A migraine isn't about single triggers but a combination of triggers. That's what I got told at an event held by a British migraine research charity from one of the leading migraine researchers in the UK at the time. That's why I question a lot of research into the matter. A double blind research I assume basically entails a randomised supply of aspartame and control sweeteners to people where the patients/researchers supplying/ monitoring the responses do not know who got what. But if, as I got told and in my experience, you don't necessarily get migraines based on one trigger then how do they know the result isn't due to lack of other triggers?
For example, to date my main, identified triggers appear to be light/reflections, irregular food intake, artificial sweeteners such as in diet pop/cordials/ reduced calorie foods and stress. I often have one or more of those apply every day but I don't have an attack every day. I've cut artificial sweeteners out of my diet but occasionally I have some because I didn't spot a change in ingredients to include aspartame. I don't get migraines every time. But I've had cases where a few triggers were present and aspartame was the final trigger to a migraine.
How do I know? Well light was identified early on in my life with migraines as a trigger. I'd get a reflected flash of light and the migraine started to come on almost immediately. I've known that feeling and how close to the final trigger it is for decades now. I've had the exact same reaction with a low calorie drink where the only difference between that and the full calorie version is reduced sugar replaced by aspartame. This summer on a stressful days touring with irregular food intake, hot sun (dehydration another trigger) and tiredness. We stopped for a drink. I ordered a nice lemon tonic drink. That feeling came and got stronger the more of it I drunk. Fortunately water, rizatriptan, sunglasses and a rest in shade helped me recover enough to get to b the campsite.
These are anecdotal, lowest form of evidence, but they chime with the experts view of multiple triggers and what I call a random effect of triggers. By this I mean the effect where one day 3 major triggers cause a migraine the next they don't.
It's simply a very complex condition that nobody knows enough about it. Imho considering how many are effected by it there's not that much known about it. Aiui the first drug designed and researched directly for migraine was only just reaching market this year. Other drugs were developed based on observed effects of drugs developed for other conditions.
I accept I sound like a crank who doesn't accept the expert's views on the topic. However, it's not as if things once considered safe or even healthy haven't been proven to be dangerous in the past. Tobacco, opium, even current vaping products for example. The last example I read that some involved with helping people quit smoking tobacco are now advising not to start vaping. Will one day experts get us to go back to sugar in a balanced way instead of aspartame or other artificial sweeteners.
Btw the calories saved by artificial sweeteners are most likely lost by increased intake from other parts of your diet. I think there's research saying that I once read. If so then I ask why such a small amount of sugar in a tablet for adults gets replaced by aspartame and/or other sweeteners?