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natural therapies for cold sores, natural help for herpes, red marine algae, l-lysine, enzymedica's purify for viral control, vitamin lady writes about l-lysine, L-lysine health effects
LYSINE -
HOW TO BE A SORE LOSER
by Lynn Hinderliter CN, LDN
Years ago, more years than I care to think about,
I fell ill and on my recovery, found that I regularly broke out with painful and
unsightly sores around my lips. This was in the days before there was much
experience with this kind of problem, and I remember now with a kind of awe that
my Doctor suggested taking a B Complex vitamin with orange juice, to lessen the
frequency of attacks: even that long ago, he was aware of the link between
Herpes Simplex and stress - or indeed, between any opportunistic virus,
stress, and the immune system. However, even with the vitamins, my life
continued often to be made miserable by the fact that any day in my life that
was really important to me was liable to be greeted with an embarrassing lip
sore!
Then came 1979, and my discovery of research
being done with an essential amino acid called Lysine. These Doctors had
found out that the nasty little virus responsible for herpes and therefore cold
sores, was able to replicate itself only with the help of another amino acid
called Arginine; if levels of that were high, the virus could emerge victorious,
but if levels of lysine were high, it would be fooled into trying to use the
wrong amino acid, and would be quenched. Ever since then, when I feel the
warning tickle, I take a LOT of Lysine, and the attack doesn't happen. It also
helps to avoid foods high in Arginine and low in Lysine, such as
chocolate, nuts and peanuts. A study at the US Air Force School of Aerospace
discovered that Lysine is one of the few aminos sacrificed in stress situations,
which would also connect with the stress-related theory.
Two other approaches to viral overload can be
suggested at this point: Enzymedica makes an enzyme product called Purify,
which purportedly is able to break down the cell walls of viruses so they can be
eliminated from the body ( a strategy which might also be very helpful for
shingle sufferers, a different manifestation of the herpes virus), and new
research is focusing on two specific Red Marine Algae (called Gigartina
and Dumontacia) which the researchers claim have the ability to "support
the immune system against herpes1 and 11, shingles the virus leading to Epstein
Barr and chronic fatigue system". If one suffers from repeated
episodes of fever blisters (technical jargon) it might be productive to open
other avenues of defense such as these.
Because of my problem, I have been
following with great interest the research that is both linking lysine
deficiencies with various problems such as osteoporosis and heart
disease, and finding the herpes virus present in conditions as diverse as MS,
cancer & AIDS. At the simplest level, I said to myself that since I have
a heart and bones, and have this virus, I think it would be wise to take Lysine
on a daily basis - and this is what I do.
It is interesting too, that low levels of Lysine
have been found in people suffering from Parkinson's, asthma ,
hypothyroidism, kidney disease and depression, though at this point the
exact significance of these findings is not clear, according to Drs. Braverman
and Pfeiffer in their book The Healing Nutrients Within. They do say that
normalizing the levels with Lysine therapy has been associated with some
improvement in some patients with these conditions.
A study in Dermatalogica in 1987 found
that of 52 patients receiving Lysine or a placebo, 74% of the lysine group found
it effective versus 28% of the placebo group. So you don't just have to take my
word for it! If you combine it, as my doctor suggested so long ago, with a good
Stress B with C vitamin, try to avoid stressful situations, and balance your
diet with potatoes, chicken, beans, eggs and fish, avoiding that tempting
chocolate, and going easy on the nuts, chances are your success rate will be
even better than 74%.
Topically, I have heard that essential oil of
Geranium is effective, though I have never personally tried that. Also Lemon
Balm, or Melissa. For those unfortunate souls who happen to be fresh out of
Melissa and oil of geranium when an outbreak occurs, a simple home remedy is to
cut a potato in half, and apply the juice to the sore. The high Vitamin P
content helps healing.
Be a sore loser!
Keywords:
natural therapies for cold sores, natural help for herpes, red marine
algae, l-lysine, enzymedica's purify for viral control, the vitamin lady
writes about l lysine health effects
Ratio of L-Arginine to Lysine in foods - http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/data/Lysine_Arginine_Food_List.html
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