Gentle Diet for Stomach & Intestines

A gentle diet means easy-to-digest, wholesome nutrition that nurtures and soothes the stomach and intestines, minimizing any stress on the digestive system. This stomach-friendly diet helps relieve digestive discomforts like nausea, flatulence, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

It is also widely used in supporting treatment for inflammation-related conditions such as gastritis, intestinal inflammation, Leaky Gut Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Crohn’s disease. Among the most popular gentle diet staples is nourishing Bone Broth.

What is a Gentle Diet?

A gentle diet consists of light, easy-to-digest foods that help protect and support your stomach and intestines. The official term used by the German Nutrition Society is ‘light balanced diet.’

With a light or easy balanced diet, you focus on wholesome, easily digestible foods that help relieve your stomach and intestines. Additionally, any foods that you do not tolerate well are avoided. This light diet is tailored individually, but the key basic principles apply to everyone.

When should I eat a light diet?

If you’re experiencing stomach or intestinal issues, switching to a light diet can provide relief. You should definitely consult a doctor about your problems first. A bland diet can help relieve symptoms in various conditions and is therefore often incorporated into treatment plans by doctors and naturopaths. Typical digestive complaints where a bland diet can be beneficial include:

Heartburn
Flatulence
Gastritis
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Crohn’s Disease
Ulcerative Colitis
Gastric mucosal inflammation
Intestinal inflammation
and more.

Bland Diet for Digestive Health

A bland diet can also provide relief for acute symptoms like diarrhea or vomiting caused by gastroenteritis. To give your stomach and intestines a gentle reset, you can temporarily pause eating and focus on drinking plenty of fluids—ideally boiled water, herbal tea, and nourishing broth. Once you start feeling a little better, you can slowly introduce easily digestible foods such as rusk or oatmeal, then gradually transition to a gentle bland diet.

Bland Diet for Diarrhea

Following a bland diet can be very helpful in regaining control over diarrhea. A well-known home remedy for diarrhea is eating peeled, grated apple and sipping on restorative bone broth. Bone broth supplies easily digestible minerals that your body needs, especially since diarrhea causes a loss of fluids and electrolytes.

Bone Broth Concentrate (440g)

44 servings in one jar
Organic quality & Pasture-raised
Allergen-free

Order here

Foods Suitable for a Gentle Diet

A gentle diet doesn’t have to be boring—there are many easily digestible foods that soothe and protect the digestive tract. Among the most important are:

Lightly cooked vegetables: carrots, zucchini, broccoli, kohlrabi, pumpkin, cauliflower, fennel, parsnip
Ripe fruit: for example, apple, pear, banana, red berries
Grains: oat flakes, potatoes, pasta, rice, rusk, bread without seeds
Broth: Beef bone broth, Chicken bone broth, Veal bone broth, Vegetable broth
Dairy products: low-fat yogurt, kefir, mild low-fat cheese
Meat/Fish: lean meats, cooked ham, poultry ham, low-fat fish such as cod

Why include bone broth during a rest diet?

Bone broth offers numerous benefits during a rest diet. Being liquid, it is naturally very easy on the stomach and gentle to digest. Moreover, liquid nourishment eases the workload on your intestines. For instance, a 3-5 day fast with bone broth can help cleanse the digestive system. In addition, bone broth supplies essential minerals, amino acids such as glycine and glutamine, and collagen, all of which can support anti-inflammatory processes in the body. Inflammation is often a common cause of digestive issues like gastritis, leaky gut, or irritable bowel syndrome.

How long should I stick to a bland diet?

You should follow the bland diet for as long as needed, for example, until your digestive problems have improved. If symptoms persist, be sure to consult a doctor.

“I recommend bone broth to my patients dealing with gastrointestinal conditions and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases such as leaky gut or Crohn’s disease.” - Dr. med. Birgit Gergelify (Physician for Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Rheumatology, and Nutritional Medicine)

Our bone broths—perfect for your bland diet