Cold Sore Lysine - How To Use It for Your Cold Sores

Cold sore lysine - does it really help cold sores or is it just so much hype?

Now you can know the truth.

By the time you finish this article, you will discover some little known facts about cold sore lysine treatment options.

Cold sore lysine has been much talked about as a treatment for cold sores and other herpes outbreaks. It actually does work extremely well for stopping these troublesome sores - but ONLY if you know how to use it properly.

FACT: Lysine extinguishes cold sores very much the same as water quenches a fire.

Water puts out a fire by starving it of the oxygen it needs to burn. Lysine works in a similar way - it represses cold sores by depriving the herpes virus of what it must have to create the sore.

Right now, we need to take a look at what really causes cold sores and how lysine can literally stop them in their tracks.

When the herpes simplex virus becomes active, it infects nerve cells on the surface and forces them to make copies of the virus. Once full, the cells are annihilated to free the new virus.

The painful, unsightly sores on your face are the result of the destruction of thousands of close-together body cells by the herpes simplex virus.

FACT: Arginine is the main nutrient that feeds the herpes fire.

The herpes virus is made of protein. The main protein used by the cells to create this sub-microscopic virus is the amino acid arginine.

Lysine and arginine are essential to your good health. They are termed essential amino acids because they cannot be created within the body. They must come through food.

Your body cells store arginine in a special area within the cell. If forced to create new herpes virus, your cell will draw on these stores until depleted.

Without arginine readily available, new virus cannot be created.

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 does not support the creation of the herpes virus. And it keeps the arginine from being available for virus replication by replacing it in the storage area of the cells.

FACT: Lysine must be taken orally to reach the cells and be absorbed.

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.

Do not sucker for lysine as a topical treatment for cold sores. These remedies may have other ingredients that can help relieve these painful sores. But lysine put directly on the sore area is of little or no use.

Lysine is a large molecule and is not able to be absorbed readily through the skin. Putting it on the skin, or on the sore, will be of no help. It cannot get through the skin to prevent the sore and, once it becomes an open ulcer, the damage is done.

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT - lysine is great for extinguishing, and preventing, cold sores. But keep in mind that lysine only works when it gets into the cells.

This can only happen when it is taken by mouth and absorbed internally from food and supplements.

For treatment of a currently active sore, a common daily dosage would be about 4000 mg.. Between outbreaks, many people take 500 to 1000 mg. of supplemental lysine as a preventative.

Beating your cold sores may be as simple as eating high lysine foods, avoiding high arginine foods, and taking a booster dose of lysine in capsules. This is the very best way to get therapeutic levels of cold sore lysine.

Do not spend money on one more cold sore remedy before you read Denny Bodohs excellent articles about Cold Sores. Quickly discover some amazing and easy Cold Sore treatments and cures.