ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER LINK TO HERPES

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/15/2007: Jem from Sudbury, Canada writes: "I usually never have more than 2 breakouts a year. But since I have inherited my friend's deceased mother's staples, which included Splenda, I have had a break out 1/mth. As well Of late I have increased my intake of aspartame by chewing more gum than ever before as a diet strategy for weight loss and a substitute for food. Thank you sooo much for the info."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/13/2007: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER from Perth, Australia writes: "Have heard two comments now regarding Oxygen Therapy or Hyperbaric Therapy. I am about to give this therapy a go. Also just wanted to say that I think this website is a fantastic forum and agree that the use of Splenda and Aspartame are huge culprits of outbreaks. I haven't had an outbreak for approx 4 weeks now, however I had a chinese dish today for lunch (around 1.30pm) and found out it contained MSG after eating it. I am now experiencing the tingling and itching sensations (now 11.05pm) which are my warning bells going off, so I've taken 2 l-lysine tablets. Not sure what exactly is in MSG but I'm about to search the net for some answers! Will be embarking on the Oxygen Therapy and low carb/high protein diets as protein contains natural l-lysine. Will keep u posted on how it pans out!! KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!"

PPS: Low carb iced tea recipe: (per ~2L water) 2 bags Luzianne iced tea, 1 bag Yogi Throat Comfort tea, 3 tiny scoops of Superior Source Sweet 'n Natural 100% pure Stevia. Stir, ice, and enjoy!"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/06/2007: Chris from Cebu, Philippines writes: "Just read your article on Aspartame and how it may trigger an outbreak. I am wondering if this is the cause of my current outbreak, as I have just traveled to the Philippines where the formula for diet coke contains Aspartame. After having my first diet coke monday morning, I started having an outbreak. Also know that I have been traveling a lot over the past 2 weeks."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/27/2007: Jesse from Macon, GA writes: "I AM SO GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE. I JUS GOT A COLDSORE LIKE BUMP ON MY LIP AND I WAS THINKIN THAT THE CAUSE WAS BC OF SOMETHING I HAD RECENTLY DONE WITH MY BOYFRIEND. TURNS OUT I LATELY HAVE DRANK A COUPLE OF DIET DRINKS AND I HAVE BEEN CHEWING A LOT OF EXTRA GUM. THANK YOU SO MUCH I WAS SO WORRIED. I AM LAYING OFF THE GUM AND DIET SODAS"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/24/2007: Rochelle from Grants Pass, OR writes: "After reading this article, it made me think about things. I have never had genital herpes until about 6 month ago when I started drinking three or four diet pepsi's a day. I just quit drinking them about a week ago, and I hope this was the culprit. I also have been reading all the labels of food I eat. I even threw away my gum. EXTRA GUM bad for you. I will let you know if this works. I haven't told my husband because I am so embarrassed about it. I just tell him that I am sore, and can't play..."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/20/2007: Jim from Port St Lucie, FL writes: "I DONT' KNOW WHAT IS CAUSING MY OUTBREAKS ... BUT EVER SINCE I'VE BEEN ON NUTRISYSTEM WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM (2 MONTHS) I'VE HAD 4 OUTBREAKS. IT'S BEEN ABOUT 3 YEARS PREVIOUS THAT I'VE HAD ONE."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/18/2007: Jason from Houma, Louisiana writes: "So here I am going over a year strong without an outbreak and BAM, I come upon the worst outbreak lasting as long as two weeks long. At first I thought okay maybe that was just a bad case and not even one week after the outbreak subsided...BAM!! another one just as bad appeared. Now I was getting really frustrated and after doing a little bit of researching I came upon this website and read the tales behind Splenda and Aspartame. I started to think about what it was I was doing differently and that's when it hit me, sometimes when I go to visit my parents (my father being a diabetic) I would drink some of this sugar-free drink he would make for himself mainly because there was nothing else in their house to drink besides water. The next day I go over to my parents house and into the pantry and grabbed that container which the mixing packets come in and what do i find in big bold print as part of the ingredients ? ASPARTAME !!!! never again will I drink anything from my parents house UNLESS it's water in a bottle and now I have a tendency to look on the back of everything I buy for those main ingredients..if you have herpes I suggest YOU do the SAME."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/18/2007: Sore from Chicago, IL writes: "In late October I started drinking 8 - 12 cups of DeCaf coffee per day. ALong with this I used 2-3 packets Splenda per 1 1/2 Cups or up to 18 packets per day!!! I thought I was doing well. I started this in early October. Now I have used Splenda from time to time but never in this quantity. In late October I started breaking out and it would clear up only to break out again a week later. Instead of breaking out once or twice a year, I was breaking out every few weeks. I'd clear up and break out again. I wondered what was different. Initially I thought it was the stress of the Holidays. Well the holidays are over and it is still happening. I decided to do a search and found this site. I'm eliminating ALL sweeteners today. I'll let you know if my virus goes back to sleep."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/01/2007: Annie from Seattle, WA writes: "Just visited my brother and his wife for a week in northern california. Splenda was not available in their home. Upon returning to Seattle, I resumed my consumption of Splenda (quite significant) and immediately (within 2 days) developed a severe herpes outbreak. Yikes. Will certainly monitor the situation and stop using Splenda for a while to see if this is indeed the cause. This was a low stress period for me and there is not other reason for the outbreak except perhaps having started taking L-Carnitine upon my return to Seattle."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  11/23/2006: Linda from Houston, TX writes: "I wanted to add my story and am relieved to know that I'm not the only one who has experienced this. Approximately two years ago I began having herpes outbreaks (Cold Sores) with regularity and didn't know why this was happening. This occurred for several months in a row when I finally thought "what the heck is going on here". I then tried to figure out what I'd been doing differently. It took me about a day or two and then it struck me that I'd been consuming large amounts of SPLENDA. Which I normally don't use. I have a bitter orange tree in my yard with beautiful, but very sour oranges and I had discovered that these oranges make a rather delicious drink comparable to lemonade. Not wanting to consume so much sugar, I bought a box of SPLENDA and began using that. What a huge mistake! I was miserable and can't believe that I didn't put 2 and 2 together sooner than that. What's funny is that the sores would come on very quickly with little pain and didn't seem to last quite as long as they sometimes do, but they were horrible and frequent. I wonder how many people suffer needlessly and don't even know why? I relay my story every chance I get in hopes of helping anyone else avoid this stupid problem. Thanks for this web site!"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  11/04/2006: Anonymous from Los Angeles writes: "I came upon your website while searching for a natural healing for Genital Herpes. WOW. Am I surprise to find out information about this crazy chemical call Sucralose or Splenda. OK, here's my story: Two weeks ago on Monday, I went to work with a great new idea. That I will go on a sugarless diet. Why? Because people at work noticed that I do look a little chubbier. Before going on this sugar diet, I used to drink about a cup of coffee every morning with real sugar. I guess you can say the addiction to coffee kicks in and I just wanted some a little taste of coffle again. So, without destroying my commitment to a sugarless diet, I search around the office kitchen for those diet packet sugar and found some. I did the coffee with diet sugar for about 4 or 5 days and Well... You guess it. That following friday night, when I went to take a piss after having dinner with my girlfriend. My urethra was on fire, meaning burning sensation when I pee. HERPES OUTBREAK!!! and I seriously do agree agree with you guys it's from that diet stuff I took in. If I didn't come upon this website, I would not have made this connection. I am so glad I know this. I think I'll stick to real food from now on. Even Junk Food scares me now. The freaking USDA is as reliable as this country's Intelligence Agency. Thank you"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  09/26/2006: Chris from Canada writes: "I stopped using both Splenda and Aspartame and have not had a symptom for a month now. Was having constant problems for 3 years now and couldn't figure out why. This coincides with my starting to use Splenda and Aspartame for a low carb diet regimen. i believe you are onto something here."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  09/20/2006: Anonymous from NC writes: "Oh my gosh! I thought my body was falling apart. I keep having outbreaks, this past month i've had 3. This was the first time in my LIFE. But when I just read the info on this site I realized that it's because of diet soda. I have been drinking diet soda everyday for the past month at work. Before that I had never had an outbreak. I will never drink another one. THANKS."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  09/02/2006: Steve from Los Angeles writes: ""

[SIDE EFFECTS]  08/01/2006: Anonymous from London writes: "i cannot believe what i have just read about Herpes outbreaks and Splenda. I have been on a diet for a few weeks and have been taking Splenda as a substitute for sugar. I have had the worst outbreak ever lasting 3 weeks!! Now that i know, i will cut out the Splenda. Throwing it out now."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  05/25/2006: SG from Bakersfield, CA writes: "It says on your website to let you know if I experienced a connection between aspartame and herpes sores. Here's my story: Sometime around 9 years ago, I started having pain around my genital area. There was never anything visible, or anything that seemed to trigger it. It was generally not painful unless I had sex. I went to doctor after doctor. Each one tested me for everything, and then told me I didn't have any STDs--that maybe it was an allergic reaction or some other skin problem. This went on for EIGHT YEARS. Last November, after moving to a different city and starting a diet, I developed incredibly painful sores, so bad that I couldn't walk. I went to the emergency room. The attendants took cultures and blood samples, and sent me home. When I got my little postcard in the mail, it said that the blood test was positive for herpes. HERPES!? It's been 9 years and this is the first diagnose-able outbreak? After that, I kept having painful outbreaks. All the time. And I couldn't figure out what the difference was between 8 years of almost completely dormant and Attack of the Evil Vicious Viruses. Tonight, I was researching into ways to ease a friend's Lupus symptoms and ran across this website, saying that there is a link between aspartame and herpes... LIGHT BULB!! THANK YOU!! The outbreaks started happening soon after I started our household on a health-conscious diet. We started with drinking only water, but eventually we started drinking "diet" energy drinks, containing... guess what? I'll keep ya posted."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  05/24/2006: Tara from Columbia MD writes: "I totally agree that aspartame can trigger outbreaks. I love yogurt which I eat daily. When I went on this website, I see where it says avoid aspartame. I usually don't have outbreaks often but since I have been eating yogurt I noticed more frequent outbreaks. I didn't know why these outcoming were coming back but now I see why."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/02/2006: Kay from NJ writes: "I have been dieting for 6 weeks now. I usually use organic sugar, but switched to Splenda. My outbreaks and constant prodrome were unbelievable. I normally get about 4-6 outbreaks a year. I must have had 4 in one month. After reading about Splenda and herpes, I can only conclude this is the reason."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  02/10/2006: Lyn from Orange City, FL writes: "i drink a lot of unsweetened tea and add sweet and low. i also drink a lot and i mean a lot of diet products and my outbreaks are one right after another. my doctors are stunned. i'm gonna try going without to see if it works. i will let you know!"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  02/07/2006: Chanel from Des Plaines IL writes: "I am glad I came upon this website because I just started drinking the new diet cherry vanilla dr pepper and that morning felt my lip itching and it has been years since I have had a cold sore. I did not realize it was from this drink."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/22/2006: Walley from Spring Valley writes: "I recently started chewing sugarless gum because of a low carb diet. I experienced one of my worst herpes outbreaks in years around that same period, it may be related to aspartame."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/13/2006: Angela from Portland, Maine writes: "I never drink diet sodas, or even soda in general, last night I had diet coke. I'm usually a more natural person. I've never had a cold sore in my life, overnight I developed a blood blister on my lip. I am very worried about it. I hope this is not a start to a very bad thing. I wish I would have known that these sweeteners do this before. Spread the word!"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/07/2006: Mary from Chicago,IL writes: "Ok, yesterday I had lunch with a friend. I asked her to bring me a diet something. It was COKE or Pepsi. Later that evening around 8pm. I felt the sensation of an outbreak. This was not oral. I cannot believe what I have just read. Thank you for the information. I will never drink or eat anything containing a sugar substitute."