Curious about cold sore foods? Nutrition is the least talked about but still a powerful ongoing cold sore treatment. Read this short article now and discover foods that can cause or prevent your cold sores.

This is not a recipe article. But you will learn of some delicious foods that prevent cold sores and oral herpes. You will also read about some foods that can CAUSE cold sores.

Best of all, in about 2 minutes, you will know how best to balance these two food groups for your oral herpes cold sore prevention program.

HOW ARE YOUR COLD SORES CAUSED?

Cold sores are the result of the herpes simplex virus creating new virus particles.

It works like this.

The herpes virus, in parasite fashion, enters a cell and forces it to make virus copies. When full, the virus shatters the cell walls to release the virus particles. The cold sore ulcer you see is the result of many destroyed cells.

THE ROLE OF ARGININE AND LYSINE IN COLD SORES.

Two important proteins that you may have heard about in relation to cold sores are lysine and arginine.

Arginine is the protein required to create new herpes virus. Without it the replication process cannot take place. Your cells store arginine in special receptors inside the cell walls.

Lysine is another protein similar to arginine but will not work for building new virus. Lysine is stored in the same place as arginine. Flooding your cells with lysine forces out and reduces the amount of stored arginine.

The herpes simplex virus can quickly sense a shortage of arginine. Often the herpes virus will give up and go back into a dormant state.

Arginine and lysine are very common and most foods we eat contain both. Foods that contain more lysine will prevent cold sores. Foods that are higher in arginine will encourage cold sore activity.

To prevent oral herpes cold sores, a ratio of 2 to 1 (lysine to arginine) is preferred. Many individual foods will give you this ratio. You should aim for a 2 to 1 ratio from your entire food intake each day.

The better you balance your diet, the more success you will have. Do not give up the foods you love. Just offset the high arginine foods with some additional high lysine foods at this or the next meal.

HIGH LYSINE FOODS THAT WILL HELP PREVENT COLD SORES.

Most meats are good sources of lysine for prevention of cold sores - especially fish and chicken. Dairy products, too, are rich in lysine - particularly cheese and yogurt. Eggs are an excellent choice too.

Ricotta cheese is very high in lysine. Flounder, a delicious fish variety, provides an unbelievable 14,000 milligrams of lysine per pound (450 grams).

Look for Wisconsin cheddar cheese - mouth-watering cheese that provides better than a 2.2 to 1 ratio. This is one of the healthiest cheese choices you will find.

ARGININE RICH FOOD CAN ACTUALLY CAUSE YOUR COLD SORES.

Do you suffer from repeated and long-duration cold sores? Here are some high arginine foods that may be the culprits.

These foods have higher content of arginine to lysine. Most nuts including both tree nuts and ground nuts. Also, grains such as wheat and oats are high in arginine.

Vegetables and beans provide a lot of arginine and can help create cold sores. These include cabbage, potatoes, squash and dried beans. Seeds, such as flax and sunflower, are arginine providers. Chocolate is high arginine.

Perhaps you do not wish to change your diet as outlined above. You surely would miss out on the numerous beneficial nutrients provided by vegetables and beans. I do not believe this to be healthy for any length of time.

Rather than change your diet too much, try just adding some of the high lysine foods to your current diet. This alone can make the difference you need.

USE LYSINE CAPSULES AND EAT WHAT YOU WANT.

Most people use lysine supplements instead of a drastic change in diet. They come in 500-milligram capsules, are economical and very convenient.

Normal dosage, using lysine as an oral herpes cold sore treatment, is six to eight capsules each day during a cold sore event. For prevention, try one or two capsules daily between outbreaks.

Flooding your system with lysine is one of many great cold sore treatment options available. It slows down the herpes simplex virus from creating cold sore outbreaks. It may even stop oral herpes permanently for you.