Do Onions and Bell Peppers Cause Heartburn?
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Do Onions and Bell Peppers Cause Heartburn?

Do Onions and Bell Peppers Cause Heartburn?
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Updated on August 6, 2025
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Onions and bell peppers hold a flavorful presence in many everyday dishes, but they can be a trigger food for heartburn. This painful sensation happens when acid from your stomach flows backward into your esophagus, the long tube that’s responsible for moving food from your throat to your stomach. The acid causes a burning feeling in your chest.

Research estimates that more than 60 million Americans get heartburn once a month, while 15 million have daily symptoms of it.

 While not all people who get heartburn develop symptoms due to onions and bell peppers, some do. Here’s why.

Why Do Onions Cause Heartburn?

Onions have long been on the list of heartburn trigger foods, especially when they're eaten raw. Onions belong to a class of foods called carminatives, which are rich in herbs and spices like peppermint, garlic, and ginger. Carminatives can exacerbate heartburn.

Raw onions can relax the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the muscle that keeps food from flowing back into the esophagus. When the LES becomes relaxed, it’s easier for acid to come back up from your stomach and eventually cause heartburn symptoms.

Can Bell Peppers Cause Heartburn?

Unlike onions, bell peppers are not typically on the list of foods that experts recommend avoiding if you have heartburn. In fact, the opposite is often true. Some research suggests that people who have heartburn should eat antioxidant-rich foods, including bell peppers, as part of a balanced diet.

But bell peppers are slightly acidic, which can trigger heartburn in people who have an underlying health condition like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). That's a chronic digestive disorder that leads to acid reflux and heartburn symptoms.

The bottom line is that everyone has different tolerances to various foods. So, if bell peppers seem to aggravate your heartburn symptoms, they may be a trigger food for you. And it may be a good idea to avoid them to see if your symptoms get better.

How to Treat Heartburn

Heartburn often causes symptoms like a burning feeling in your chest and a sour taste in your mouth. These can make it hard for some people to eat, sleep, or breathe as they normally would. But treatments and lifestyle changes can soothe your symptoms and lower your risk of getting more heartburn in the future. Some ways to manage heartburn include:

  • Limit foods that trigger your heartburn.
  • Reduce alcohol use if you drink.
  • If you smoke, quit.
  • Eat smaller, low-fat meals.
  • Think about taking over-the-counter medicines like antacids.
  • Ask your healthcare provider about prescription medications.

See your healthcare provider sooner rather than later if your heartburn symptoms are severe or persistent, rather than just occasional. It’s also important to get checked if you have symptoms like nausea, vomiting, trouble swallowing, or abdominal pain along with heartburn. It may be a sign of an underlying health condition.

Your healthcare team can order tests and recommend treatment options that can support your healing and help you feel better soon.

The Takeaway

  • Heartburn happens when acid from your stomach flows backward into your esophagus, causing symptoms like a burning sensation in your chest.
  • Onions are a common trigger food for heartburn because they can relax the lower esophageal sphincter, which makes it easy for acid to flow backward.
  • Bell peppers are slightly acidic, which can worsen heartburn symptoms, especially in people who have an underlying health condition like GERD.
  • Ways to manage heartburn include avoiding trigger foods, eating smaller meals, and asking your healthcare provider about medications.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
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Resources
  1. Phillips MM. Heartburn. MedlinePlus. January 30, 2023.
  2. Heartburn: What You Need to Know. NIH MedlinePlus Magazine. January 21, 2020.
  3. Kabiraj A et al. A Review on Chinese Herbal Medicine Used as Carminative. Pharmacological Research - Modern Chinese Medicine. June 2024.
  4. Rosen RD et al. Physiology, Lower Esophageal Sphincter. StatPearls. March 17, 2023.
  5. Choi M et al. Physicochemical Properties and Antioxidant Activity of Colored Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.). Food Science and Biotechnology. October 27, 2022.
  6. Nelkine L et al. Role of Antioxidants in the Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease-Associated Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine. July 2020.
  7. Definition and Facts for GER and GERD. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. July 2020.
  8. Heartburn and GERD: Learn More – Treatment Options for GERD. InformedHealth.org. August 5, 2024.
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Waseem Ahmed, MD

Medical Reviewer

Waseem Ahmed, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and serves as Director, Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease Fellowship and Education within the F. Widjaja Inflammatory Bowel Disease Institute.

He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and attended medical school at Indiana University. He then completed an internal medicine residency at New York University, followed by a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Indiana University, and an advanced fellowship in inflammatory bowel disease at the Jill Roberts Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine. Prior to his current role, Dr. Ahmed served as an assistant professor of medicine within the Crohn’s and Colitis Center at the University of Colorado from 2021-2024.

Dr. Ahmed is passionate about providing innovative, comprehensive, and compassionate care for all patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). His research interests include IBD medical education for patients, providers, and trainees; clinical trials; acute severe ulcerative colitis; and the use of combined advanced targeted therapy in high-risk IBD.

He enjoys spending time with his wife and dog, is an avid follower of professional tennis, and enjoys fine dining.

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Sarah Pflugradt, PhD, RDN, CSCS

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Sarah Pflugradt is a registered dietitian with a PhD in Health and Human Performance. Sarah has authored two books, Live to Eat Well and Better Daily Weight Loss Habits. Sarah's website, Sarah Pflugradt Nutrition, provides easy healthy food ideas, and Fueling Active Kids is a performance nutrition resource for coaches and parents of active kids.

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