Foods to Avoid With Cold Sores for Permanent Relief

Foods to avoid with cold sores are foods that are high in arginine and low in lysine. Get to know these specific foods and you will be amazed how quickly cold sores disappear. Lysine and arginine are two common amino acids found in foods. They are the two most widely researched nutrients that affect cold sores.

Arginine and lysine work in the following way: Cold sore outbreaks are caused by the reproduction of the herpes simplex virus type 1 or type 2. This very tiny virus enters a nerve cell on your lip (or nose) and forces that cell to create virus copies. The cell, when full, is destroyed to release the new virus. This creates the visible cold sore.

Arginine is a protein fraction that is essential in the production of new herpes virus. Your nerve cells have a storage area within the cell specifically for arginine. Lysine and arginine compete for the same storage space. The cell cannot create new virus using lysine. When you consume high levels of lysine, the lysine will take the place of some of the arginine. This creates a situation where the cell cannot support the production of new herpes virus because of low arginine levels.

A high lysine content in your cells often causes the herpes virus to give up and return to hibernation. You have just prevented a cold sore. Quite often you won't even know it. Here are some common foods to avoid with cold sores. These foods are known to contain high levels of arginine.

Anything that contains chocolate

Nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts

Seeds

Any seafood that has a shell such as shrimp and oysters

Grains such as wheat and oats

Many fruits and berries including grapes, grapefruit and oranges

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.

But, for your best health, do not avoid these foods for more than a couple weeks. It is not a wise cold sore prevention program. It is only to help with a current outbreak. These highly nutritional foods are important for a strong immune system. One that helps protect you from the cold sore virus.

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.

Here are some foods that are high in lysine and low in arginine. These foods will help balance the intake of some of the avoidance foods.

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.

The best solution, for your convenience and good health, might be taking an additional lysine supplement. It generally comes in 500 mg. capsules and is available nearly anywhere vitamins are sold. Many folks take six to eight of these capsules a day during a cold sore and one or two capsules daily to prevent cold sores.

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. That's right - you do not have to give up chocolate. Increasing your lysine intake with high-lysine foods or supplements will often cancel out the effects of the arginine foods to avoid with cold sores.

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