Cold Sore Lysine - How And Why It Works
January 29th, 2008 Posted by: Denny Bodoh
Cold sore lysine - is it the miracle cure for cold sores that many claim? Find out the truth. Get the latest research facts, right now, about cold sore lysine remedies for herpes sores.
Cold sore lysine treatment has been in the news a lot in recent years. Studies continue to show it to be very helpful for relief of these persistent sores. But many people who write about lysine do not know how it actually works.
FACT: Lysine extinguishes cold sores very much the same as water quenches a fire.
Fire must have oxygen to burn. Water smothers the fire by preventing oxygen from reaching it. Lysine works much the same way with cold sores. It keeps the herpes virus from getting the one main nutrient it must have to make new virus.
But, before you use lysine to treat your sores, it will help you greatly to learn about what causes them and how lysine really works to stop them.
Normally the herpes virus is latent. It becomes active only to create new virus. It does this by moving to the surface, infecting the nerve cells there, and forcing them to build copies of the virus. When the cell is full, it is destroyed to release the new virus.
The herpes virus, type 1 or 2, creates the open, ugly ulcer on your lip or nose by burning up thousands of nerve cells during this replication process.
FACT: Arginine is the oxygen that makes cold sores burn.
Protein is what the herpes virus is made of. To create new viruses, your cells need arginine as the main ingredient. Without it, virus replication is impossible.
Arginine, along with lysine, is in a group designated as essential amino acids. There are about 17 amino acids in this group the body cannot create. They must be obtained from the foods we eat. Each one is important to specific tasks within our body.
Your nerve cells store arginine in a specific location within the cell. Cells that are forced to create herpes virus will do so only until the arginine stores are used up. Arginine is the main building block of the herpes virus. Without it, no virus cloning can take place.
FACT: Lysine extinguishes the fire of cold sores by preventing arginine from reaching it.
Lysine is also stored within the cells, in the same storage area as arginine. The more lysine in your diet, the more of it is stored in the cells. And the more lysine, the less room there is for storing arginine. Basically, lysine and arginine fight for the same space.
Lysine cannot be used for creating herpes virus - like water cannot burn. And it smothers the replication process by keeping arginine from being available for use.
FACT: Lysine can only reach the cells for storage through the blood supply.
For high levels of lysine, your best solution is increasing your intake of high cold sore lysine foods. These include fish, meat and dairy items. Real food provides the best quality and most easily used form of this nutrient.
For convenience, you can find lysine capsules at most stores that sell vitamins. These are very convenient since they reduce the need to change your diet. Combining diet with supplemental lysine would still be the best method.
There are several drug-store treatments that contain lysine. These treatments often contain other herpes fighting ingredients that will help - at least for comfort. Lysine sounds good on the label - but, as a topical remedy for cold sores, it has not been proven to work.
Amino acids, such as lysine, do not go into the cells through the skin. Putting it on the skin before the sores blossom is of no value. And applying the lysine after the sore opens up, even if it did work, is too late. The damage is already done.
YES. Lysine works great for quenching cold sores. And Lysine is great for preventing them too. But your cold sore lysine must be taken orally to do its magic.
Lysine is as safe as food. Lysine capsules usually come in 500 mg. size. 4000 mg. per day is common during an outbreak. 500 to 1000 mg. daily is the usual amount for prevention.
Consuming high lysine foods is the best source of quality lysine. Taking lysine capsules may also be necessary for you to reach the levels you need for effective cold sore lysine treatment.
