If you are or your kids is a regular cold sore sufferer, the first thing that you should do is avoid foods that are too acidic or salty. Furthermore, foods such as chocolate, peanuts, grains, oatmeal and whole-wheat may be good for you in some ways but if you are a cold sore sufferer, these foods can exacerbate your condition because they are high in arginine.
Arginine is an essential amino acid but there is evidence that having too much of this particular amino is in conflict with lysine, another essential amino acid which helps fight against herpes simplex. Hence, cutting down on argenine-rich foods allows lysine to do its work more efficiently.
You should also increase the amount of foods that are rich in vitamins A, C and E that you consume as these vitamins help fight herpes, with a recommended dose of at least 5000 mg of vitamin C a day being highly desirable. You should also increase the amount of iron and (particularly) zinc that you ingest every day as it is believed that these trace minerals also help to keep the herpes virus under control.
Basically, what you need to do is increase your general ‘wellness' levels because although it is not known exactly why the dormant herpes simplex virus generates cold sores every now and then, it is obvious that there must be some reason why this happens. It is also not unreasonable to assume that the stronger and healthier you are, the less likely it is to happen, so improving the overall quality of your diet might be all that you need to do to keep cold sores at bay.
Another health giving food that is widely recommended is garlic as it contains allicin which is one of the strongest natural antibacterials known to man. It is however best if garlic is taken either raw or in the form of garlic capsules because if it is cooked, a degree of the goodness is lost.
Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is also highly advisable, with organic produce being the best because of the high level of natural nutrients contained in produce of this nature.
Lysine can be obtained from many foods such as milk, eggs, red meat, brewer's yeast, wheat germ and fish, so one step in the right direction would be to increase the amount of these foods that you consume.
Even so, there may be times when you should boost your herpes resistance with lysine supplements as evidence indicates that thinking 1000mg of lysine three times a day reduces cold sore healing time by a considerable margin.
