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Nutrition and diet in food poisoning

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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The digestive system is mainly affected by food poisoning, so a diet for food poisoning is the second most important measure to help cope with intoxication. In first place, of course, is the neutralization of symptoms and detoxification measures.

As a rule, under the influence of toxins, the entire mucous zone of the gastrointestinal tract becomes inflamed, since it is irritated by both vomiting and diarrhea. Accordingly, a diet for food poisoning should be aimed at restoring the irritated walls of the intestines, stomach, and larynx. The first rule of the diet is to drink plenty of fluids, the water should be at room temperature. It is best if the patient is given pharmacy salt preparations to drink - Gastrolit, Regidron or table mineral water without gas. Starting literally with one tablespoon, fluid intake is gradually increased to one glass every 1-1.5 hours. Any food is excluded in the first day after poisoning. Starting from the second day, you can give the patient 150-200 ml of liquid vegetable broth. The daily food intake is as follows:

  1. Day two – 150-200 ml of broth in three doses, 2 croutons, 1.5-2 liters of liquid, vegetable liquid puree (100 ml).
  2. Day three - liquid rice porridge in water - 250-300 grams, 2-4 crackers per day, 150-200 ml of vegetable broth, 3-4 biscuits.
  3. Day four - vegetable casserole without eggs (on semolina) - 200 grams, chicken broth - 150 ml, 3-5 croutons, 4-6 biscuits, 100 grams of boiled fish in the form of a cutlet.
  4. Day five – 250-400 ml of broth (chicken) with meatballs, boiled rice – 250 grams, 5-6 croutons, 250-300 grams of cottage cheese casserole (or soufflé).

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Nutrition after food poisoning

The diet after food poisoning should be as strict as possible. It is best to have a fasting period for the first two days and not eat anything at all, replacing food with plenty of fluids. Nutrition after food poisoning is a menu that excludes dairy, meat, spicy and sour dishes. Boiled mashed vegetables, vegetable lean broths, boiled porridges - rice and buckwheat, crackers, biscuits - that's probably all that will help the digestive tract to recover faster. The famous diet No. 5 according to Pevzner also copes well with food problems and promotes the fastest recovery of the liver, gallbladder and intestines. It should be taken into account that portions should be small and gradually increased every day. The diet should be fractional - from 5 to 7 times a day.

Nutrition after food poisoning involves eating the following foods:

  • Vegetable puree soups.
  • Boiled minced meat in the form of steamed cutlets.
  • Boiled minced fish in the form of steamed cutlets.
  • Baked cottage cheese – soufflé, casseroles, puddings.
  • Porridges on water (rice, buckwheat).
  • Crackers.
  • Dry biscuits.
  • Boiled or baked vegetables.
  • Still mineral table water.
  • Green tea.
  • Dill decoction.
  • Baked or boiled fruits (not sour) – apples, pears, quince.
  • Chamomile decoction with honey.
  • Rosehip decoction with honey.

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What can you eat if you have food poisoning?

In case of food poisoning, any food is strictly contraindicated on the first day of illness. Firstly, the irritated stomach will most likely not accept the food, and secondly, food products are a factor that provokes additional discomfort. Therefore, the only answer to the question - what can you eat with food poisoning - is nothing. Starting from the second day, perhaps only on the third, the use of a minimum amount of dietary products is allowed. Any dairy, meat, fish food is excluded.

Allowed It is prohibited

Homemade rusks, dry biscuit lean cookies

Lenten vegetable soups, soups with rice

Starting from the fourth day, you can eat poultry meatballs, steamed veal cutlets, and meat soufflés.

Starting from the fourth day, you can eat boiled lean fish, preferably boiled fish cutlets.

Starting from the fifth day, you can eat cottage cheese casserole, cottage cheese soufflé

Boiled, mashed vegetables

Rice broth, from the third day boiled rice, buckwheat

On the fifth day you can eat a steamed egg omelette

Fruit jelly, starting from the third day, green tea, raisin and rosehip decoction

Fresh bread, biscuits, pies and so on

Meat broths, poultry broths, bone broths, milk soups

Sausage – boiled, smoked.

Fried meat, cutlets, fried patties, lard

Fried fish, smoked, dried, salted fish, caviar and milt, canned food are strictly prohibited

Milk, even boiled, yogurts, kefir

Raw vegetables, fruits

Millet, pearl barley, oatmeal

Eggs fried, hard-boiled, soft-boiled

Sour or overly sweet compotes, canned compotes

What to drink if you have food poisoning?

In case of food poisoning, one of the rules is no food, but a drinking regime is simply necessary. Drinking plenty of fluids saves the victim from dehydration and hypovolemic shock. In addition to the fact that the liquid you drink replenishes the losses from diarrhea and vomiting, it helps to flush the digestive tract and quickly remove intoxication products from the body. The following recommendations will help you decide on the issue of how and what to drink in case of food poisoning:

  1. You need to drink in small sips so that your already irritated stomach can absorb the liquid.
  2. You need to drink regularly - every hour and a half, throughout the day.
  3. A single dose of liquid is at least 200 milliliters.
  4. It is best to replenish fluid loss with pharmaceutical drugs such as Regidron, which normalizes the electrolyte and salt balance.
  5. As an alternative to Regidron, a solution will do: ½ tablespoon of salt, one and a half tablespoons of sugar per 1 liter of water. The proportion can be changed to increase the salt.
  6. You can also drink plain water, but it must be either boiled or purified.
  7. An effective and healthy choice would be still mineral table water.
  8. As a drink, you can prepare a dill decoction: 1 teaspoon of seeds or chopped dill greens per 1 liter of water. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes, leave it for 15 minutes, cool it and drink in small sips. The decoction should be weak, unsaturated.

Tea, even healthy tea - green, rosehip, raisin, chamomile and so on, should not be drunk on the first day of food poisoning. These drink options are good for consumption on the second and third day, after the symptoms of acute poisoning subside.

Thus, the diet for food poisoning should be as gentle as possible, meals should be small, and drinking should be plentiful.

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