For over 30 years, since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I have relied heavily on artificial sweeteners to make my diet and beverages more palatable. I prided myself on being hydrated by chugging a 64-ounce bottle of water sweetened with sugar-free lemonade powder every day. I drank three cups of coffee sweetened with sucralose in the morning, then another two cups of decaf in the evening. Even when I was eating the clean, avoiding sweets of any kind, I still constantly drank artificially sweetened drinks.

WHY WOULD I CUT OUT SWEETENERS? In the last year I have developed terrible back pain with no real known cause. Tests revealed no definitive issue and physical therapy, stretching and strengthening, chiropractic care and medication has not helped. The only option I have been given is radio frequency ablation of the affected nerves in my lower back. Before the procedure can be done, as a diagnostic test, lidocaine is injected into the nerves suspected to be causing the pain. If the pain resolves temporarily, the doctor has successfully identified the nerves that are causing the pain. If the first round of lidocaine injections successfully targets the pain, a second test will be completed to confirm the results, then once confirmed, the ablation can be done.

The first round of lidocaine injections was incredibly painful, and I had some pretty significant side effects, but the pain was relieved for about 30 minutes. So, in preparation for the second round of injections, I decided to do all I could to help heal my body of inflammation that may be causing worsening pain, and with any luck, decrease the pain of the procedure. After researching the elimination diet, I decided to give it a go. With any luck, I may be able to identify ways to make myself feel better. Because not only was my back pain only becoming worse, my neuropathy was also flaring up in my feet, my sleep was terrible, my blood pressure was creeping up and I always felt bloated.

I felt changes immediately. The first day I only ate vegetables and chicken. I drank only water and black coffee, and halfway into the day I felt exhausted. My joints ached so much, it was painful to walk up the stairs. I still took melatonin at night for the first couple nights into the diet but quickly realized I didn’t need it; for the first time in over 10 years, I was sleeping without melatonin.

The second day into the diet the body aches were improved, although I was still tired. But by day three I started to feel better. The puffiness in my face had reduced significantly, and the bloating was gone. I lost five pounds of what I can only imagine was added weight due to inflammation.

After a week on the elimination diet, I was gaining more mobility in my back. Although the pain had not improved, I was able to move deeper into my daily stretches. I tolerated the second round of injections with less pain and my blood pressure was lower than it had been in years.

SHORT TERM RESULTS With the elimination diet, I have learned certain foods exacerbate my stomach issues as I have gradually reintroduced foods into my diet, but I have no doubt that artificial sweeteners, sucralose in particular, significantly contributed to the inflammation in my body. I have gone on strict diets before but never have I cut out the sweeteners, and never have I felt the way I had that first day of the diet. I have not reintroduced sucralose back into my diet at the level I was once consuming it, and the puffiness in my face and the stiffness in my joints has not returned. My blood pressure has remained around 116/64, which for a diabetic of 32 years on no medication other than insulin, this is something to be happy about. I definitely plan to avoid the artificial sweeteners from here on out!

More about the radio frequency ablation coming soon!