Does L Lysine Help With Genital Herpes

Effects Of Lysine Deficiency

A lysine deficiency is considered fairly rare, even in vegetarians and people on restricted diets. However, âThe New Encyclopedia of Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements, and Herbs,â by Nicola Reavley, reports symptoms of lysine deficiency include kidney stone formation, dizziness, reduced appetite, fatigue and anemia. Severe deficiency can lead to hormone imbalance and affect metabolism, sexual reproduction and growth. People at risk of lysine deficiency are those who do not eat fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products or meat, but rather consume heavily processed foods, sugary foods and soda pop.

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What Are The Pros Cons And Price Of Luminance Red

Luminance RED is supported by clinical studies that prove its ability to achieve lasting results. According to clinical research, patients who received Luminance RED treatment averaged 37.5 weeks before their next cold sore episode, compared to 3 weeks for those who did not receive treatment. Patients treated with Luminance Red also experienced a 49% reduction in healing time and a 77% reduction in pain.

Overall, Luminance RED offers an advanced way to reduce the severity of cold sore outbreaks, accelerate healing, and prevent the frequency of future outbreaks. Its available online for $399. If youre not satisfied, Luminance RED offers a 6-month, 100% money-back guarantee.

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Try Taking The Supplement Lysine

In terms of taking supplements to prevent breakouts, I especially recommend L-lysine. This is the primary supplement for herpes, Gade says. L-lysine is an , a building block of protein. When you have an outbreak, it can be taken orally to shorten the outbreak in conjunction with an antiviral medication.

Lysine appears to be useful in reducing the number and the severity of outbreaks. The usual daily dose is between 1 and 3 milligrams.

Some studies suggest that taking lysine regularly may help prevent outbreaks of both and herpes sores. In Gades experience, patients have had no side effects using lysine. In some people, though, there have been reports of the supplement causing and diarrhea.

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The Lysine Essential Amino Acid Treatment For Herpes

The lysine essential amino acid is not considered a treatment for herpes simplex virus infection. In modern medicine, the lysine essential amino acid is acknowledged as an alternative medicine for the herpes virus infection. The medical world is set to research on the relevancy of the lysine essential amino acid in treating the herpes simplex virus infection due to the factual reports, that people that are strict vegans are at risk with the herpes simplex virus infection. The vegan diets main mantra is to keep the meat and poultry products intake to a minimum. A diet without meat is a diet that is most likely low in protein. Without protein, lysine essential amino acid is impossible to have.

So how do the lysine essential amino acid inhibit the viral replication of herpes?

The mechanism to which the theory of the lysine essential amino acid treatment for herpes viral infection roots on the idea that the lysine essential amino acid disrupts the balance of lysine and arginine metabolism. The Herpes simplex virus produces more arginine than lysine inside the human body once it establishes its domain on the host. The increase in the levels of lysine in the body creates an imbalance between the lysine and arginine metabolism, thus, rendering the blocking of further viral replication.

Treatment Options And Foods To Help Curb Outbreaks

The war on herpes has raged for centuries. In the first century A.D., Tiberius, Emperor of Rome, actually banned kissing to combat a herpes epidemic.

What is herpes?

Although many think of herpes as a skin infection, it is actually an inflammation of the sensory nerves. In between outbreaks, the herpes DNA survives in nerve centers at the base of the brain called ganglia. During outbreaks, the DNA replicates, forming a virus. The virus passes down the nerve to the skin, where it causes lesions.

HSV-1 and HSV-2 are transmitted by contact – usually kissing or sexual contact. They tend to occur orally or genitally because our skin provides sufficient protection against transmission except where it is very thin and sensitive – like on the lips or genitals.

Our immune system is able to combat the virus, but the catch is that the virus retreats from our immune defenses and “hides”, lying dormant in the ganglia, nerves at along the spinal cord. Periodically, the virus retraces its way to the lips or genitals, and causes another outbreak.

Research Provides a Solution

Now, new research is providing successful treatment alternatives.

Studies show that the amino acid l-lysine can be effective as a dietary supplement, and when applied topically.

Lysine Supplements – the herpes preventative

In Canada, the government allows lysine to be sold as a cold sore treatment, giving further validity to the concept.

Topical Lysine – #1 Treatment option

Treatment and Prevention

• Beer
• Sugar

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Special Precautions & Warnings

Pregnancy and breast-feeding

Kidney disease: There is one report of kidney disease linked with taking lysine supplements. If you have a kidney disease, check with your healthcare provider before taking lysine.

Osteoporosis: Using Lysine with calcium supplements might increase calcium absorption.

Intolerance to lysinuric protein: Lysine supplementation might cause diarrhea and stomach cramps in children who are intolerant to lysinuric protein.

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What I Did To Help My Outbreaks

So, what did I do? Well, I adjusted my diet as best as I could. Im vegan for ethical reasons, so eating meat and dairy were simply not an option. I was stuck being a vegan with herpes.

I cant exactly stop eating things with arginine because they are where I get my protein, but I did cut back. I had blood tests run to make sure I was getting enough protein and they came back fine.

I decided that the best thing to do was to take lysine supplements. I experimented a bit to find the right dosage for me, which I think is quite diet dependent. I tried 1,000 mg, then 2,000 mg, and finally 4,000 mg/day. I found that taking two doses of 2,000 mg of lysine one in the morning and one at night right before I went to sleep was the ideal amount for me.

I still have outbreaks, but they are less frequent and less severe. I really wish my doctor would have told me this. It would have saved me a lot of painful days. Being a vegan with herpes isnt easy, but with careful diet monitoring and lysine supplements, you can make it much easier to deal with.

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Carnitine And The Body

L-lysine helps create carnitine which the body requires to convert fatty acids into energy successfully. It also lowers the cholesterol levels. Ultimately, it plays a critical role in the bodys absorption of calcium. Calcium helps the body build collagen which is essential for the growth and maintenance of bones plus skin. Collagen in the skin provides a younger, firmer appearance by smoothing out wrinkles and erasing lines.

Herbs For Colon Cleansing

The second step in using herbs to relieve the symptoms of genital herpes is to utilize herbs that are clinically proven to help cleanse toxins out of the body.

Cleansing herbs promote regular and complete bowel movements, strengthen the peristaltic muscular action of the small and large intestines which push toxins out of the body, and vacuum old waste material from the intestinal walls.

It may not make sense to cleanse the colon when the issue is genital herpes on the skin. However, the body will have a much easier and faster healing time if the colon is cleaned out and moving toxins out regularly.

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The Natural Treatments I Tried For Herpes

I even tried using essential oils to treat the lesions, which helped a bit, but it did not prevent the outbreaks. For those of you who are interested in using essential oils, I used oregano essential oil as an antiviral and clove essential oil to numb the area, which definitely helped with the constant pain.

Of course, it wears off and you have to reapply it, but the combination of oregano and clove oil worked better than any ointment I got by prescription. After tinkering around a bit, I learned to numb first with clove oil, wait about 5 minutes, and then apply the oregano oil diluted in coconut oil makes it hurt less. You can mix it with the solid or liquid kind.

Supplements And Vitamins For Herpes Outbreaks

Medically reviewed by Kristin Hall, FNP

Herpes, whether oral or genital, can be an annoying, frustrating virus. Whether you get frequent outbreaks or have asymptomatic herpes but worry about transmitting the virus to others, herpes can cause a variety of difficult physical and psychological symptoms. These days, the most common drugs used to treat herpes are oral antiviral medications, such as valacyclovir. Weve covered these medications beforein general, they should be your first line of treatment in the event of a herpes outbreak. However, are there alternatives? Weâve all heard the stories about people using supplements and vitamins for herpes outbreaks, but is any of it true?

In this guide, well look at some of the most widely used vitamins and supplements marketed as herpes treatments. Well look at the scientific data behind each supplement and the benefits of each product to help you make informed, effective buying decisions.

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What To Look For

The National Institutes of Health recommends checking the supplement facts label before buying any dietary or herbal supplement, including lysine. This label provides important information about the amount of active ingredient per serving. It should also include information about other ingredients.

The NIH also recommends looking for a product that has been quality tested by an independent organization. Most supplements that have been quality tested will include these details in the product information.

Quality testing organizations include:

• ConsumerLab.com
• NSF International

A seal of approval from one of these organizations helps you know that the product was properly manufactured, contains the listed ingredients, and does not include harmful levels of contaminants. It does not, however, guarantee the productâs safety or effectiveness.

What Does Lysine Have To Do With Herpes

One other function of lysine well, not so much a function as an effect is that it competes with another amino acid known as arginine for space in our cells. Each of our cells has little tiny doors on them through which certain substances may pass.

Think of those little doors as the holes in the childs toy where the objective is to put the round object through the round hole and the square object through the square hole. The round object will not go through the square hole and vice versa.

Lysine and arginine are like two different colored square blocks. They are both competing to get through the square doors on the cell walls. Only one can pass at a time, so if there are tons of lysine blocks and only a few arginine blocks duking it out at the cell door trying to be the one that gets through, by simple probability there will be more lysine blocks that will make it in than arginine before there is no more room.

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If You Have The Herpes Simplex Outbreaks What Dosage Of Lysine Do You Recommend

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on April 7, 2021.

I am just starting to take l-lysine as a friend suggested it. I am two weeks into shingles, started getting two cold sores and a terrible sty on the one eyelid. I am thinking I could use this tablet more than once a day on a regular basis?

JOHN G. BEAUMAN, MAJ, MC, USA, Evans U.S. Army Hospital, Fort Carson, Colorado

Am Fam Physician. 2005 Oct 15 72:1527-1534.

Patient information:See related handout on genital herpes, written by the author of this article.

• References

SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

A test for isolation of HSV in cell culture should be obtained in patients who present with genital lesions.

HSV = herpes simplex virus.

SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

HSV = herpes simplex virus.

Risk Factors for Genital Herpes Infection

HSV = herpes simplex virus.

Upgrade Your Eating Habits

Are you eating a standard American diet, or SAD? That means eating lots of meat, fast foods, and and few fresh fruits and vegetables. Such habits not only work against living comfortably with herpes, they also raise your risk for many diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Consider upgrading your eating habits through a few, not-so-hard-to-make changes.

Eat more veggies. Try to prepare home-cooked food more often. Eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed, says LeeAnn Weintraub, RD, MPH, a registered dietitian based in Los Angeles. She considers these three tips to be the first steps anyone who wants to eat more healthfully should follow.

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Scientific Evidence Of Herpes Supplements

As you might have heard earlier, there is no cure for herpes. If that is the case, how do herpes supplements work, and why are the brands claiming such a bold thing? You will get all the answers after going through all the results that different studies have published.

Most studies revolved around the ingredients that can support the bodys natural defense system. While some showed results exceptionally fast, some took weeks to show any positive results.

Nonetheless, after going through the information collected from the research, you will have a clear idea of how these supplements work.

Reduces Herpes Breakouts And Severity

Researchers at the Department of Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana undertook a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of oral L-lysine monohydrochloride to see if the amino acid would reduce the severity of HSV-1 and HSV-2 breakouts. At the end of the study, the researchers found that it did significantly reduce the severity and duration of outbreaks.

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How I Figured Out My Diet Was Making My Herpes Worse

Anyway, so after battling herpes for a couple of years, I kinda got out of working out due to some personal problems that had me kinda depressed. While I still had outbreaks, they tended to be less severe and less frequent.

I also happened to be single during this time and I thought maybe that the lack of sex may have something to do with the less frequent outbreaks. My doctor had advised me that sex is one of the outbreak triggers.

Since getting herpes I really didnt feel much up to dating or having to disclose that information to someone and then get rejected. So, I just went without for a long time. In fact, Im still single. I havent gotten to where I can handle trying to tell someone about it, but its getting better.

While there are some good resources for how to adjust to having herpes and how to tell a potential partner that you have herpes, there is a special place in Hell for my ex.

Back to my story.

So while I wasnt working out, the outbreaks were less. But, then, after having gained a lot of weight from sitting on my ass and eating crappy junk food all of the time, I decided it was time to get my crap together and lose some weight.

I began eating a healthier diet which included plenty of nuts, seeds, and so forth for protein. I also started working out again, and since I planned to gain some muscle, I started drinking my favorite vegan protein shake.

Lysine Can Potentially Help Both Types Of Herpes Virus

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Dear Doctor: Are cold sores and herpes the same thing? Ive got both, and finding out theres no cure really stinks. My friends say lysine can help. Is that true?

Dear Reader: Cold sores and genital herpes are caused by different types of the herpes simplex virus, or HSV. Each type is quite contagious.

HSV-1 causes cold sores on the lips and mouth. Its estimated that half of the population in the United States is infected with the oral herpes virus. The majority of genital herpes, which is a sexually transmitted disease, is caused by HSV-2. The infection rate of HSV-2 in the U.S. is estimated to be at least 15 percent and as high as 20 percent.

Youre correct that at this time, there is no cure for either type of herpes infection. Instead, people who have frequent outbreaks seek to manage the condition. Many people infected with HSV-2 rely on antiviral medications, which can shorten or suppress outbreaks of genital herpes and also lessen symptoms when an outbreak does occur. The three main drugs are acyclovir , famciclovir and valacyclovir . Antivirals may also be prescribed to people infected with HSV-1 who are having frequent or severe outbreaks. The over-the-counter cream Abreva, which targets oral herpes, can be useful.

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