Cucumber and Gas: What’s the Connection?
Health ConditionsDigestive Health

Why Cucumbers Might Upset Your Stomach or Cause Gas

Why Cucumbers Might Upset Your Stomach or Cause Gas
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Updated on August 7, 2025
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The list of foods that can cause gas is long — so long that you might worry there are few options left for your side dishes at dinner. Typical gassy veggies include those from the Brassica family, such as cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. Plus, green peppers, onions, and even the seemingly innocent cucumber can be culprits.

Indeed, this salad staple can cause excess gas for some people, and this can sometimes produce an odor. However, the mixture of gases and how much you produce in response to eating cucumbers depends on the makeup of bacteria in your gut.

 Read on for more about the chemical composition of cucumbers, how this affects stomach gas, and what to do if you suspect this veggie is the source of your stomach distress.

A Chemical in Cucumbers Might Cause Intestinal Gas

Digestive issues after eating cucumbers could relate to cucurbitacin sensitivity. Courtney Cary, a registered dietitian, says that cucurbitacin is a chemical compound that causes burping and gas production, and sometimes tastes bitter. "This biochemical compound is also prominent in the gourd family, such as in squashes and pumpkin," she says.

The amount of this compound can vary between cucumbers, and it mostly remains in the fruit's skin. Some companies have developed cucumbers with no cucurbitacin that are known as “burpless” cucumbers.

Cucumbers Might Interact With Other Food Sensitivities

What's worse, says Jeremy Matloff, MD, a gastroenterologist at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, "If people have other dietary sensitivities or gastrointestinal symptoms such as constipation, the consumption of cucurbitacin-containing foods can put them over the edge and lead to symptoms."

Getting to the bottom of the symptoms you experience may take some trial and error, though, because gas, stomach pain, or diarrhea could arise after eating a salad that contains cucumbers. "It might be the other ingredients in the dish that are causing the problem, so trying each item individually is a good way to determine where the issue lies," Dr. Matloff says.

Can You Eat Cucumbers If You Have GERD?

Cucumbers may intensify symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) if you eat them pickled. They're acidic due to the vinegar in the pickling liquid and tend to worsen burning sensations in the throat.

What About Cucumbers and Diverticular Disease?

There was a time when it was thought that eating foods with seeds triggered diverticulitis, says Matloff. "But the data over the last decade or so has refuted this notion, and patients with diverticulosis do not have to restrict cucumber intake," he says.

He notes, though, that these people may be sensitive to the cucurbitacin in cucumbers like anyone else, which could cause uncomfortable symptoms.

How to Ease Gas From Cucumbers

You have several options if you love cucumbers but not gas and bloating.

1. Look for “Burpless” Cucumbers

Cucumber lovers are in luck, as the creation of burpless cucumbers has made enjoying this veggie safer and easier.

Many bitter-free cucumber cultivars have labels that let you know they're easier on the gut and taste buds. Look for the cucumber variety with a "burpless" label at the supermarket or farm stand, as breeders have developed certain cucumbers with significantly reduced or no cucurbitacin in the fruit. This results in less gas and stomach pain.

And if you're keen to sow and harvest your own cucumbers, check out your local home and garden center for "burpless" or "bitter-free" seeds. "When growing cukes, be sure to water them frequently, as thirsty cucumbers create bitterness in the fruit," Cary says.

2. Ask About Oils

You could also ask your doctor about trying delayed-release peppermint or caraway oil to help ease symptoms of bloating, Matloff says. "It's best to take these on an empty stomach," he notes.

Other natural remedies might include:

  • Chamomile tea
  • Anise
  • Coriander
  • Fennel
  • Turmeric
Some people also use over-the-counter products that might improve digestive comfort, including:

  • Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol)
  • Activated charcoal
  • Simethicone
  • Beano

Ask your doctor about the best product or remedy to use if cucumbers are causing gas.

3. Cut Out Cucumbers

If your pain is severe, avoiding cucumbers altogether may be the best solution. Making diet changes is one of the most common ways to manage excess gas. If you eliminate the suspected culprit and symptoms continue or get worse, speak to a healthcare professional. An underlying condition such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may be at play.

The Takeaway

  • Cucumbers can cause digestive issues like gas and bloating due to a compound called cucurbitacin, a bitter chemical that largely occurs in cucumber skin.
  • They might also trigger symptoms if you're prone to bloating, constipation, or diarrhea from other sensitivities as well as gas after eating cucumbers.
  • Choose "burpless" cucumber varieties, which producers specifically develop with lower levels of cucurbitacin, to help minimize digestive discomfort.
  • Consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist or are severe, as they may indicate an underlying condition such as IBS. Your physician may also recommend herbal or over-the-counter remedies.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Controlling Intestinal Gas. International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders.
  2. Lerner R. Cucumbers Bitter During Hot, Dry Weather. Purdue University. July 30, 2020.
  3. Foods to Avoid With Acid Reflux: Your Ultimate Guide to Relief. Internal Medicine of Tampa Bay. August 11, 2023.
  4. Egan N. Gas: Beat the Bloat. Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Meet Our Experts
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Julie Cunningham, MPH, RDN, LDN, CDCES

Medical Reviewer

Julie Cunningham has been a registered dietitian for more than 25 years. She is a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) and an international board-certified lactation consultant. She has served as the president of the Foothills Chapter of the North Carolina Dietetics Association (NCDA) and has been a member of the executive board of the NCDA.

Ms. Cunningham received a bachelor's degree from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. She subsequently completed a master's degree in public health nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ms. Cunningham has worked in women's and children's health, cardiology, and diabetes. She is the author of 30 Days to Tame Type 2 Diabetes, and she has also written for Abbott Nutrition News, Edgepark Medical Health Insights, diaTribe, Babylist, and others.

A resident of beautiful western North Carolina, Cunningham is an avid reader who enjoys yoga, travel, and all things chocolate.

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Jennifer Kelly Geddes

Author

Jennifer Kelly Geddes is a New York City-based freelance writer and editor, who covers health, wellness, pregnancy, and parenting. She has held positions at Food & Wine, Parenting, Seventeen, and Airbnb magazines and was a research editor at Parenting for more than a decade. Jennifer has also worked as a research editor for Kiwi, Scholastic Parent & Child, Dr. Oz: The Good Life, Modern Farmer, CR Fashion Book, V, VMan, Parents, and National Geographic Kids. She has created custom content for dozens of websites, including Care, SafeBee, Fisher-Price, Mastercard, the National Sleep Foundation, Realtor, Working Mother, Grandparents, Time Out New York KIDS, Good Housekeeping, and Chewy. She holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MA from Columbia University. And she is the mom of two teen girls and a rescue pup named Django. An avid tennis player, cross-country skier, and yoga enthusiast, she divides her time between West Harlem in Manhattan and Ghent, New York.

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