Will Carrots Cause Acid Reflux?

Acid reflux can occur out of the blue, or you may get it semi-regularly.

Sometimes, it can be accompanied by other symptoms such as a sore stomach, nausea, and diarrhea in response to certain foods.

Carrots are a commonly consumed vegetable, so below is the long of short of whether carrots cause acid reflux.

Various people are intolerant to foods that most everyone can eat without an issue.

Others can trigger acid reflux, especially acidic foods.

This article will explain whether carrots are high in acid, whether carrots are too acidic for babies to consume, and if carrots are a trigger for food acid reflux.

Are Carrots High in Acid?

If you get acid reflux generally it’s caused by foods that are acidic, among others.

Therefore, it’s important to know whether carrots are high in acid. Here’s what I found.

Carrots have a slightly bitter, and spicy taste when raw due to their acid content when consumed raw.

There is some debate about whether raw foods are healthier than cooked foods.

When looking at the nutrients found in raw carrots compared to cooked carrots, there is only a minor difference.

But, carrots are a very hard vegetable, even after chewing them, they are still very firm.

This can make it harder to digest.

On the other hand, carrots are high in fiber. John Hopkins School of Medicine has stated that foods that are high in fiber are good for acid reflux.

However, the main reason they give is that they make you feel fuller more quickly.

This stops acid reflux that is caused by eating too much food at once.

Whereas, the acidity of carrots is still a factor that can cause acid reflux.

Therefore, it’s generally best to look at whether carrots are causing acid reflux if you get it.

Cooking carrots – does it reduce the acidity of carrots

As you’re likely aware, cooking carrots makes them much sweeter and softens them a lot.

This makes them much easier to digest. And can reduce how much it triggers acid reflux.

Some vitamins and acids are water-soluble.

So, steaming, or boiling vegetables such as carrots can cause these vitamins and acids to be removed during the cooking process.

But, data provided by LKT Labs shows that caffeic acid – the main acid in carrots is only very slightly water-soluble.

So, very little if any will come out by cooking them.

If you experience a bad reaction from eating carrots another good thing to try is to get organic carrots.

It’s possible the herbicides and pesticides used to grow are giving you a bad reaction, rather than the carrots themselves.

What having carrot intolerance is like?

For people that have carrot intolerance, it can cause them to need to go to the bathroom a lot, diarrhea, and people report that raw carrots give them stomach pain.

But, cooked carrots can also give some people stomach pain.

For example, one person reported:

“I don’t do well with raw carrots and avoid them, but I do ok with cooked carrots.

I’ve heard others on the low FODMAP diet say similar things of raw vs cooked carrots.”

A FODMAP diet is one where certain foods are avoided, especially with people who have a bad reaction to certain types of foods.

Here’s a video that explains what the FODMAP diet is and why people do it:

Here’s what one person said about eating carrots on the FODMAP diet.

“So, when I went back on low FODMAPs, I made curry with carrot. I was going 4 times a day and realized it was due to the carrots. If I eat even a small amount of carrot I’ll have a BM a few hours later. I tried them raw, steamed, boiled, baked, etc, all the same.”

It’s clear from these people’s experiences that carrots definitely cause some people issues.

Do baby carrots cause acid reflux?

You’ve likely come across baby carrots at the supermarket or eaten them before.

It’s interesting to note that baby carrots are actually full-sized carrots that have been cut into the shape of a miniature carrot.

Therefore, they share all the same properties as carrots.

Because these reasons baby carrots have the same acid reflux effects as regular carrots.

Baby carrots don’t trigger acid reflux in most people.

But a small percentage of people are intolerant to carrots and it can give them a range of digestive issues including acid reflux.

There’s another well-known diet known as the paleo diet.

It provides a way of eating which is very good for weight loss, and overall health.

Certain foods aren’t recommended on the paleo diet.

Here’s another article where I summarized if carrots are OK on the paleo diet.

Babies have are more sensitive to food, and it takes time for them to work up to eating solids.

It’s also a good idea not to give them foods that are too strong tasting, as they aren’t as resilient as adults are to very sour, or very spicy foods, and it can make them cry and scream.

Carrots are acidic, but here’s whether carrots are too acidic for babies.

Raw carrots grated carrot is not good to give to babies.

They don’t have teeth to chew them, so they’ll end up swallowing it whole, which can give them an upset stomach.

Boiled, or baked potatoes put in a blender until they turn to ‘carrot mash’ is very good, and is what is used in store-bought baby food.

Provided that they’re at an age where they can eat solids.

Carrot juice can also be ok but generally is very strong tasting.

Different foods affect people in different ways, some people have a bad reaction to various types of foods, and it’s best that they avoid them.

While others can eat virtually anything with no trouble at all.

With that said, some foods are more likely to trigger acid reflux than others, so here’s whether carrots are one of those foods.

Carrots aren’t known to trigger acid reflux, and in general, most people find them fine to eat without any issues.

Carrots have quite a high amount of various vitamins and minerals.

I explained how many nutrients are in carrots as a percentage of the recommended daily intake (RDI) in this article about if you can eat too many carrots.