Study links high-fat, high-sugar diet to muscle pain

Barcelona, Spain — Are you experiencing muscle pain or inflammation? Your diet may be contributing – if it’s laden with ultra-processed sweets or fats, a study from Spanish researchers suggests.

Those researchers studied two groups of mice. One group was fed a diet high in sugars, including sweet rolls and other pastries. The other group was fed a high-fat diet.

Both groups showed increases in inflammatory molecules in their muscles and “an increase in spontaneous neuromuscular transmission,” or “excitability of the muscle nerve,” the researchers found.

Those neurotransmissions continued for several weeks after the diets ended – and after the mice got back down to their average weights.

The study, published Oct. 21 in the journal Nutrients, states that 38% of the world’s population is projected to be overweight by 2030 and 20% will be obese.