Whole Body Pain, Lipopolysaccharides & Inflammation: A Root Cause Approach
An Integrative Look from Acupuncture & Nutrition
Do you ever feel like your whole body is inflamed? Like, everywhere? I’m talking joint pain, muscle soreness, fatigue, and brain fog.
You might wonder, “Is this normal?” No. It’s not normal and you're not alone.
Whole body pain, often brushed off as fibromyalgia, "just stress," or my fave ‘it’s in your head,’ can have deeper roots involving the gut, immune system, and chronic, low-grade inflammation.
One major, and often overlooked, culprit? Lipopolysaccharides, or LPS.
🧬 What Are Lipopolysaccharides (LPS)?
LPS, also known as endotoxins, are toxic components found on the outer membrane of certain gut bacteria. Under normal circumstances, they stay safely contained in the digestive tract.
But when your gut lining becomes compromised (intestinal permeability), LPS can leak into the bloodstream, triggering a powerful immune response. The body sees LPS as a serious threat and reacts with widespread inflammation.
🔥 From Gut to Pain: The Inflammation Cascade
Once in the bloodstream, LPS binds to immune receptors like TLR4 (Toll-like Receptor 4), which act like internal alarm bells. This sets off a cascade of inflammatory responses, including:
Cytokine release (e.g., TNF-α, IL-6), think of these messenger proteins as the immune system’s SOS signals
Oxidative stress, unstable molecules that damage tissues and cells
Neuroinflammation acting like a splinter in your brain and spinal cord
Muscle and joint pain
Mood imbalances
For many people, this shows up as vague but debilitating symptoms: joint aches, fatigue, anxiety, poor sleep, and whole body tenderness. If this sounds like you, it’s not “in your head”, it’s in your immune system.
🪡 How Acupuncture Can Help
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective, this is often seen as a pattern of systemic heat and dampness, rooted in Qi deficiency or Qi stagnation.
Acupuncture supports the body by:
Regulating immune system activity
Reducing systemic inflammation
Supporting gut health and digestion
Calming the nervous system
🥬 Nutrition for the Gut–Inflammation–Pain Cycle
From a nutritional therapy perspective, managing LPS and chronic inflammation starts with healing the gut lining, lowering inflammation, and supporting detoxification pathways.
What to Embrace:
Bone broth, glutamine, and zinc carnosine to support gut repair
Polyphenols (berries, green tea, turmeric) to reduce oxidative stress
Omega-3 fatty acids (fish, flax, chia) to modulate inflammation
Fiber to balance gut microbes
Identifying and removing food sensitivities to calm immune reactivity
What to Avoid:
Highly processed foods and refined sugars
Alcohol and NSAIDs (both can worsen gut permeability)
Industrial seed oils (corn, soy, canola), which promote inflammation
💡 Functional testing (like a comprehensive stool analysis or LPS antibody panel) can help uncover deeper insights into your gut and immune health.
If you're dealing with persistent, unexplained whole-body pain, it may be time to stop chasing symptoms and start addressing the root causes.
Through the lens of acupuncture and nutritional therapy, you can support your gut, balance your immune system, and begin to cool the fires of chronic inflammation.
As always, healing is a journey, and you don’t have to walk it alone.
