-to-digest food and dishes. (1)
Background: What you should know about stomach-friendly food
Before we give you a few tips and tricks for stomach-friendly cooking and eating, you should acquire some background information on this topic. In the following we want to answer frequently asked questions about light diets.
What foods are easy to digest?
First of all, you are probably wondering which foods are easily digestible. We have created a table for you to give you an overview. The foods were divided into the categories of breakfast, lunch/dinner, sweets and drinks.
The golden rule: Everyone is individual and so is their tolerance of food. (7)
Food tolerance can be as individual as people are. You should therefore test the tolerance of individual foods individually. (7)
Breakfast
- Porridge (oat flakes or rice boiled with (plant-based) milk) (9)
- Light toast with some butter and jam (which contains as little sugar as possible) (9)
- finely ground whole grain bread / toasted bread (6)
- Milk, yoghurt, quark, cheese up to 45% F i. Tr. (6)
- Lean sausages, cooked ham, turkey breast (6)
- butter, oils (6)
Lunch / Dinner:
- eggs (9)
- Omelet (9)
- Soup (9)
- Sandwich with ham or tuna (9)
- Rice (cooked) (9)
- Potatoes (roast potatoes, boiled potatoes without skin, mashed potatoes) (9)
- dumplings (6)
- Noodles (6)
- Cooked vegetables (such as carrots, asparagus, courgettes, spinach, fennel, chicory, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, Chinese cabbage, fine green peas, peeled cucumbers, baby kohlrabi, beetroot) (6)
- Peeled tomatoes, lettuce (6)
- Lean meat from chicken, beef, game or pork (prepared low in fat) (6)
- Boiled, steamed or grilled fish (6)
Sweets / snacks (with as little sugar as possible):
- rice pudding (9)
- pudding (9)
- jam (9)
- creamy yoghurt (9)
- soft and ripe fruit, compote (6) (e.g. ripe bananas (9))
Beverages:
- Tea (6) (TIP: Prepare tea from medicinal plants (3))
- low-carbonated mineral water (6)
- low-acid fruit juices (6)
Which foods should be avoided?
So that you not only know which foods and dishes are easy to digest, the following is a small overview of foods that you should avoid. These foods are usually more difficult to digest. (5) This makes it easier for you to protect your stomach if it is a little upset.
| Type | Foods to Avoid (5.6) |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Fresh bread and fresh, fatty and sweet baked goods as well as coarse wholemeal bread / high-fat, smoked meat, sausage and fish products / full-fat dairy products / hard-boiled eggs and fatty egg dishes as well as mayonnaise |
| lunch / dinner | Food that is too hot or too cold / high-fat broths, soups, sauces / large amounts of spreadable and cooking fat / fried, roasted, deep-fried foods / difficult to digest, flatulent vegetables and high-fat preparations (e.g. white cabbage, kale, raw peppers, mushrooms) / sauerkraut, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, cabbage salads / cucumber salad / legumes |
| Snacks / Sweets | Unripe fruit, stone fruit, nuts, almonds, pistachios / avocados / high-fat sweets |
| Spices | Larger amounts of hot spices as well as onion/garlic powder |
| beverages | Any form of alcohol, carbonated drinks, iced drinks / coffee beans |
If you notice that your stomach is not doing so well and is slightly upset, you should avoid high-fat foods in particular. Instead, we recommend a low-acid, high-fiber diet to protect your stomach. (8th)
What diseases can bland food help with?
A bland diet, also known as a light full diet, can relieve pain and protect the stomach in all functional diseases of the digestive tract . This includes, for example, gastritis, inflammation of the esophagus, ulcers in the stomach and duodenum, and liver diseases.
Finally, this also includes inflammation of the bile duct and gallbladder, gallstones, chronic inflammation of the pancreas and diseases of the small and large intestine . (6)
Which bland foods help with diarrhea?
If you suffer from diarrhea , it is particularly important that you drink enough. That should be between two and three liters a day. You can also use tea here. Suitable types of tea are black tea, green tea, chamomile tea, fennel tea or caraway tea. (11)
It is also advisable to start with a slow diet build-up. Here you can cook with porridge (preferably oat flakes / rice in water and add some salt to taste). A diet rich in pectin is also recommended. This includes, for example, carrot soup (peel 500g carrots, cut into small pieces and boil in one liter of water for 60-90 minutes. Then puree and season with salt) or grated apple (divide into several portions). (11)
Porridge is a very stomach-friendly dish. Combined with some stomach-friendly fruit such as a ripe banana, it makes a sweet and delicious breakfast. (Image source: Melissa Belanger / unsplash)
Depending on your tolerance, you also have the option of adding other foods. (11) These include:
- Rusks, toasted white bread, white rolls, crispbread
- Banana / blueberry compote
- Boiled white rice, boiled noodles, mashed potatoes (prepared with water)
- Low-fat clear vegetable or meat broth
- Easily digestible cooked vegetables (eg, carrots, fennel, spinach, zucchini, celery, squash, asparagus)
- Still or slightly carbonated water
- jam / jelly / compote
- boiled / stewed low-fat meat or fish
- biscuits
- cottage cheese / yoghurt
- butter / margarine
- Low-fat sausages (e.g. cooked ham / turkey breast / poultry sausage)
- Cheese up to 45% fat in drops
Another tip: psyllium and wheat bran have a swelling effect and can thus thicken / form liquid stool. You can simply mix them into your dishes or combine them.
Which stomach-friendly food is suitable for children?
In addition to adults, children can sometimes have an upset stomach. Here, too, it makes sense to switch to a light diet if you are slightly upset.
Stomach upsets are just as uncomfortable for children as they are for adults. So that the pain is relieved and the child's stomach can recover quickly, a stomach-friendly diet makes sense here too. (Image source: michael podger / unsplash)
In the following we have created a table with foods that are well tolerated by children. This should give you a small overview. (10)
| category | Groceries |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Rusks / toasted white bread or rolls (if tolerated: with jam) |
| lunch / dinner | cooked carrots / vegetables such as B. Broccoli or cauliflower / mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes (prepared without butter / milk) |
| Snacks / Sweets | Pretzels / pretzel sticks / grated apple (with peel) or banana / low-fat natural yoghurt |
Finally, it is important to know which foods children should avoid if they have an upset stomach. Here, too, we have created a table for you to give you an overview. (10)
| category | Groceries |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Sausage cheese |
| lunch / dinner | legumes such as B. beans, peas, lentils / fast food such. B. French fries, hamburgers, doner kebabs |
| Snacks / Sweets | Candy/chips, peanut chips/fruit, stone fruit e.g. B. peaches, tangerines, oranges or cherries |
| beverages | milk / cocoa / fruit juices |
It is also important for food and meals for children that they are cooked without fat or are not particularly greasy. (10)
Cooking and eating that is easy on the stomach: 5 tips & tricks for a comfortable stomach
There are a few things to consider when preparing stomach-friendly food and dishes. In the following we want to explain the most important tips and tricks for stomach-friendly cooking and eating and give you a few recipe ideas to take with you.
The cooking of food
If you want to prepare the meals in a way that is easy on the stomach, you should take particular care to cook the food. This means you can steam, stew or blanch the food.
By cooking food, you preserve the ingredients in the food and also improve its digestibility. (7)
Raw vegetables should be strictly avoided as they are particularly difficult for the body to digest. The best way to eat fruit is in the form of compote or mash. With oatmeal or other cereals, it makes sense that you soak them beforehand. You can also use cooked vegetables to make soups or puree. (7)
use of spices
Both herbs and spices not only contain various micronutrients, but also many health-promoting substances. (7)
Avoid hot spices if you have an upset stomach. These can be difficult to tolerate. (6.7)
These include, for example, chili, paprika, pepper or curry. Garlic, wild garlic, horseradish and chives can also be difficult to digest in large quantities. But that doesn't mean that you can't still prepare the food tasty. Particularly
Caraway, anise, fennel, dill, parsley and mint increase the tolerability of vegetables with a lot of fiber. (7)
use of sugar
You can consume sugar, but you should keep it in small amounts. (6.12"> This includes sugar itself, glucose and sweetener. (12) You should also only eat small amounts of jam, jelly and honey. (12)
Especially if the stomach is a bit upset, the sugar should be reduced in a stomach-friendly diet so that the stomach has the chance to rest and recover. (Image source: Joanna Kosinska / unsplash)
No matter how good they taste, you should avoid sweets such as B. Eat chocolate or gummy bears only in small amounts to protect your stomach (6.12">.
Small meals
So that your stomach continues to be spared and can process the food as well as possible, it is advantageous if you eat several small meals throughout the day. It also helps your body enormously in processing food if you take enough time to eat.
Finally, it is also important that you chew thoroughly. The more thoroughly you chew, the easier it is on your stomach. (6,12"> In order to make it as comfortable as possible not only for your body but also for you, it helps if you make your meals balanced and varied (12) You should eat unfamiliar dishes in small quantities in order to to check their compatibility (6)
recipe ideas
In order to not only give you information about the types of foods that you can enjoy or should avoid, we have listed a few recipe ideas for you below.
- Breakfast: Porridge is available in a wide variety of variations.
- Lunch / Dinner: A possible recipe for a lunch or dinner would be e.g. B. a potato and carrot soup. Another idea might be a sweet potato and zucchini stew.
Hopefully we were able to give you some concrete ideas for breakfast as well as lunch/dinner. This brief overview is intended to give you an easier introduction to stomach-friendly nutrition.
Conclusion
It's easy to get an upset stomach. Whether it's a slight upset caused by eating the wrong food, for example, a stomach flu or a disease of the stomach / intestines. However, it is unpleasant for one's own feelings. A gentle diet is particularly helpful in protecting the irritated stomach / intestines.
With a stomach-friendly diet, you should particularly avoid high-fat and fatty-prepared foods and meals and rather opt for a low-acid and high-fiber diet. (8) However, it is important that you test the tolerance of the food individually. (7) An advantage of the stomach-friendly diet is that you can conjure up a delicious meal with simple ingredients.
Individual proofs(12)
- German Society for Nutrition eV Balanced nutrition despite gastrointestinal complaints. 2013
- Technicians' Health Insurance. irritable stomach and irritable bowel syndrome. 2014;2-40
- dr Nicole Schaenzler. Treat your stomach and intestines naturally. 2016:34-85
- Biller-Nagel G., Schäfer, C. Tummy flatterers for intestinal diseases - Eating that helps digestion. 2012
- S. Ohlrich-Hahn, D. Buchholz, D. Wewerker-Kreimel, S. Ramminger, L. Valentini . 2017. Current Nutritional Medicine 42:100-109.
- Institute for Nutritional Medicine. Light foods. 2016
- Specialist Society for Nutritional Therapy and Prevention (FETeV). Update: Adapted full diet (formerly light full diet). 2020
- Göbel S. Feeding gently on the stomach. 2016
- University Hospitals Birmingham. Following a light diet after gastrointestinal surgery. 2019
- Steinmacher J. Gastrointestinal flu. 2013
- Institute for Nutritional Medicine. Diet build-up in case of diarrhea. 2016
- University of Fulda. Information sheet for the adapted full diet (LEKuP). 2020
