Spring or Autumn is here (depending on which side of the world you are on) and with the change of weather so many of us can be prone to cold sores. Cold sores and genital herpes are both caused by different strains of the herpes virus, but the eruptions can have the same triggers. Often the biggest trigger is stress, which is not always possible to control, outside influences being what they are. Cold weather, cold winds and the sun are also triggers that are outside our sphere of influence. Specific foods also trigger attacks and this we can control. Excessive consumption of foods with a high L-arginine content and low L-lysine content can keep us in a state of imbalance, perfectly primed for a succession of herpes outbreaks. Having a basic working knowledge of some of the foods at the ends of the L-lysine and L-arginine scale is, I believe our first line of prevention. L-lysine and L-Arginine are two Amino acids that are found naturally in food. To get out of the cycle of herpes outbreaks, we need to look at rebalancing our diet and consume foods High in L-lysine and low in L-arginine.
The foods high in L-arginine and low in L-lysine are quite easy to remember because they are headed by the foods we should be eating less of anyway like chocolate, nuts, grains, oats, peanut butter and then seeds, brown rice, coconut, pulses and lentils.
The foods high in L-lysine and low in L-argine are the ones we should consume more of and they are most fruit and vegetables especially apples, pears, apricots, figs, avocados and tomatoes. Eggs, milk and most dairy products. Beef, lamb. chicken and fish.?
I found this information extremely helpful in understanding and hence limiting what I had previously thought to be random attacks of the virus. In my homeopathic practice I will frequently see people with herpes and will select a remedy that matches the overall syptoms/expression of the person. There is no, one remedy fits all, in homeopathy. Each case is taken on the individual symptoms presenting and each person does present as an individual. I must also recommend the use of my viral salve for painful genital lesions, cold sores, shingles and chicken pox outbreaks. It can often lesson the duration of the painful eruptions and is extremely soothing and healing. Many of my patients have switched from the pharmaceutical topical drug and have found the Salve to be most effective.