I didn’t think anything of the black and blue marks all over my thigh until a friend expressed concern: ‘What have you done to your leg?’
‘Oh, nothing,’ I replied. ‘It was just an itch that turned into a bruise.’
It was not the first time I had experienced bad bruising. It had been going on for a year, having first started when I began working at a bank in New York City.
It would start out with a burning sensation on my thigh that would quickly become itchy – so itchy I had to repeatedly, and forcefully, scratch at it until it finally subsided. The scratching would leave a dark purple bruise.
I wasn’t allergic to anything that I knew of and had never experienced this before. But after a doctor friend asked if anything had changed in my diet, I began keeping a food diary.
After several weeks, I landed on a rather bizarre conclusion: sucralose, the artificial sweetener commonly known as Splenda.
I realized that since starting my job at the bank, I had been consuming around five coffees a day. With a penchant for sweet things, I thought nothing about throwing in a couple of artificial sweeteners per cup as a low-calorie alternative to sugar.
I was consuming around 10 packets of the sweetener per day, which has been linked to an increased risk of strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular complications.
Daily Mail writer Sadie Whitelocks said she experienced itching and bruising after consuming a high amount of sucralose-based sweeteners (stock image)
Sadie (pictured) says she still gets a rash every time she has sucralose-based sweeteners in quantity
My doctor friend told me allergic reactions to artificial sweeteners are rare, but some people can experience intolerance or sensitivity leading to various symptoms such as rashes and hives.
Indeed, consuming 10 packets a day was a little excessive, and when I cut the sweeteners from my daily coffees, the itching on my thighs dissipated.
Dr Johnny Parvani, an emergency medicine physician who founded the IV therapy company REVIV Global, told me hives and rashes could emerge as a result of over-consuming sweeteners.
‘Consuming 10 packets of artificial sweeteners a day, especially over prolonged periods of time, is quite a high dose and can certainly trigger non-specific reactions,’ he said.
‘Artificial sweeteners are engineered to taste good without calories, but are novel chemicals to the human body.
‘The dose dependency and the associated symptoms suggest an immunologic reaction.’
He said the reaction could be a response to the sucralose chemical itself, a metabolite or to the combination of both.
‘Immunogenic reactions are generally dose dependent, the higher the dose and exposure, the greater the reaction.’
Dr Parvani is not aware of any case reports documenting this type of reaction to sucralose.
However, I discovered a pool of people complaining about similar symptoms online.
Also referred to as nonnutritive sweeteners, artificial sweeteners are FDA-regulated food additives that can be 200 to 700 times sweeter than table sugar (stock image)
On one Reddit thread, one commenter wrote, ‘I’m allergic to Splenda (sucralose). I get pretty heinous welts all over my face and neck so I just check any label and avoid it.’
Another Redditor complained about having a ‘huge outbreak’ of hives on their legs and arms after consuming the substance.
And on TikTok, I found dozens of users complaining about everything from upset stomachs to severe migraines after consuming sucralose.
While I cut my 10-packet habit, I still get a rash every time I have sucralose-based sweeteners in quantity.
Also referred to as nonnutritive sweeteners, artificial sweeteners are FDA-regulated food additives that can be 200 to 700 times sweeter than table sugar.
They activate both sweet and bitter taste receptors, stimulating the brain’s ‘reward’ center.
They also trick the brain by making it believe it has consumed real sugar, prompting the release of insulin, which burns glucose in the blood.
Today, stevia-based sweeteners offer an alternative to those built around sucralose.
For many, stevia is often preferred as a healthier zero-calorie sweetener.
It is naturally occurring – derived from the stevia plant – while sucralose is synthetic and created in a lab.
Recent research has stoked fear surrounding artificial sweeteners linking their consumption to cancer, heart issues and even an increased risk of diabetes.
While none of these studies are individually conclusive, the sum of information has health leaders concerned – so much so, that in 2023, the World Health Organization drafted guidance to avoid them.
Still, other research has found benefits.
A review in the journal Nutrition and Cancer, found no evidence that sucralose causes cancer in humans.
One 2019 study in The BMJ examined the effect of sweetened beverage consumption on cancer risk in more than 100,000 participants.
While the researchers found that consuming sugary drinks could increase cancer risk, it did not find artificially sweetened drinks carried the same risk.
‘There is no convincing evidence that aspartame (Nutrasweet), sucralose (Splenda), or saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low) cause disease or pose a direct threat to human health,’ Kara Burnstine, Nutrition Educator at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, told the Daily Mail.
Burnstine said artificial sweeteners could aid weight loss when replacing sugar – which could actually lower the risk of health issues.
This includes swapping a can of Coke with Diet Coke or swapping honey for a pack of Splenda.
However, she recommends clients consume no more than 10 to 12 packs of sweetener a day.
For those concerned about the possible negative side effects of sucralose, New York-based fitness and health expert Caroline Beckwith told the Daily Mail that monk fruit is a great natural alternative.
The monk fruit – also known as luo han guo or Buddha fruit – is a small, round and grown in Southeast Asia.
‘I used to put so, so, so, much Equal and Splenda in everything, and I would sometimes feel dizzy and lightheaded and that can be a sign of sucralose poisoning – so that’s scary,’ Beckwith said.
‘As an alternative… you can buy [monk fruit] at organic grocery stores,’ she said, adding that she has not seen it cause any of the gut issues or allergic reactions that have come with other sweeteners. ‘I would definitely recommend it.’