#6 – Headaches – Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia is a family heritage of mine.  I thought I understood the subject pretty well.  However, I have learned some new things while doing research for this article.  Therefore, I hope some of what I have learned helps someone with their own blood sugar-related headaches.

Hypoglycemia Defined

Very basically, but accurately, hypoglycemia occurs when blood glucose levels drop below normal (and healthy) levels.  Glucose is the body’s main energy source. The body controls blood sugar using two fast-acting hormones – insulin and glucagon.  Put very simply, when blood-glucose levels get too high, insulin acts to bring them down.  When levels get too low, glucagon pushes the blood sugar levels back up again.  Having too little glucose in your blood creates a myriad of symptoms.  These symptoms are called hypoglycemia. Low blood sugar is a serious situation.  At its worst, it can become life-threatening.  Blood sugar needs to be raised to normal levels immediately.

Symptoms of Hypoglycemia

• An irregular heartbeat.
• Fatigue.
• Shakiness.
• Dizziness.
• Inability to concentrate.
• Sweating.
• Pale skin.
• Anxiety.
• Hunger.  Food cravings.
• Irritability.
• Tingling sensation around the mouth.
• Crying out during sleep.

As the blood sugar levels continue to drop, more extreme symptoms develop.  These include:

• Confusion.
• Inability to complete routine tasks.
• Abnormal behavior.
• Slurring of words.  Searching for a word.
• Clumsy movements.  Lack of coordination.
• Visual disturbances, such as blurred vision.
• The triggering of a migraine aura, followed by a migraine headache.
• Eventually, if not treated, seizures and loss of consciousness occur.

The brain is particularly sensitive to the effects of low glucose levels. This type of sugar is the primary energy source for the brain and the nerves there.  When the brain is starving for nourishment, it responds by stimulating a response from other organs in the body.

• The adrenal glands are instructed to release epinephrine (adrenaline).
• The adrenal glands also release cortisol.
• The pancreas releases glucagon.
• The pituitary gland releases growth hormone.

Subsequently, as the result of all of these hormones, the liver releases glucose into the blood.

• Adrenal fatigue and endocrine system compromise of one sort or another occur if this process happens too frequently and/or for too long a period of time.

Two Types of Hypoglycemia

Diabetes-related hypoglycemia This is the most common kind.  Medications used to treat diabetes are the most common cause of diabetes-related hypoglycemia.  Diabetes is a serious condition.  Therefore, upward spiraling blood sugar must be controlled.  Too often, however, taking too much insulin or other diabetic medicine at once triggers diabetic hypoglycemia.  The body responds to the medication (insulin or sulfonylureas) by dropping the blood sugar dangerously low. Non-diabetic Hypoglycemia  Non-diabetic hypoglycemia is the second type.  As the name implies, this has little or nothing to do with being diabetic or taking diabetic medications.  This is the type we will be discussing in this article.

Two Types of Non-Diabetic Hypoglycemia

There are also two distinctive types of non-diabetic hypoglycemia.  These are fasting hypoglycemia and reactive hypoglycemia.  Definitions for these two types of hypoglycemia vary a bit from study to study and medical professional to medical professional.  Nevertheless, I will try to describe these two conditions in simple terms and to the best of my ability.

Fasting Hypoglycemia

Fasting hypoglycemia is low blood sugar (glucose) levels that occur when the stomach is empty.  According to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, fasting hypoglycemia occurs when blood glucose levels fall below 50mg/dl.  This usually occurs after a period of fasting.  Hence, the name.  Apparently, in susceptible individuals, blood glucose levels also fall too low first thing in the morning – following a night’s sleep with no snacking during the night.  In addition, levels may fall after exercising vigorously or following physical labor. This type of hypoglycemia also occurs, for some, after taking certain medications.  Surprisingly, some types of aspirin, taken in large doses, create hypoglycemic problems for some people.  I am not sure why a reaction to medications is considered fasting hypoglycemia rather than reactive hypoglycemia, but there it is. Fasting hypoglycemia is considered to be not just a disease in its own right, but an indication of some other fairly serious things going on in the body.  Fasting hypoglycemia may be an indication of underlying conditions such as liver, heart, and kidney disease.  Bacterial infections in the blood, such as sepsis, can also result in fasting hypoglycemia.  Treatment of the infection usually results in normal blood sugar levels.  I have personally seen one case where the elimination of a long-standing parasite infestation resulted in the reversal of years of severe hypoglycemia. Hormonal deficiencies related to hypoglycemia are also seen.  This is far more common in children than in adults.  A deficiency of growth hormone, cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline), or glucagon may result in hypoglycemia symptoms.

Reactive Hypoglycemia

The most common definition of this term is, “low blood sugar that occurs within 3 to 4 hours of eating a meal.”  This too simple definition is deceptive and confusing.  A more accurate definition would be, “Low blood sugar occurring within 3 to 4 hours of eating a meal consisting primarily of sugars and carbohydrates!“ Carbohydrates and sugars create a rapid rise in blood glucose after being ingested.  The body responds, as it must, by secreting insulin.  The insulin, in turn, initiates rapid utilization of glucose.  The body must either store it in the tissues or burn it off as energy.  Subsequently, blood glucose levels fall.  First, a “sugar high” occurs in the body – and in the brain.  Afterward, the body experiences a “sugar crash.”  The crash, in some of us, produces hypoglycemic symptoms.  Perhaps, this happens – diagnosed – to more people than are counted.

My Experience

It took me years to realize that my low blood sugar episodes were related more to what I had eaten during my previous meal than to how long it had been since I had last eaten.  For me, fasting for 24 hours (as specified once a month by the religion I love) was impossibly difficult for many years.  That is, fasting was impossibly difficult until I realized that what I ate on Saturday determined how I would feel when fasting on Sunday!  If I lived on carbs and indulged in sugary treats on Saturday before starting my fast, I would experience really nasty hypoglycemic symptoms during my fasting period.

In addition, I would experience an excruciating migraine – complete with preceding aura, nausea, and vomiting.  This migraine would, inevitably, be followed by at least two full days of horrible fatigue and mental disconnectedness. Worse yet, was the emotional crash – feelings of horrible depression and sadness that accompanied the migraine.

Comparing and Connecting

Does my experience, and the experience of others, indicate that fasting hypoglycemia is, at least some of the time and for some people, the result of consuming too many simple sugars and carbohydrates?

• Is “fasting hypoglycemia” sometimes a result of “reactive hypoglycemia”?
• Is “reactive hypoglycemia” just a less offensive way of describing an unhealthy diet or a sugar binge?
• Have body organs such as the adrenal glands, the pancreas, and the pituitary become compromised by one sugar spike/sugar crash scenario after another?
• Can fasting hypoglycemia become reactive hypoglycemia, or vice-versa?
• For some people, both types of hypoglycemia – fasting and reactive – seem to walk hand-in-hand.  Is this duality common?

I couldn’t find anything like this in the literature.  However, I have certainly seen it – and experienced it personally from time to time – in real life!

My Father’s Experience

My previously very healthy father began experiencing some really scary health issues at about the time I got married.  He was fairly young, as I am his second oldest child.  These health issues matched, in every detail, the very symptoms described above for hypoglycemia – including many of the ones labeled extreme.  A diagnosis was a long time in coming.  In the meantime, we watched as Dad was unable to perform many carpenter-type tasks that we had seen him do dozens of times throughout our lives.  My father built, with my mother’s help, the beautiful home they spent their lives in.

One day, my father came to help us finish our basement.  I watched as he was unable to lift a door and set it onto the hinges.  It was not even a heavy door.  Nevertheless, the effort cost him so dearly that he lay down on the floor right there and trembled for quite a space of time.  It scared me half to death to watch him in that condition!

I do not know, or don’t remember, what he had eaten or how long it had been since he had eaten.  Were the symptoms the result of fasting hypoglycemia, reactive hypoglycemia, or a combination of both?

Diagnosis

Eventually, hypoglycemia was diagnosed.  He began living the “hypoglycemic diet” – faithfully, I might add.  The diet consisted of lots of protein, a lot of whole grains, vegetables, sufficient fats, and absolutely no sugar or honey or anything like that.  Dad could tolerate very small amounts of a barley malt sweetener, sometimes.  I asked him once how he managed to live that very rigid diet.  He replied, “If chocolate cake makes you feel bad enough, it stops looking good to you!”  For my father, dense carbohydrates such as root vegetables – carrots, potatoes, beets – also triggered spikes followed by hypoglycemic crashes.  Sugar, of any kind, was absolutely intolerable!

I remember my father bringing my youngest sister and some friends to the town in which I lived to go roller-skating for her birthday.  The group came to my house afterward for birthday cake and ice cream.  As Dad was scooping the ice cream, he got a little bit on his fingers.  Without thinking, he licked it off.  Literally, just that tiny little bit licked off his fingers.  Within a short time – no more than half an hour – Dad experienced hypoglycemic symptoms so bad that I had to drive him and the girls the 30 miles to their homes as he was unable to do so.

Obviously, reactive hypoglycemia that day!  However, my father could not –  under any circumstances – go longer than about 3 hours without eating, ever.  To do so would cause extreme hypoglycemic symptoms!  Certainly, fasting hypoglycemia, also.

The “Rest of the Story”

My father lived this way for 25 to 30 years.  Eventually, a heart condition requiring extensive surgery developed, at least that was the original diagnosis.  However, just before the scheduled surgery, a visiting doctor asked that one more, very different sort of test, be performed.  The result was the discovery of a parasite – one that was indigenous only to the Philippines.  My Dad had visited the Philippines on a Navy ship during the war when he was 18 years old – and at no other time.  The heart surgery was postponed.  Dad went home.  Dad followed up the diagnosis of parasites with medication and more tests to determine that the parasites were completely gone.  He never did require heart surgery.  In fact, at his next required for work physical, the doctor told Dad that he “had the heart of a 25-year-old.”

Not long after the parasites were pronounced GONE, Dad began feeling a bit poorly again.  Tests indicated that Dad no longer had hypoglycemia.  He wasn’t getting enough carbs to fuel his body!  The hypoglycemia had reversed itself.  The hypoglycemia was, just like the parasites, completely GONE!  My father is now 94 years old.  Dad remarried a short while ago.  He eats chocolate cake for breakfast, more often than not!  Furthermore, he has no trouble fasting.  He and his wife are on the go all the time.  His health is more nearly that of a robust 75-year old than that of a 94-year-old man.  Was the parasite the cause of his hypoglycemia?  I think so!  What do you think?

Blood Sugar and Headaches / Migraines

Migraines were part of my life whenever my blood sugar levels got too low.  I also experienced headaches as well as hypoglycemic symptoms after fasting.  I failed to realize that these so-similar headaches were two different types of hypoglycemia.  Were they?  I do, and did then, have a bit of a heart issue and a kidney that is a bit touchy.  Did those conditions contribute to my fasting hypoglycemic symptoms?  Who knows?  These headaches are gone!  I, frequently, get up and exercise vigorously for at least an hour, often longer, on an empty stomach.  There are no hypoglycemic symptoms, as a result.  I only feel a really good combination of tired and euphoric.  Exercise is great!!  Sugary treats don’t make me feel good so I don’t eat them very often.  When I do, what I feel is certainly NOT the hypoglycemia and migraines of the past. I believe that the reason I feel so good – at my advancing age – is that I eat well and keep myself in pretty good condition!  For me, protein is the key.  It doesn’t seem to matter much if the rest of the meal is fats or carbs as long as they are anchored by protein and the protein outstrips the carbs.  I follow, to some extent, the Trim Healthy Mama diet plan (You can check them out online).  This means that I only rarely mix fats and carbs in the same meal.  It is working for me weight-wise, and my blood sugar issues are totally controlled – basically non-existent – these days.

Nitric Oxide

As was said at the very beginning of this article, the body controls blood sugar levels using two fast-acting hormones – insulin and glucagon.  Put very simply, when blood-glucose levels get too high, insulin acts to bring them down.  When levels get too low, glucagon pushes the blood sugar levels back up again.  However, there is a third player in this process.  That player is nitric oxide. Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the most important signaling molecules produced by the body.  It participates in virtually every cellular and organ function that goes on in the body. Because nitric oxide is an intelligent vaso-dilator, it has many effects in the body. These include:

• Healthy blood flow.
• Appropriate blood pressure levels.
• Less muscle soreness.
• Positive effects on erectile dysfunction in men.
• Strengthens the immune system.
• Improves memory by improving communication between nerve cells in the brain.
• Reduces inflammation.
• Improves sleep quality.
• Increases the sense of smell.
• Improves both endurance and strength.
• Influences how the body interprets pain signals.
• May prevent heart disease.

Interesting (to me anyway) facts about nitric oxide.

• Nitroglycerine, used for years for heart conditions, is effective because it stimulates the release of nitric oxide in the body.  The nitric oxide then relaxes narrowed blood vessels, thus increasing oxygen and blood flow.
• Viagra and other such drugs work because they affect nitric oxide pathways, thus improving blood flow.
• Exercise – running, lifting weights, just about anything that increases the depth and frequency of the heart’s pumping power – causes the lining of the arteries to release nitric oxide into the blood.
• Arginine, found in nuts, fruits, meats, and dairy, directly acts on the production of nitric oxide.

A Little Bit of Science

A small study done in Austria and published in the journal Cephalalgia addresses nitric oxide (NO) as it relates to blood sugar issues.  First, this study points out that it is common for people with diabetes to have impaired nitric oxide pathways.  Then, the study points out that when there are problems with nitric oxide (NO) production or elimination, there will be too much insulin released into the body.  Insulin, also drops blood sugar levels both dramatically and quickly.  Hence, low blood sugar issues develop.  Most importantly, this small study showed that people who suffer from migraines were significantly more likely to have compromised NO pathways with, inevitably, higher than normal spills of insulin. What does this mean?  What are some natural solutions to problems with nitric oxide production or elimination?  Exercise and a diet that includes nuts, fruits, meats, and dairy.  Simply eating a variety of healthy foods will likely improve the situation. To state this science briefly and clearly – impaired nitric oxide pathways create insulin spills which cause low blood sugar AND this is happening to a great many people who suffer from migraines!

Solutions

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What NOT to Do.  The online Merk manual, touted as a trusted source of medical advice, suggests sugary treats as a solution to dropping blood sugar.  This must be for fasting hypoglycemia, although the site doesn’t really specify that.  This would be, in my experience, a disaster for reactive type hypoglycemia UNLESS the situation has reached life-threatening proportions. What to Do.  A better choice is protein or, better yet protein with a little bit of whole-grain type carbs.  Interesting.  My Dad realized this, on his own, years ago.  He typically carried a half slice of home-made, no sugar, whole wheat bread with either cheese, a boiled egg, or a little bit of red meat with him wherever he went.  (He and Mom made the best whole wheat bread using unsweetened, home-grown and processed applesauce as the sweetener!)

Hypoglycemic diet

If you experience hypoglycemic symptoms, you would probably benefit from following a hypoglycemic diet – at least while you fix the underlying causes.

• Eat a well-balanced diet, including both meat and non-meat sources of protein.  Include high-fiber foods as well as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
• Avoid sugary foods, especially on an empty stomach.  Avoid soda pop like the plague that it is.
• Be sure to eat food if you’re consuming alcohol, and avoid using sugary soft drinks as mixers.
• Eat several small meals and snacks throughout the day, no more than three hours apart during the waking hours.  If you wake at night, have a non-sugary, easily digested, very small snack readily available.

Herbal Solutions for Hypoglycemia

Butterfly Tinctures: Cascara/Juniper with Raspberry/Myrrh, AD, HGL, LIC, and PF. Single Herbs: Alfalfa, Bilberries, Cinnamon, Dandelion, Dill Seed, Dong Quai, Ginseng, Juniper Berries, Licorice Root, Moringa, Myrrh, Olive Leaf, Pipsissewa, Propolis, and Uva Ursi. Essential Minerals – Chromium, Magnesium, and Vanadium.

Essential Oils for Hypoglycemia

Butterfly Blends: ^LeBaby Me, ^LeDeliverance, ^LeEndoRelief, ^LeGrateful Heart, ^LeRevitalize, ^LeSpiceC, and ^LeWakeUp. Single Oils: Anethi, Coriander, Dill, Eucalyptus, and Ylang Ylang.

Homeopathic Remedies for Hypoglycemia

The following remedies are specific to a headache from hypoglycemia. Lycopodium clavatum (Lyc) Right-sided headaches or headaches that begin on one side and then goes to the other side where it is worse.  A headache with ravenous hunger, better from eating.  Headaches worse if not eating regularly. Phosphorus (Phos) Hunger soon after eating.  Hypoglycemia, low blood sugar.  Headache from fasting.  Desires chocolate and candies.  Headaches are heavy and usually over one eye and occur when the person is hungry.  Many various types of headaches are described with Phos. Sanguinaria canadensis (Sang) Headaches when a person goes without eating.  Sweet foods taste bitter to them and cause aggravation and burning sensations in the stomach.  The headaches described, with their other symptoms, sound very much like liver-related headaches to me. Sulphur (Sulph) Gets a headache or feels very tired if hungry.  Desire for sweets but they disagree with them.

Additional remedies with blood sugar issues in their symptom pictures. 

Alumen crudum (Alumn) – headache in the morning on waking, Aurum metallicum (Aru), Cactus grandiflorus (Cact) – headache if misses a meal – Cact is a heart and kidney remedy, Causticum (Caust), Cina maritima (CINA) – gets hungry soon after a meal with a feeling of emptiness, Graphites (Graph) – sweets nauseate headache on waking in the morning, Iodum purum (Iod) – anxious or worried if a meal is missed, Kali carbonicum (Kali-c) – anxious, nauseated, nervous, tingling, with palpitations, etc. when hungry.  Headache wakes him or her in the early morning, Silica terra (Sil)-, and Zincum metallicum (Zinc).

Adrenal Glands

Strengthening the Adrenal Glands and treating for Adrenal Fatigue, is often a large part of this walk.  Below are a few suggestions for how to strengthen the adrenals but a lot more information is available in my blog on Adrenal Fatigue.

Essential Oils

Butterfly Blends: ^LeCrystal Clear, ^LeEndoRelief, ^LeEnergy, ^LeHeartSong, ^LeInsideOut, ^LeLife Force, ^LeLiteN, ^LeTrust, and ^LeVitality. Single oils: Basil, Geranium, Nutmeg, Ravensara, Rose Geranium, Rosemary, Sage, Spanish Sage, Spruce, Turmeric, and Ylang Ylang

Herbal and Natural Remedies

A good diet is a great help!  B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin A, and Chlorophyll.  Essential minerals: Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and Zinc. Butterfly Tinctures: AD, CF, HGL, and LIC. Single Herbs: Alfalfa, Ashwagandha, Astragalus, Bilberries, Bupleurum, Devil’s Claw, Eleuthero, Fo-ti, Ginseng, Licorice, Parsley, and Yucca.

Homeopathic Remedies

Argentum nitricum (Arg-n), Berberis vulgaris (Berb), Coffea cruda (Coff), Gelsemium sempervirens (Gels), Graphites (Graph), Ignatia amara (Ign), Kali phosphoricum (kali-p), Natrum muriaticum (Nat-m), Phosphorus (Phos), Phosphoricum acidum (Ph-ac), and Sepia succus (Sep).

Pancreas

Essential Oils

Butterfly blends include ^LeEndoRelief, of course.  Also ^LeCinnamonBear, ^LeEnergy, and ^LeHousewarming.  Please note that these blends include either Cassia or Cinnamon Bark. Singles oils to consider are Anethi, Caraway, Cardamom, Cassia, Cedarwood, Coriander, Cypress, Dill, Helichrysum, Lemon.

Herbal and Natural Remedies

B complex vitamins, minerals, Chromium, Selenium, Manganese, sodium, amino acids, Bilberries, blueberries, Alfalfa, Burdock, Dandelion, Elecampane, Echinacea, Fenugreek, Garlic, Gentian, Goldenseal (limit use of Goldenseal to a week or two at a time), Juniper Berries, Ricorice root, Milk Thistle, Mullein, Raspberry Leaf, Red Clover, Rehmannia, Saw Palmetto, Olive Leaf (if there is infection).  Combination remedies of PF, Raspberry/Myrrh, Cascara/Juniper, HGL, and LIC.

Homeopathic Remedies

Carbo vegetabilis (Carb-v), Iodum purum (Iod), and Phosphorus (Phos).  I am sure that there are others in addition to these.

Pituitary

Essential Oils

Butterfly Blends: ^LeAboutFace, ^LeBenediction, ^LeEZ Traveler, ^LeEndoRelief, ^LeFocus, ^LeGrace, ^LeInner Peace, and ^LeIQ. Single Oils: All essential oils that contain sesquiterpenes.  Some of these, listed in order from highest percentage to lowest percentage found in the oil, are Cedarwood, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Ginger, Blue Cypress, Myrrh, Vetiver, Vitex, German Chamomile, Black Pepper, Spikenard, Ylang Ylang, Yarrow, Goldenrod, Melissa, Ledum, Niaouli, Elemi, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Carrot Seed, Lemongrass, Sage, Cypress, Roman Chamomile, Valerian, Clove, Blue Tansy, Celery Seed, Peppermint, Cajeput, and finally Frankincense.  I have always found it interesting that Frankincense, which is famous for its sesquiterpene content, is only 8% sesquiterpenes.

Herbal and Natural Remedies

Butterfly Tinctures: MIN, and KNA. Single Herbs: Alfalfa, Burdock, Chaste Tree, Cleavers, Comfrey, Dandelion, Dulse, Echinacea, Ginseng, Gotu Kola, kelp, Milk Thistle, Nettles, Red Clover, and Yarrow. Suggested vitamins and minerals – Vitamin E, B complex, Manganese, Selenium, and other trace minerals as needed.  Amino acids may also be useful – preferably from food sources.

Liver

Essential Oils

Butterfly Blends: ^LeAcknowledge, ^LeAngel, ^LeEZ Traveler, ^LeLetting Go, ^LeLivN, ^LeRevitalize, ^LeSafeguard, and ^LeSynopsis. Single Oils: Angelica, Carrot Seed, Celery Seed, Goldenrod, Grapefruit, Helichrysum, Ledum, Lemon, Lime, Myrrh – protects the liver from chemical toxins, Rosemary.  Dilute and apply to the area above the liver and along the spine.  Another good way to use essential oils to strengthen and support the liver is to add the oils to some Redmond Clay and water and soak the feet in the mixture.

Herbal and Natural Remedies

High potassium foods aid the liver.  Brown rice, wheat bran, raisins, and bananas all contain large quantities of potassium.  Consider supplementing with Liquid Potassium.  Some suggested herbs include agrimony, raw Beet Root, Blue Vervain, Burdock, Calendula, Chamomile, Cascara Sagrada, Dandelion, Dulse, Elecampane, Ginger, Ginkgo Biloba, Ginseng, kelp, Myrrh – protects the liver from chemical toxins, Oregon Grape, Rosemary, Sarsaparilla, sassafras, Stone Root, Yarrow, Yellow Dock, and Valerian. The combination LC is an excellent liver cleanse. It is important to cleanse the blood (RC) and support the kidneys (KT or KB) and the colon (CD) at the same time.  A cleanse protocol using these tinctures is explained in detail in my book, Butterfly Miracles with Herbal Remedies.

Homeopathic Remedies

There are many, many remedies listed.  I have provided only the most common ones (polychrests) and those that deal with liver-related headaches.  Aconitum napellus (Acon), Arsenicum album (Ars), Belladonna (Bell), Berberis vulgaris (Berb), Bryonia alba (Bry), Bufo Rana (Bufo), Calcarea carbonica (Calc), Calcarea phosphorica (Calc-p), Carboneum sulphuratum (Carab-s), Carduus marianus (Card-m), Chelidonium majus (Chel), China officinalis (Chin), Graphites (Graph), Hydrastis canadensis (Hydr), Iodum purum (Iod), Iris versicolor (Iris), Kali carbonicum (Kali-c), Lachesis (Lach), Leptandra virginica (Lept), Magnesia muriatica (Mag-m), Mercurius solublis (Merc), Natrum sulphuricum (Nat-s), Nux vomica (Nux-v), Phosphorus (Phos), Sanguinaria canadensis (Sang), Sepia succus (Sep), and Sulphur (Sulph)

Artificial Sweeteners

“Headaches Linked to Allergies and Chemical Sensitivities” is the topic of Blog #8 in this series.  So, I will mention artificial sweeteners only briefly here at the end of this article – and, most likely, will repeat this information in Blog #8. I think it can be agreed – at least by anyone who has done any reading and studying or has followed reliable scientific studies and paid attention to statistics – that artificial sweeteners are not good for ANYONE.  However, for some people the reaction to the various artificial sweeteners is extreme.  Migraines and excruciating headaches are common reactions to these substances. For myself, reactions to these sweeteners began years ago with blurred vision.  The reaction then progressed to headaches, then to migraines, and finally, to damage to my heart.  If only I had realized what the problem was sooner I could have saved myself a lot of grief! For me, the culprit is the man-made, laboratory-produced, not-quite-the-same-as-the-natural-version amino acid, Phenylalanine.  It is this laboratory-produced molecule that creates the sweetness and stabilizes the entire sweetener formula.

Phenylethylamine

Artificial phenylalanine (Phenylethylamine) is found in many products besides “lite” beverages and foods.  It is found in cough syrups and cough drops, some kinds of toothpaste, many types of mouthwash, and just about any food product that has an incredibly long shelf life.  If the bugs won’t eat it, you probably shouldn’t either!  Surprisingly phenylethylamine is used to stabilize the formulas used by fly spray and bug repellent manufacturers, making these products, although not ingested, a problem for many people.  When you have a PKU test done on your newborn baby, it was the ability to process Phenylalanine (in natural form) that was tested for.  The “P” stands for phenylketonuria – doctor-speak for lacking the enzyme to process and utilize this essential amino acid.  The man-made artificial version is everywhere in our world today.  For most, fortunately, it is only the ingestion of this artificial substance that creates migraines and other symptoms.  However, for me fly sprays are every bit as deadly as “lite” foods and beverages. There is more than one type of artificial sweetener.  Note the word, artificial.  These are chemical compounds and, as with all chemical compounds, there are potential dangers (side-effects).

A Rose? By Any Other Name . . .

Consequently, if artificial sweeteners trigger migraines – or any other symptom – in you,  you will always have to check the ingredients list for any of the words used to indicate these dangerous chemicals.  Of course, it is impossible to avoid them if you don’t know that they are there.  Unfortunately, they keep tweaking the formulas just a bit and changing the names.  A few of those names that I am familiar with, at the moment, are aspartame, NutraSweet, sucralose, Splenda, Equal, Amino Sweet, Sweet ‘N Low, and Sugar Twin. Even the words “natural sweeteners” on a label should be suspect.  Sometimes this means MSG.  Sometimes it refers to these artificial sweeteners.  The word “natural”, according to U.S. labeling laws at this time, can be used to refer to laboratory-produced substances “that naturally occur in nature.”  The fact that man-made molecules are always subtly different from the real thing is ignored almost entirely.  If they are deadly, like they are in artificial sweeteners, it can take years to “prove” it and get them removed from the marketplace. If you suffer from migraines related to an intolerance of these artificial molecules, you will have to eliminate these substances from your life yourself through some method such as muscle testing.  Label reading will probably not keep you safe therefore there are other things you can do.  There are – I have used them successful – energetic therapies that can minimize these reactions.

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This blog is part of a series on headaches.  This series includes. . . .