Food
Rice Water
The starchy water left from cooking or soaking rice - a simple traditional drink for settling loose stools and a soothing rinse for irritated skin.
📊 How it ranks (our editor score) — 84/100Tap to see the breakdown
👶 Safe for children?
This remedy carries age-related cautions. Please read them before giving it to a child, and check with your pediatrician or pharmacist first.
- Rice water helps firm stools but does not replace proper rehydration - for diarrhea, especially in children, use oral rehydration solution and seek care for dehydration.
🌱 What it is
Rice water is the cloudy liquid left behind after rice has been boiled or soaked. Rich in starch washed out of the grain, it has long been used as a gentle home remedy for both drinking and skin care.
✨ Why it's good for you
- Traditionally used to help settle loose stools as a mild, starchy drink
- May help support gentle hydration alongside other fluids
- Traditionally used as a soothing rinse for irritated skin
- May help support comfort for an unsettled stomach
🥗 Nutrition
Per 1 cup (240 ml), home-prepared · about 15 calories
- Mostly water
- Carbohydrate (trace, from dissolved starch) ~3 g
- Trace minerals from rice
🥄 How to use it
Save the cloudy water from cooking or rinsing rice; sip it (lightly salted) to settle the stomach, or use it cooled as a gentle skin rinse.
How much: Sip about 1/2 to 1 cup of strained rice water (with a small pinch of salt) several times a day to help settle loose stools, alongside proper fluids; for skin, pat cooled rice water on with a cloth.
Show full details & how to prepare it
Rice water is exactly what it sounds like - the mild, starchy liquid left after cooking rice, or from soaking and rinsing it. For generations and across many cultures it has been a first, gentle answer to an upset, loose stomach, because the soft starch helps bind and firm the stools while the liquid replaces some lost fluid.
The same gentle starch makes it a traditional skin comfort. Cooled rice water, patted onto irritated, itchy skin or used as a final rinse, can feel calming on eczema flares and simple rashes, leaving a soft, soothed surface.
The one thing to remember is what rice water is not: it is not a substitute for real rehydration. With diarrhea - above all in children - the priority is replacing fluids and salts properly, and seeking care if signs of dehydration appear. As a soothing helper within that, rice water is simple, kind, and almost free.
Ways to prepare it
⚠️ Cautions
- Rice water helps firm stools but does not replace proper rehydration - for diarrhea, especially in children, use oral rehydration solution and seek care for dehydration.
- Use rice from a trusted source and vary grains over time, since rice can carry traces of arsenic.
- Make it fresh and keep it refrigerated, as starchy water spoils quickly.
📚 What others say
- A traditional remedy for loose stools across many cultures
- Used as a gentle skin rinse in folk skincare
Learn more
🕊️ A word of encouragement
Sometimes the humblest things bring the most comfort. May you be gentle with yourself today, trusting that small, steady care adds up.
💬 Ask Remy about Rice Water
📚 Resource confidence
Based on mentions in health references
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