Foods To Avoid With Cold Sores (Oral Herpes)
Posted: Thursday, January 24, 2008
by Denny Bodoh
http://www.3daycoldsorecure.com
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.
You probably have heard of arginine and lysine. These are two amino acids that are present in most foods. Arginine and lysine have a big impact on the duration and frequency of cold sores.
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.
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.
These are a few of the foods to avoid with cold sores. Arginine levels are higher than lysine levels in these selections.
---- Anything that contains chocolate
---- Tree and bush nuts
---- Flax, sesame and most other seeds
---- Shell type seafood such as oysters and crab
---- Oats, barley, wheat and most other grains
---- Fruits such as grapes, oranges, tangerines
---- Many vegetables are ok, however onions, peas, brussel sprouts, and squash are high in arginine.
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.
Fish (flounder is super-rich in lysine), chicken, beef, eggs, apples, papaya, beets, and all dairy products. Cheeses and yogurt are very rich in lysine. These will provide a preferred lysine to arginine ratio of 2 to 1.
Following a restricted diet, or intolerance of dairy products, may make these diet recommendations difficult or impossible for you. Vegetarians would certainly have problems with a cold sore diet.
A great way to reduce cold sores without the bother of a restricted diet is the use of a lysine supplement. Lysine usually comes in 500 mg. capsules and can be found anywhere. It is common to take 2000 mg. (4 caps) to 4000 mg. (8 caps) daily during the cold sore and two capsules daily as a maintenance dose to prevent cold sores.
Is lysine safe to take in large quantity?
The short answer is YES. No negative side effects have ever been noted. Fact is, flounder, mentioned above, is so rich in lysine that an eight-ounce serving will provide 7000 mg. (7 grams) of lysine. Since food-source lysine is twice as absorbed as supplemental lysine, this is equivalent to about 24 capsules.
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.
Curious about cold sores? Get the facts now. Check out Denny Bodoh and his popular web-site - loaded with free information about cold sores and some truly amazing cold sore cures and remedies.
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More commentsHi Lucy. Thank you so much for your kind words. Flounder is excellent - fact is I just had some flounder last night myself. One other important thing to watch for is your pH balance. Your body is healthiest when you are slightly alkaline - about 7.4 on the pH scale. Calcium is the main mineral your body uses to stay alkaline. It would be wise to take a good vitamin supplement that provides 1000 mg. of calcium per day.Nice talking to you. Take care LucyDenny Bodoh
I'm trying to find out if white chocolate, which isn't of course chocolate at all, contains arginine. I've had to give up chocolate completely except for an occasional chocolate biscuit or two squares of milk chocolate. I'd love to be able to eat white chocolate as a substitute.Hi AnonWhite chocolate is made of cocoa butter, milk solids, and sugar so it does contain cocoa. The dark solids are processed out to give you an ivory colored product. So, if you have a problem with brown chocolate, you will with white chocolate also.I love chocolate too. I have gotten in the habit of taking extra lysine supplements with my daily vitamins to counteract the effects of my occasional chocolate binge.If I were you, I would take lysine supplements too. They are cheap and well worth the investment.Thank you so much for commenting. Great to hear from you.DennyThanks, that's disappointing but does explain my next-to-last outbreak. I have started taking the lysine supplements, so maybe I can have an occasional treat after all. I spent hours online the other day to see if white chocolate was okay and if it weren't for you I still wouldn't know.By the way my name is Sue and I'm from Australia. Thanks for responding so quickly.Hi SueGreat to hear from you again and to know your name. Australia is one place I have always wanted to visit.I think you will find the lysine will help you a lot and give you more freedom in your diet. If you like fish, eat some Flounder too.Another thing you can check out is your pH balance. If your body has an acid pH (below 7 on the pH scale) you can see more virus activity like cold sores. Some things that cause our bodies to move into the acid range is cold weather (this is why we get more colds and flu in the winter), stress (mental or physical) and food items such as carbonated soda, white flour and processed sugar.Take care Sue and have a great week.DennyThanks for all your advice!Great to hear from you. Thank you - I am gladto hopefully helped you.Take careDenny Bodoh
Hi Denny, I am having a problem with trying to find an accurate source for determining which foods are high in lysine and low in arginine. I am finding the sources to be contradictory. Thank you!!Hi Anon
Great to hear from you. I know what you mean about finding accurate info. It is amazing what weird info you find about cold sores.
traditionaloven.com/tutorials/l-lysine_rich_foods.html
Here is a place that has a very good chart that I feel is quite accurate. Basically nuts, seeds and most grains are low or even in the lysine/arginine ratios. Meat, fish, dairy products, some vegetables and eggs are good sources of lysine. Check it out.
Thank you very much for writing.
Denny
I contracted the cold sore virus from my 18-month old baby (only God knows where she got it?!) back in 2005. It was terrible! I used to get cold sores about once/year. Now I am getting them every month. I had one so bad in July it left a scar on my lip and looks like I have one permanently now. I am vegetarian and have been since 1998. However, I am deeply considering adding flounder after reading this article. I take lysine, but I haven't had much success with it. I am not very regular, will take 2000 mg one day, skip a day, then take 3000, skip two or three days then take 1000 mg, etc. etc. However, during outbreaks, I take it consistently and about 4-5000 mg/day. What I am wondering is if the l-lysine isn't working for me because I am so inconsistent before break-outs (which is just because I am forgetful and don't like taking supplements) or is it because I have such a deficiency being vegetarian and vegan for some time? I will definitely not be adding dairy products because they are so mucus forming for me. However, I am really considering adding flounder. I guess that what I am wanting to know, though, is if the l-lysine needs to be taken consistently; and perhaps I would have more success if I increased the dosage and took it consistently? I have read, however, that some people do not have success with l-lysine supplements. How long should I expect to take the supplements before I notice a difference? What daily dosage would you recommend for someone who suffers from an outbreak every month to every other month? Also, do you have to take the stuff on an "empty stomach" (I HATE that!)?
P.S. I don't like chocolate, so that's not what's holding me back, lol!Hi Trish
Great to hear from you, Trish! Sorry to hear of your repeated bouts with cold sores.
Babies often get cold sores from doting relatives or friends who may have a cold sore. People need to be more careful!! It is a lifetime virus.
Any treatment, including lysine, should be consistent for best results. For prevention, most users take 500 mg. per day - some take it twice a day. This is only a temporary fix, however. Eventually, your body will adjust and you will have to take more and more to accomplish the same thing. It is better NOT to take on an empty stomach - this is true with most any supplements. Supplements are not recognized as nutritional food by your body. Taken with food, your digestive system will attach some of the nutritional elements to real food and then your body will be able to utilize it. Anybody who takes most vitamin supplements with little or no food are just throwing their money away.
Three or four years ago, I decided to take up weight lifting again. As many weightlifters do, I started taking supplemental Arginine - it really helps. But, because of the high amount of arginine, I got a cold sore immediately. I took piles of Lysine to counteract the Arginine, but the cold sore would not go away. It was low grade and never broke thru, but it stayed in the painful bump mode. I was curious, so I kept it up with the Arginine too. That sore lasted 3 full months, no matter how much lysine I took each day. I quit the lysine and arginine one day at the end of summer, and the sore was gone the next day. It was a good experiment.
Keep in mind, Trish - it is not the presence of Lysine but the lack of Arginine that stops and prevents cold sores. You are not getting repeated cold sores from lack of Lysine. I would suggest that you are getting too much Arginine in your diet. As a vegetarian, you are likely depending on soy (and other nuts and beans) for a large part of your protein. Unfortunately, these contain high levels of Arginine. Soy for example - for every 100 grams you get about 5 grams of Arginine (which is a protein of course). Most other beans and seeds are about the same. The protein isolates from soy is even higher in Arginine - about 7 grams of Arginine to 100 grams of product. Also, grains like oats and wheat are very high in Arginine. You are experiencing exactly what I did that summer - way too much Arginine. You probably will not be able to take enough Lysine to overcome this.
That is why I state that vegetarians who are susceptible to cold sores will have a tough time being a vegetarian.
One other thing that you should know. These same grains, nuts and seeds will also cause acidifying of your body. Your body is healthiest when it is about 7.4 on the pH scale (which is slightly alkaline). The lower toward the acid side your body becomes, the more open you are to virus attack - mainly because it reduces your tissue oxygen saturation. Just dropping from 7.4 to 7.1 can lower the oxygen in those tissues by 25%. Oxygen is essential for your immune system. The best thing for alkalizing the body is vegetables - especially dark green leaf, cabbage, broccoli and asparagus. Grains, nuts and seeds fight this.
At any rate, Trish, I would look more into your pH levels. There are more and more doctors who maintain maintaining optimum pH balances can prevent nearly any disease. Maybe.
Take care Trish - hope I have been of some help. Thanks for stopping by.
Denny
You mention flounder but when I checked out the list, salmon had a higher amount per the same oz. of flounder. Why did not not mention salmon? thanks.Hi Anna
Sorry I am late getting back to you. This site is supposed to notify me when there is a comment but it does not do so very well.
All fish is excellent, provided it is wild caught. Farmed fish is missing a lot of nutritional value. Yes salmon is great but is often farm raised now. Actually, shark and halibut are even higher.
Thank you, Anna, for your comments and for the stars.
Denny
Denny,
I would agree that lysine rich diet is a must for people with the herpes virus. I personally cannot eat chocolate. it is like poison to me.
I have been taking olive leaf extract, in short, I got extremely sick with die off symptons, but after overcoming them am better than ever, since for 25 yrs I have been in constant pain and break out with herpes on my back. it is miserable. I also find that coconut oil helps with the pain, as I rub it on the spot as much as needed. Sometimes every hour, but it works.
Now, about SOY!!!! any soy that is unfermented should be avoided like the PLAGUE!
Soy is very healthy when it is fermented, but very unhealthy when not, and it is used in most everything these days. Most restuarants even use soybean oil, because it is versatile, readily available, and highly GMO.
Anyway, most people have a steady diet of the stuff and don't even realize it. Since I have been aware of this fact, and have avoided it most of the time, my health has improved tremendously.
I attribute my healing to a daily Miso soup, olive leaf, llysine, and lots of coconut oil. I cook with it, and use it on my skin, can't say enough good about it...I hope this will give you some new things to research and I also hope that others will do so too!
Sorry for rambling on so much...
JanetHey Janet
Great to hear from you Janet. Sounds like you really have it together.
I have been testing coconut oil and find it very impressive for dealing with cold sores and shingles, both topically and internally. It really is a health oil, up there with olive oil and fish oil. Great for cooking and does not break down - can handle high temps.
I agree with you about soy. It has long been promoted as a health food but I also disagree. It is high in protein and cheap so is often used as a base food for people who don't want to eat meat. It also imparts a mock estrogen into the body. Not good for men (prostates) young girls who may reach puberty too quickly and women who are concerned about breast health. Soybean is grown all around my place here in Wisconsin because it is a profitable cash crop - this year in particular.
Olive leaf extract - Excellent! I believe that is a better anti-viral than anything the drug people have come up with yet.
This was a great letter, Janet. Thank you very much for stopping by.
Denny
Hi
Thanks for your article, it provides some great info on how to combat them dreaded coldsores! I'm very prone to these, and tend to have an outbreak once a month now and they completely deplete my confidence! I just wanted to ask, what types of yoghurt in particular, contain the highest levels of lysine? E.g plain, greek, fruit etc. I currently consume a mango and papaya yoghurt only (live bio-cultures) as i'm not a fan of dairy products.Hi Ruby
Great to hear from you, Ruby. I am sorry that I didn't respond sooner. I had to be away for a couple days.
It is the dairy portion of yogurt that provides the lysine. Any kind is probably fine and should contain similar amounts of lysine (less than a 1000th of a percent). Having the live bacteria is great - you can put yogurt or milk directly on the sore too. Some folks have great luck with this. The papaya and mango should also be an excellent help, both internally and externally.
Three things in yogurt that helps. Lysine, calcium (alkalizes the area) and acidophilus. These work both internally and topically as well. You can also get a lot of lysine from most fish - my favorite is Flounder. A 275 gram serving of Flounder provides about 7 grams of lysine. Some people have told me that they eat about 500 grams of Flounder the first day and it gets rid of the cold sore in about 2 more days. I have not personally tested it.
If you are getting frequent cold sores, Ruby, you may want to read a new article I just posted to my web site about dealing with "Repeated Cold Sores". It also mentions the cold sore susceptibility gene C21orf 91 which is thought to make some people more likely to get cold sores.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Take care Ruby and have a great week.
Denny
Could you explain why they say don't take lysine with dairy. I eat some cheese or yogurt with most meals, so it makes taking lysine supplements difficult.
Also, my outbreaks have increased in the last couple of years, despite giving up most grains (occasional sweet cheat or sourdough bread), peanut butter and cutting way back on chocolate. I used to eat chocolate. peanuts, grains, etc. every day. and had about 10 outbreaks a day. Now I am getting them about 50% more per year. I read about others having similar increases in outbreaks on another forum and most felt it was due to hormones decreasing. Mine have been decreased for a while due to menopause, but the increase in outbreaks only happened recently, despite changes in diet. If you have any thoughts on this I'd appreciate it.Hi Lisa
Great to hear from you Lisa.
You can take lysine with dairy products without worry.
I believe that the main reasoning behind the "no lysine with milk" could only be that milk may hinder absorption of supplemental lysine - as it can do with other supplements and prescription medicines. This is a side-effect of the calcium content. There is no other reason that I am aware of since dairy is a rich source of lysine. The ratio of lysine to arginine in milk is 2 parts lysine to 1 part arginine which is excellent. You cannot avoid arginine in your diet, but for cold sore sufferers, you want to keep a high ratio of lysine to arginine.
But, Lisa, I would guess that your change in hormone activity is a big factor in your outbreaks.
As we grow older, especially after the change in life, our bodies tend to be more acid. This is caused by several factors - hormone changes, dietary choices, less exercise and fresh air, changes is our digestive cycles and changes in our ability to absorb the nutrients from foods.
As our alkalinity drops toward the acid zone, our bodies compensate by stealing calcium from our bones. That is what causes such things as weak bones (hip fractures) and osteoporosis. Many doctors feel low alkalinity is a big reason for disease of all kinds in older folks.
Your body should be about 7.4 pH (slightly alkaline) for optimum health. 7 is neutral and below 7 is acid. At 7.4 your tissue oxygen is at the highest level. If, for example, your pH drops to 7.1, your oxygen levels drop by about 36%. This encourages virus and bacterial activity and other diseases and aging.
Low pH is the old folks disease and you are too young to be old, Lisa.
I suggest that your pH balance is tending lower and you need to raise your alkalinity. You can get pH testing strips from your drug store or a good vitamin store. Good vitamin suppliers also have alkalizing nutritional kits you may benefit from and information.
Calcium (along with magnesium and other companion nutrients like vit. D and boron) is the main mineral used by your body to maintain a healthy level of alkalinity. It is so critical to your life that your body steals it from your bones if it has to.
Acidifying foods include carbonated drinks, sugar, grains, white flour, processed foods (frozen meals and snacks - a fast favorite for older people) and drugs (legal or illegal). Alkalizing foods primarily are vegetables and fruits.
I would look into this, Lisa. Raising your alkalinity is a big health gain for anyone of us over 40.
You may want to check my website (just below my name at top of article) for more information. It is free and I am not trying to shove some cold sore remedy down your throat.
Take care, Lisa, and have a nice weekend. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Denny
Denny,
Thank you so much for this wonderful article! I have been suffering from cold sore outbreaks since I was a little girl and in recent years they have only gotten worse. For the past two years, I have tried this "cold sore diet" and it really helps! I find that eliminating or consuming small quantities of foods with arginine as well as taking daily lysine supplements during an outbreak really decreases the lifespan of the sore.
Like you said, it can be very hard to completely eliminate or avoid certain foods.. especially when they are ones you love! In particular, I was wondering about pasta and coffee. I know that you should try to avoid caffeine as it can exacerbate a cold sore, but I am wondering if you know what the arginine to lysine ratio of coffee is? As a teacher, those early mornings can be pretty hard and having a cup of coffee in the morning to give me that extra boost is always helpful. I ask this because I want to be able to have my morning cup of coffee even when I have an outbreak but I am wondering how much lysine I should take to counteract my arginine intake. As for pasta, does this fall under the wheat category? Do you know if pasta is rich in arginine?
Thanks again, Denny. Stumbling upon your article was a lifesaver!! :-)
Hello Denny,
Thank you for this information. Select Magazine, a health and wellness publication would like to publish it. Would you please contact me if you are interested in giving us permission to publish?
Thanks
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