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 considered what's in your diet drinks and "sugar-free" snacks? Evolving research intimates that artificial sweeteners might be impairing your pain relief efforts through an unexpected pathway: your gut. Chiropractic Solutions 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 bear on inflammation in your spine, neck, back, and throughout your body. New research has pointed to 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 truly 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
Artificial sweeteners can alter the balance of beneficial bacteria living in your digestive system. These upset microbes generate inflammatory responses that go throughout your body. Research published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia by Guo and colleagues shows that gut bacteria impact pain levels by altering immune responses and how sensitive your nerves become. (2)
For back and neck pain sufferers seeking help at Chiropractic Solutions, this inflammation can raise pain sensitivity in already susceptible areas. Your spinal nerves become more reactive, making an already uncomfortable situation worse and potentially slowing your recovery.
TAKING ACTION
Before your next chiropractic appointment, you might want to explore whether artificial sweeteners are bothering your pain levels. Consider trying a two-week experiment where you reduce or swap out products that have artificial sweeteners. This could require choosing water or herbal tea instead of diet sodas, or opting for snacks that don’t contain ingredients like aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin.
Chiropractic physicians understand that pain management demands a whole-body approach. While spinal adjustments get after mechanical dysfunction, reducing inflammation through dietary modifications can significantly raise treatment outcomes. By boosting your gut health, you're establishing an internal environment more advantageous to healing and less receptive to pain signals. Little dietary changes might be a great addition to your pain relief strategy with Chiropractic Solutions.
Your path to back pain relief and/or neck pain relief may begin with what you remove from your shopping cart.
CONTACT Chiropractic Solutions
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox, on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the impact inflammation has on the immune system and the benefit of chiropractic care like The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management that San Jose chiropractic patients may experience.
