Foods That Prevent Cold Sores

Cold Sores are not life threatening, but there is no cure and they are extremely contagious. Avoid getting a cold sore or the herpes virus, by refraining from physical contact with a person who has an outbreak. This includes not using utensils, towels, or kissing an infected individual.

Once contracted, however, the virus will remain in the nervous system for life and outbreaks will be periodically experienced. Dr. Ash, who specializes in alternative medicine at the Ash Center for Comprehensive Medicine, states that there are foods and supplements especially suited for prevention and lowering the incidence of cold sores (and genital herpes).

There is Help for Cold Sores

To offer hope, if the virus seems to be recurring often, there are foods to eat, and foods to avoid that will help lessen the incidences. Dr. Ash confirms that lack of proper rest, stress, low immunity, menstrual cycles, and overexposure to the sun can all factor in to encourage an outbreak.

Amino Acids

People suffering from regular cold sores will benefit from a diet including foods high in lysine and low in arginine. Both are amino acids but lysine seems to keep the outbreaks at bay, while arginine stimulates the virus to erupt, according to the Medical Dictionary. These two amino acids are in most foods, but the ratio can be significantly higher in some foods. For example, nuts are high in arginine and low in lysine, where the opposite is true for cheese.

Lysine

Chicken, and most cheeses may increase lysine intake to help discourage the virus. Milk products are higher in lysine than arginine. Dr. Ash's article states that yogurt is a great benefit because it contains lactobacillus acidophilus, which may also be taken in supplement form. Many types of fish are beneficial to cold sore sufferers. Some fruits that can increase lysine and lower arginine include apples, papaya and pears.

Arginine

There are some foods that will actually encourage an outbreak and should be avoided. This includes most varieties of nuts, seeds and chocolate. Wheat flour, brown rice, onions, corn, and oatmeal are also high in arginine. To keep the immune system strong, minimize or avoid caffeine and alcohol.

Many vegetables are in balance with amounts of arginine and lysine. This means that diet alone may not stave off infection, so supplements of L-Lysine are necessary, according to Dr. Ash.

Important Supplements

Since it is difficult to avoid arginine rich foods all the time, take L-Lysine tablets as a diet supplement. Make sure that the supplements do not contain gelatin, which is high in arginine and counteracts the lysine. Take at least 500 to 1000 mg of L-Lysine daily and increase the dose to 1000 mg three times a day as soon as there is an indication of a possible cold sore. This can thwart an outbreak altogether or shorten the duration.

Dr. Ash encourages the use of supplements to increase immunity. Consider the daily addition of 50 mg of Zinc chelate and vitamin B-12. Also include 500 mg. of vitamin C with bioflavonoids, and lactobacillus acidophilus tablets at mealtimes.