Hidden Link Between Artificial Sweeteners and Chronic Pain
If you're living with chronic back or neck pain, you've probably experimented with everything—stretches, heating pads, over-the-counter medications. But have you thought about the impact your diet drinks and “sugar-free” snacks may have? Evolving research intimates that artificial sweeteners might be harming your pain relief efforts through an unexpected pathway: your gut. Hollstrom & Associates Inc is here to explore any potential avenues to help you get back to enjoying your life!
THE GUT-PAIN CONNECTION
Your gut isn't just in charge of digestion—it's home to trillions of microorganisms that influence inflammation throughout your entire body, including your spine and neck. Recent groundbreaking research has described a direct link between artificial sweeteners, gut health, and chronic pain sensitivity.
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 correlation—the research shows a causal relationship between using 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 disrupted microbes trigger inflammatory responses that go throughout your body. Research published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia by Guo and colleagues shows that gut bacteria influence pain levels by affecting immune responses and how sensitive your nerves become. (2)
For back and neck pain sufferers seeking help at Hollstrom & Associates Inc, this inflammation can heighten pain sensitivity in already vulnerable areas. Your spinal nerves become more reactive, making existing discomfort worse and potentially slowing your recovery.
TAKING ACTION
Before you see us again, consider removing artificial sweeteners from your diet. This would entail checking labels on diet sodas, protein bars, yogurts, and sugar-free desserts for things like aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin
Chiropractic physicians understand that pain management requires a whole-body approach. While spinal adjustments focus on mechanical dysfunction, decreasing inflammation through dietary modifications can significantly enhance treatment outcomes. By sustaining your gut health, you're creating an internal environment more beneficial to healing and less open to pain signals. Little dietary changes might be a great extra to your pain relief strategy with Hollstrom & Associates Inc.
Your way to back pain relief and/or neck pain relief may start with what you remove from your shopping cart.
CONTACT Hollstrom & Associates Inc
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 help chiropractic care like The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management that Largo chiropractic patients may experience.
