Hidden Link Between Artificial Sweeteners and Chronic Pain
If you're dealing with chronic back pain or neck pain, you've likely checked out many options—from stretches and heating pads to over-the-counter pain relievers. But have you thought about the impact your diet drinks and “sugar-free” snacks may have? Evolving research suggests that artificial sweeteners might be harming your pain relief efforts through an unexpected pathway: your gut. Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation is here to explore any possible avenues to help you get your pain under control!
THE GUT-PAIN CONNECTION
Your gut does more than digest food—it houses trillions of bacteria that affect inflammation in your spine, neck, back, and throughout your body. New research has uncovered a direct connection between artificial sweeteners, gut health, and how sensitive you are to chronic pain.
A 2025 Mendelian randomization study by Zhao and colleagues pointed out that artificially sweetened foods can essentially cause chronic pain by disrupting the gut microbiota. (1) This isn't just connection—the research shows a causal relationship between consuming these sweeteners and elevated pain levels.
HOW SWEETNERS TRIGGER PAIN
When you eat artificial sweeteners, they change the composition of your gut bacteria. These disturbed microbes generate inflammatory responses that travel throughout your body. Research released in the British Journal of Anaesthesia by Guo and colleagues shows that gut bacteria influence pain levels by altering immune responses and how sensitive your nerves become. (2)
For back and neck pain sufferers seeking help at Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation, this inflammation can raise pain sensitivity in already vulnerable areas. Your spinal nerves become more reactive, making existing discomfort worse and potentially slowing your recovery.
TAKING ACTION
Before your next chiropractic appointment, consider removing artificial sweeteners from your diet. This would entail checking labels on diet sodas, protein bars, yogurts, and sugar-free desserts for ingredients like aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin
Chiropractic physicians understand that pain management requires a whole-body approach. While spinal adjustments tackle mechanical dysfunction, decreasing inflammation through dietary modifications can significantly boost treatment outcomes. By sustaining your gut health, you're establishing an internal environment more beneficial to healing and less responsive to pain signals. Little dietary changes might be a valuable addition to your pain relief strategy with Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation.
Your way to back pain relief and/or neck pain relief may begin with what you remove from your grocery cart.
CONTACT Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox, on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the impact inflammation has on the immune system and the benefit of chiropractic care like The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management that Tonawanda chiropractic patients may experience.
