Hidden Link Between Artificial Sweeteners and Chronic Pain
If you're dealing with chronic back pain or neck pain, you've likely explored 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? Developing research suggests that artificial sweeteners might be harming your pain relief efforts through an unexpected pathway: your gut. Satterwhite Chiropractic is here to explore any potential 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 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 demonstrated that artificially sweetened foods can actually cause chronic pain by disrupting the gut microbiota. (1) This isn't just connection—the research shows a causal relationship between using these sweeteners and higher pain levels.
HOW SWEETNERS TRIGGER PAIN
Artificial sweeteners can change the balance of beneficial bacteria living in your digestive system. These disturbed microbes generate inflammatory responses that go 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 Satterwhite Chiropractic, this inflammation can raise pain sensitivity in already susceptible 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 raise treatment outcomes. By supporting your gut health, you're establishing an internal environment more favorable to healing and less responsive to pain signals. Little dietary changes might be a great addition to your pain relief strategy with Satterwhite Chiropractic.
Your path to back pain relief and/or neck pain relief may begin with what you take out of your grocery cart.
CONTACT Satterwhite Chiropractic
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 Oxford chiropractic patients may experience.
