Foods to avoid with cold sores are those that are particularly high in arginine and have low levels of lysine. In this article you will learn about the key foods that have the biggest effect on your cold sores.
Lysine and arginine are two common amino acids found in foods. They are the two most widely researched nutrients that affect cold sores.
Here is how they work.
The herpes simplex virus is the root cause of all cold sores. A virus particle will enter a nerve cell at the surface and force it to create new virus. It will then explode the cell to release the cloned virus thus creating a huge open wound.
One of the main ingredients the cell must have to create new herpes virus is arginine. Your cells have special receptors that they use to store arginine.
The same receptors are used to store lysine. Lysine is a protein that cannot be used to create new virus.
If you have a diet rich in lysine, your cells will discard some arginine to store more lysine. The herpes virus, looking to clone itself, will avoid the cells that cannot support the cloning process.
Whenever your cells have a higher lysine than arginine content, it discourages creation of new virus. This often sends the herpes virus back into a latent state. You will not get a cold sore if the cells cannot create virus.
These are a few of the foods to avoid with cold sores. Arginine levels are higher than lysine levels in these selections.
---- Chocolate (ouch)
---- Nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts
---- Flax, sesame and most other seeds
---- Any seafood that has a shell such as shrimp and oysters
---- Grains such as wheat and oats
---- Oranges, grapes and other fruits and berries
---- Most vegetables are neutral but avoid rutabagas, winter squash and pumpkins, broccoli, carrots and corn
Fact is - it can be hard to avoid certain foods. Some should not be avoided. You will notice many of the foods on the avoid list have a high nutritional value and are important for your optimal health. You probably would not hurt yourself by avoiding these foods for just a week or so.
However, for optimal health, you should not avoid these foods for any length of time. Do not use avoidance of these foods as a method to prevent cold sores. To do so could weaken your immune system. This could actually cause more cold sores, rather than less.
An excellent alternative solution to avoiding foods you love is to increase your lysine during your cold sore event. Increasing intake of lysine will also help prevent future cold sores.
The following foods are higher in lysine and can be used to balance out the high arginine foods to avoid with cold sores - especially during the outbreak.
All dairy products are rich in lysine, such as cheeses, yogurt, and whole milk. Other lysine rich foods include chicken, beef, beets, apricots, figs, avocado, apples and soybeans. Fish is a particularly good source of lysine, especially flounder.
Yes, I realize following a restricted diet is difficult for most people. Also, dairy products may be rich in lysine but cannot be tolerated by some folks. Fact is, I have not followed these avoidance guidelines very good myself.
For a large number of people, an easy and powerful alternative to this restricted diet is to take lysine as a supplement. Lysine is available anywhere you find vitamins. It is normally found in 500 mg. capsules. Taking four to eight capsules daily during a cold sore and one to two capsules daily between cold sores is common.
Is lysine safe to take in large quantity?
Lysine is perfectly safe. Eight capsules daily is only 4000 mg., or 4 grams. No bad side effects have ever been noted. You often exceed this just by eating food alone. A four-ounce serving of flounder, for example, will provide the equivalent of 4 to 5 grams of lysine. The capsules are just more convenient.
Do not give up the foods you love - especially chocolate. Eat additional high lysine food or take lysine capsules. This will cancel out the bad effects of the foods to avoid with cold sores.
