Splenda is a newer artificial sweetener also known as Altern. Along with thousands of other food and beverage products, Splenda contains sucralose. It was approved as a food product in many countries through the 1990s.
Being newer, it hasn’t taken the beating the aspertame has, when it comes to questions about its safety. And, being newer, that’s part of the problem – there aren’t a lot of long term studies showing just how safe it is. To get in on the controversy, check out Splenda’s site (pro-Splenda), the discoverers of sucralose (pro-Splenda), website from the Sugar Association (anti-Spenda).
Of course Spenda isn’t just sucralose – it also contains maltodextrin and dextrose. There’s only a small amount of sucralose per teaspoon of Splenda because sucralose is incredibly sweet, and needs to be "diluted". Most of the calories in Splenda come from these added ingredients.
A report last September in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain indicated that sucralose may trigger migraine attacks. What I want to know is, has this been a problem for you? Do you avoid Splenda?
And is this just about Splenda? Sucralose is in an increasing number of products – not all are "sugar free", and some even contain sucralose and aspertame.
What contains sucralose? Thousands of products including Diet RC Cola, Arm & Hammer Dental Gum for Kids, Atkins Diet shakes, Pedialyte Pops and Whitey’s Ice Cream. Everything from milk products to juices to sauces to baked goods to formed meat chunks – and the number of products is growing.
Do you avoid Splenda? Why or why not?
Popularity: 17% [?]
Loading ...
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi, James!
I’ve been using Splenda for everything for the last one to two years and haven’t noticed any difference with migraine attacks.
But I try to do everything in moderation, so I probably don’t use more than a couple of teaspoons of sweeteners a day. I use Splenda for baking and cooking, also, but again don’t really bake or eat that many sweets these days!
I, too, wonder what time will tell us for the new, seemingly healthier sweeteners… Another new one out is Stevia (I think that’s the correct spelling), which comes from a natural root, I believe.
I’ve just been eating more healthy food – more fresh fruits and veggies and less processed foods in general.
Cheers!
Betsy
Actually the article doesn’t report on a study and says one hasn’t been done yet. It gives one story of a physician who realized that sucralose triggered his migraines. The article then goes on to say
“websites devoted to revealing the harmful effects of sucralose explain that it may contribute in triggering migraine headaches”
and
“These websites are easily found by looking up sucralose on internet search engines. However, scientific evidence-based research is still lacking concerning this topic.”
Yes, looks like I misread that one. What we have are observed cases where there seems to be a clear connection between migraine and sucralose.
Triggers will always be a difficult thing to study. Our limited understanding of migraine makes it difficult to understand the cause and effect, and why certain things are triggers for one person and not another.
Betsy, I certainly think you’re on the right track – moderation and a healthy diet will cover a multitude of sins!
I had recently started using protein bars for snacks. These bars taste incredibly sweet and I noticed Sucralose on the ingredients. Then, today, after not having a migraine for 20 years, I got a severe visual migraine (jazzy lights) within 20 minutes of consuming one. I think perhaps the level in my system increased over the last week to tipping point. All other food I consumed today was completely natural (eg frozen veg, chicken breast etc)
Yes!!! Splenda triggers migraines in me. I used to chew sugar free gum and after about 5 minutes, I’d get this nauseous sick, kind of headache. I read an article about a top doctor in the area who treats migraines by helping patients avoid headache triggers. So I started making a mental note. My triggers are Splenda, red onions, some wines, swiss cheese(sometimes) and going without eating for more than 5 hours.
A guest brought a delicious homemade cherry pie made from splenda for our after dinner desert. He is diabetic and has began substituting splenda for sugar when baking deserts. Dinner was good. We had some wine with chicken and a salad. Nothing new or different. When the pie was served, within about 20 minutes my head began to ache. This was odd as I don’t usually get headaches. I lost my ability to concentrate and needed to go lay down. The top of my head and upper neck area were tender to the touch. I was in agony. I was having a migraine headache. My vision was blurry. I asked my guest to go home early. I took 2000 mg of acetomenophen and that made the pain feel somewhat better but the pain continued.
The next day my gut feeling said it was the pie, so I had another another slice. And with that I had the same progressin from headache to migraine as the night before.
I did some internet searching to find out that this sort of thing is a not uncommon side-effect. This is just wrong and I think that Spenda should warm their potential customers of the side-effects of their product using labels or the media.
I can categorically state without hesitation that Splenda is indeed a trigger for migraine in some people. It seems to be metabolised differently or I should say slower than other food triggers; it may not show until 36 to 48 hours after ingestion. The migraine resulting from it will likewise go on for longer than usual. So yes, Splenda can bring on mirgraine. Stay away from it!
Yes – I can provide another data point, Sucralose triggers migraines with aura for me, and I have migraines otherwise very rarely (1 or 2 a year).
At first I thought it was caffeine, as the migraines stopped abruptly once I stopped taking caffeine, but further self-testing made it clear it was the Splenda I took in the coffee that triggered the migraines, not the caffeine itself – I’m now on 1-2 cups of coffee and “full fat” Pepsi per day with normal sugar and I’m fine.
Thanks for sharing these examples! It certainly sounds suspect, doesn’t it?
Wow, makes me wonder. I’m (hopefully) on the down side of a seveer migraine (pain day 3, last night the occular experience). I’ve been using Splenda for about 1 year now I like their coffee flavor/sweetner. I haven’t had a migraine like this in a few years I thought since I’ve started thru menopause over 12yrs ago that I was done with them both. But… I don’t think Splenda is affecting me though but I can’t put my finger on the trigger, I’ve discovered from a friend, also a sufferer, that the barametric pressure is one. I read that having an ionizer helps and I’m believing that because I have a clean air machine and I actually sell them too. This past week we’ve had lots of weather happening in our area. I’m going to test this machine out, we’ve had it for years now and its been on & off lately…
Anyway I just wanted to put my 2 cents in for Splenda. And thanks for this site, its very helpful.
I’ve been using Splenda for over a year now – 2 packets with a coffee in the morning. My migraines issues worsened in the past 9-10 months when I started taking note. My migraines increased in frequency & intensity. In the last month I had a migraine that lasted almost 3 solid weeks. I tried Imitrex, Treximet, Naproxen, Maxualt & nothing worked. The final day I was so bad I almost went to the ER. I came home instead & laid down for hours. When my husband came home from work, he mentioned a conversation with a coworker who said she stopped using Splenda due to headaches. The next morning I had no Splenda & my migraine reduced to at least half, the following day w/o Splenda my migraine reduced to almost nothing. I’ve been nearly migraine free for a week. (Note: I always have a low grade headache everyday, but this has been an ongoing issue for years.)
Holy smokes does Splenda ever trigger migraines for me! Same with aspartame… I have 1-2 migraines/month, so obviously I haven’t found all my triggers yet, but red wine, barometric pressure and hormones are big for me – the foods/drinks i can stay away from, but the hormones are killing me hahaha
I had been having an increase in the number of migraines as well as their intensity was getting worse. I didn’t even suspect it could be the splenda. After speaking with a nutritionist, she recommended an eating plan that has not only eliminated my migraines but also reduces LDL cholesterol and I have lost 10 pounds in the last month. It is drastic though but so were my last few migraines. I eat 1/2 cup beans along with a palm-sized piece of protein such as eggs, poultry, beef, pork, or seafood/fish 3 times a day. I also need to eat 7 -1/2 cup servings of vegetables per day but NO corn or potatoes. I drink about 96 oz. purified water a day ( she said that some spring water can actually cause migraines). For the time being I can’t eat anything sweet, no fruit no artificial sweeteners of any type, no beverages other than purified water, tomato juice or vegetable juice. I also cannot have any grains or grain products, no bread crackers, tortillas, etc. Like I said, it is extreme but I feel so great after just a month. Eventually you can add things back such as fruit but never artificial sweeteners.
I haven’t noticed a problem with Splenda, but Aspartame is a problem for me for sure. I had to stop drinking Diet Coke, chewing Trident sugarless gum or putting Equal in my coffee. They made me very tired during the day, I felt like I had to take a nap as soon as I got home from work and I had a dull headache every night which would turn into a migraine headache if I didn’t take Tylenol or Zomig when needed. The symptoms stopped when I stopped the Aspartame. I do have other triggers as well that I am discovering all too frequently.
I have used Splenda for the past 4 years and haven’t noticed any decrease/increase in either my migraine or cluster headeaches. I do avoid Sweet-n-Low though, because it makes my hands swell up after excercising. I’m 50 years old now and I’ve had headaches since I was 11 years old. I know my triggers, and mercifully I only have the clusters every 9 yrs. I’m going to stop with the Splenda for 2 weeks and see if there is a difference. I’ll let you know.
Nutrasweet triggers my migraines. That meant no diet soda for me. I was glad to see both Coke and Pepsi come out with diet colas that use Splenda instead of NutraSweet. Fortunately Splenda does not trigger a migraine for me so I can enjoy my guilty pleasure of cola. Another case of how different we migraine sufferers are!
Hi –
Splenda doesn’t trigger migraines for me – thank goodness, since I’ve had gastric bypass surgery and I can’t eat sugar. (I’ve lost 150 pounds) However, my mother says Splenda does cause migraines for her; so do Aspartame and sugar. She uses Stevia as a sweetener.
I love Splenda and use it regularly in baking (cutting sugar in half) and sweetening. Aspartame is a trigger for me, Splenda is not. Caffeine, chocolate, hormonal fluctuations, weather patterns and coffee (even decaf) all give me problems. I’m glad I can still have something that tastes like sugar and doesn’t give me the calories or the blood sugar bounce. But, as we’ve probably all noticed before, each of us is different to some degree in what triggers us.
Thanks for all the great responses! Yes, Valerie, we sure are all different!
I do try to avoid aspartame. I have had Splenda, but not enough to really know if it’s a problem personally.
Splenda also triggers my migraines. Nutrasweet also makes me sick, but not with headaches. There are so many people that put it into food they offer to other people that just don’t understand that artificial sweetener is poison to so many. The same goes for products that do not put on their labels that they include artificial sweeteners. I’m noticing that more and more lately. I actually know a family who go temporarily blind if they eat anything with Nutrasweet in it. If that isn’t a warning off of artificial sweetener, then I don’t know what is!
Yep, Yep,
It’s all a trigger to me! I think my favorite sweetner is plain sugar in moderation. Splenda gets me, aspartame gets me, and MSG is a huge trigger to me. (Along with autolized yeast extract, hydrogenized oils, etc etc etc). I have been able to control my migraines with out any medication now for 8 years. It all depends on my diet, fresh and natural is the way to go (for me). Sometimes I want to be bad and have some cheetos and in moderation I can usually handle it, it’s when I get greedy that it gets me! Good luck to all of you and your pain!
I used to be a big user of Splenda, but I began having very severe digestive problems. I also suffer from Migraines. I started trying eliminating different things from my diet, to see what was making me so sick. It was Splenda. If I use it one time, my symptoms come back for a week. I also stay away from Nutrasweet, because it also causes some digestive problems. I feel so much better since I quit sweetners.
My migraines have also decreased. I do feel they were poisoning my bocy.
Thanks again for the comments – Melissa, Hollie and Lora! Don’t miss my follow-up post to this one, Splenda and Migraine revisited. I agree – sugar in moderation is a great sweetener. Also, depending on the recipe, there are things like honey, fruit juice, etc. which have more nutritional value.
I’m a 42 year old women who has suffered from migraines for over 30 years. The best advice I’ve ever heard about triggers – “One persons food is another persons poison.” I noticed a correlation between my use of Splenda on a daily basis and frequency of migraines. After a few months, I stopped using it. Frequency of migraine attacks reduced dramatically. My sister however, noticed no change what so ever in her migraines after she stopped using Splenda. Poison for me – simply a sweetner for her.
That’s pretty much the case, Yadi. Everyone’s different! And even if it does have some impact on everyone’s health, it certainly seems to hit some harder than others. Glad you noticed it, though – many people don’t!
I am not surprised to find new forums with streams of testimonials about negative side effects from the consumption of Splenda.
I am aware of three combinations of side effects, because people are all different inside. But I am sure there is more. The more I browse the more I find. These side effects include: a red rash all over the body which is painful; achy joints debilitating the person where they cannot go to work and have even been diagnosed incorrectly with MS or fybromyalgia; blurred vision or dizzy and headaches, light headedness, having to also leave work or lay down ( my own symptoms and those of countless others); the feeling of a tight fist in their lower left rib causing incessant annoyance to them, this is the spleen which Splenda shrinks by 45%; and now a migraine headache trigger.
ALL the people I have recorded have the same remark- in stopping the consumption of Splenda or Sucralose it is better, leaves or does not continue but many lives have been shattered by Splenda users and the constant consumption made for the gradual chronic illnesses to come over them- thus, just because you feel great now doesn’t mean that is going to continue- find an alternative ASAP (Stevia or Agave=natural and low GIs., 0 and 11 respectively) and stop poisoning your body- if others are getting sick – you will too, remember Rust eats from the inside out and you have no idea what it is doing to your body until it is too late- see Sucralose Chlorine: A comparison on youtube channel glarstout for the truth in what Splenda IS or buy the book Splenda:Is it safe or not? by Dr. Hull, a chemist and previous HAZMAT engineer!
I noticed Splenda was the reason from my migranes about 4 years ago. I NEVER has as much as a headache prior to that. But even knowing the cause of my migraines is not always a cure for them. I can still get triggers from Splenda because I don’t always now it is used to prepare my food. So many companies are using it, thinking it is a safe sugar alternative. It has gotten to the point that I have to ask if Splenda is used when I go out to eat. When I tell people Splenda causes migraines in some, they are shocked. Some people even look at me like I’m making it up. I’m not crazy…I only get migraines when Splenda sneaks it’s way into my food. Restaurants please advertise you use the product! We need to know if our candied pecans in our salad are going to cause us pain.(Like mine did tonight.)
What a relevation! I’m 54 and have had headaches, several monthly, since 11. These last 2 weeks I’ve had long, intense miserable headaches that were very different. That’s what drove me to my internet search and this wonderful website. Now I realize…I started using splenda. At first I thought it was hormonal, which is a difficult trigger I don’t know what to do with. Thank you for helping me discover another trigger. I’m going to avoid all sucralose and MSG. Now if I can only find help for this trigger point in my right shoulder!
Be well
I get excructiating migraines after eating anything with Splenda. I’ve switched to Truvia, a sweeteneer made from a plant, with no problems.
It’s horrible because all kinds of things that are “sugar-free” have Splenda — Coke, syrup, iced coffees.
Politics got it on and politics can get it off:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-to-aspartame-and-sucralose
I get migraines from aspartame (among many other things) but not Splenda. Splenda does give my daughter, wife and I gas, though.
I’ll eat a little in a single piece of gum, but that’s it for me. My daughter actually gets bad stomachaches from it. My other daughter can tolerate it fine 100% with no side effects.
Our teenage son will have a migraine within half an hour after any amount of splenda, even one splenda gummy bear. Doesn’t matter – jello, pop, gum, even those painkiller fentantyl lollipops — they have splenda so they kill the pain then cause another migraine!!!
I have also found that yellow no. 5 is an equally bad trigger for me. Little did I know it was in a lemonade powder and I was just as sick as I used to get from Splenda…
Splenda causes behind the eye stabbing headaches for me. I tried it in coffee for 4 days in a row while staying at a hotel. I had terrible and intense pain.
I posted a while back and said that Splenda didn’t affect my migraines. Well, after reading about so many people who say it’s a trigger for them, I decided to cut it out of my diet for a while to see what happened. After only two days without Splenda, my head didn’t hurt. My three times a week severe migraines and mild daily migraines have turned into moderate twice a month migraines with no more daily migraines. Rainy weather is still a trigger, and unfortunately I can’t do anything about that one.
I’ve really struggled with my weight this past three years because of debiliating migraines. Preventative meds, Atenolol, Prozac contributed to lethargy, and Maxalt wiped me out for 24 hours. I’ve gained about 20 pounds from eating every two hours, and missing so much physical activity. The migraines have subsided considerably over this past year – thank heaven. Now, trying to recover and shed the excess weight, I’ve been eating Weight Watchers yogurt that contains sucralose. I’ve noticed an increase in migraines this past few weeks. Hmmm. Thanks for confirming my suspisions.
Im in the gym and started consuming protein shakes and I noticed I would get this head throb and slight dizziness and I realized all my shakes had Sucralose in them. I have never had Migraines before and these probably are not Migraines, but Im sorely convinced that Sucralose gives me this throbbing headache.
I haven’t had a migraine in years. (My trigger is clorinated water and stress and I had been getting them for 30+ years.)
Earlier in the year, I assisted with a Dining with Diabetes class by helping prepare food for the participants. Splenda and other sugar substitutes are, of course, used. Later – had a headache – but not a full blown migraine. I figured it was because of the artificial sweeteners and the fact that I am not used to them.
This time, however, full blown migraine. The only different thing that I ingested (and I wasn’t under any stress) was “light” cranberry drink that had splenda/sucralose in it. I try not to ingest any of these “GRAS” chemicals (only cook from scratch) but I was at a party, and this was the beverage served.
I do believe that the migraine was caused by the sucralose/Splenda and I will definitely stay away from the product.
This is an interesting thread, I am fairly new to the headache research and am not sure if I suffer migraines. They have been labeled migraines, chronic daily headaches and most recently switched to post traumatic stress headache. I have suffered a headache all day every day since December 2008, with no relief from medications. Following a second sinus surgery for chronic sinititus.
However I have been on a low carb diet for the last 3 years and use no real sugar, Splenda has been a staple in my diet the entire time. Prior to the surgery I had no constant headaches, just in frequent ones so I dont see a connection between Splenda and my headaches.
Hi Jamie,
Splenda never bothered me until I had gastric bypass surgery. After the surgery it became the only sweetener I used and the migraines got worse and more frequent. I posted several months ago that Splenda was not a trigger for me, but the more I read, the more I suspected that maybe it was. So I stopped using it and the migraines got much better. I don’t know why all of a sudden it became a trigger; I figure it may have been the increased amount I used. Perhaps my body got sensitized. Now I use Truvia and – so far at least – its not a trigger.
Yep… I switched to Splenda, because my daughter and everyone else said Equal was bad for me… but I have had two migraines in the past two days… changing nothing but the type of sweetner… I thought it was caffiene at first, but that just doesn’t make sense, as caffiene occurs in most migraine remedies. I will definitely go back to using Equal, or even (ew) real sugar.
When people say “I only use a few teaspoons a day” it seems to me that they think that is very little. But if I put a can of rat poison in front of you and said “I dare you to use the same amount of this as you use Sucralose or Splenda” you would be horrified and rightly so. But it is the same thing- if you don’t believe me – for the sake of your heslth- read or buy Dr. JS Hull’s book Splenda: Is it Safe or Not? Because:1. she is a chemist, diabetic, and was poisoned – as are hundreds of thousands each day from this product Sucralose, owned by Johnson and Johnson who receives countless calls each dsy by victims but refuses to recall Sucralose; 2. is a HAZMAT rngineer= poison expert and 3. dedicated two yrs. of her life examining Sucralose and Aspartame and writes case studies on them in her book.
I am not exaggerating when I relay to you that people have died from comsuming both products- and those who have not suffer ringing in ears and seizures from Aspartame- a known brain excitatory drug even though the amino acid is found in nature – the other amino acids where it is found in nature prohibit it from doing the damage it does alone in your brain as well as cause eventual brain death, and brain tumors and MS symptoms from Sucralose (neurological damage).
This is NO game. It is out there because sugar -as in colonial times- is a multi-billion dollar business. It is poison in any quantity and will destroy your organs- as it did in the lab animsls of the studies. STOP or READ and TEACH. The govt will never pull it because kry players in thst are company loyals- same as Gardasil, poison as well- taken thousands down and has sterilized. READ everthing you can find- then decide. Big Business owns our key govt players, little beknowest to our innocent American population- $$$ rules and our rights have been compromised as have our bodies- LEARN, live healthy and multiply. Love
I am 31 years old and had never had a migraine until I tried splenda. I had two cans of diet soda sweetened with splenda, one with lunch and another at an afternoon meeting. Before I finished the meeting, I saw a zig zag white light that was in the upper right corner of my field of vision. This lasted for 20 minutes, and made me think I was going to go blind. A friend drove me home, I slept for 10 hours and was fine. I went to an opthomomogist the next day who did a dialated eye exam and then said that I had the healthiest eyes that he had seen in a month. He said that I had had a “migraine event.”. He asked if I had changed anything in my diet or had any recent stress. The only thing that was different was the soda with splenda. So, I believe that splenda absolutely caused this “migraine event” for me. Be an informed consumer, that’s my advice. As for me, I’m sticking with drinking hot tea!