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 impairing your pain relief efforts through an unexpected pathway: your gut. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center is here to explore any potential avenues to help you get your pain under control!
THE GUT-PAIN CONNECTION
Your gut isn't just responsible for 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 connection—the research shows a causal relationship between using these sweeteners and elevated pain levels.
HOW SWEETNERS TRIGGER PAIN
When you consume artificial sweeteners, they alter the composition of your gut bacteria. These disturbed microbes generate inflammatory responses that go throughout your body. Research published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia by Guo and colleagues depicts how that gut bacteria impact pain levels by affecting immune responses and how sensitive your nerves become. (2)
For back and neck pain sufferers seeking help at Manahawkin Chiropractic Center, 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, you might want to look into whether artificial sweeteners are affecting your pain levels. Consider attempting a two-week experiment where you reduce or swap out products that have artificial sweeteners. This could involve choosing water or herbal tea instead of diet sodas, or selecting 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 focus on mechanical dysfunction, decreasing inflammation through dietary modifications can significantly enhance treatment outcomes. By boosting your gut health, you're making an internal environment more conducive to healing and less responsive to pain signals. Little dietary changes might be a great extra to your pain relief strategy with Manahawkin Chiropractic Center.
Your path to back pain relief and/or neck pain relief may start with what you don’t put into your grocery cart.
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
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 Manahawkin chiropractic patients may experience.
