The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Tbo (Louisville, Kentucky) on 03/22/2012
★★★★★
I wanted to share an option for treatment of Herpes with all who are looking for and ALL NATURAL and VERY EFFECTIVE option. In recent years I have been learning more about natural foods verses commercial and processed foods. A year and a half ago I joined a local food Co-Op where they follow Weston A. Price Founation practices regarding food orgins. It has been a great benefit to me and my family's health. Learning how natural (truly natural) food sources are key in our overall health. So, when Herpes invaded my happy little life I was compelled to find a remedy that would be natural and beneficial as well.
I've tried acetone, apple cider vinegar (ACV), campho phenic and I take L-lysine daily and I am still getting the outbreaks and having the full cycle of an outbreak with blisters etc. Again, hoping this info and the link provided will help someone else out there looking for natural ways to live with this embarassing virus.
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Glenn (Perth, Australia) on 02/13/2009
★★★★★
I suffered frequently from cold sores most of my life. The embarrassment of a large outbreak on the lips is enough to want to hide away at home until the sore dimishes to just a small scab. But that's not possible when you need to work. It's even worse if, like in my job you need to interface with the public a lot.
A few years back I changed my diet by excluding or seriously restricting all wheat flour products because I was getting overweight and could hardly tie my shoe laces without needing to come up for air to finish the knot. It was hard to start with because these foods are so tasty and addictive. But as a result of the diet change I not only lost 15 kilograms but also found that I no longer suffered from cold sores or head colds either.
On the very rare occasion that I do get a cold sore now I can immediately trace it to a binge on bread, pizza, pasta or rice the previous day, and the lesion is tiny in comparison with the past. To control it I abstain from the flour products and rice and try not to lick my lips, and it goes away within days. Nuts, chocolate and citrus fruits are not a factor in my case nor are diet drinks because I don't really go for them much.
I wonder if genital herpes would respond to the same dietry restrictions.
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Cathy (Johnsonburg, NJ) on 01/01/2009
★★★★★
I dealt with cold sore on my mouth (lips) for many years. Then I read somewhere to stay away from nuts and citrus to keep the herpes virus under control, which I have done for the past few years. I almost never ever get them anymore. Once in a great while I may eat a few nuts or citrus & if I overdo it (which I almost never do) I may get a very small sore on my lip. But, I usually don't mess with the nuts & citrus and as long as I don't, the cold sores stay under control. For me, keeping away from these two items seems to work really great. Cathy
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Walter (West Palm Beach , Florida) on 09/28/2008
★★★★★
I started suffering from a form of herpes called gladiatorum herpes in my face from practicing brazilian jiu jitsu with someone who had the virus. It has one of the most, or perhaps the most horrible illness I ever had. Started taking L-lysine and it helped, stopped taking anything with Aspartame, it helped, however, everyweek for the last three months I was having outbreaks every single week!! Reading and researching on the internet, I figured I had a very acidic PH in my blood so I started doing the Gracie Diet (google it), I can say after a week and a half I am for the first time in months, free of outbreaks.
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Mario (Olympia, Washington) on 10/17/2007
★★★★★
I felt my cold sore coming on like I normally do about this time of year when my core temperature drops, but because I've been changing my dieting habits I decided to fast on blended fruits and dark leafy green vegetables until it went away. The cold sore came to a head much like a pimple so I popped it and it just dissappeared. At the time I thought that perhaps it was just a pimple but now it is a few weeks later and it has reappeared as a cold sore much smaller and more towards the inner part of my mouth which has never happened in the 15 years I've had it. In fact it had spread within the last three years and I thought I had made it permanently bigger. I believe it has come back because within the last week I have eaten a lot of junky foods again. So my suggestion would be just eat fruits and vegetables either whole, blended, or juiced until the cold sore goes away. It will give your body a chance to regroup and deal with it and other ailments that you may be experiencing.
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Shandra (Sacramento, CA) on 06/10/2007
★★★★★
About seven years ago I dated a guy who came with a prize, undisclosed to me! Within the first month I was breaking out. The first time was the worst; I experienced pain like no other, I quickly proceeded to visit my doctor who wasted no time to diagnose me with this lovely virus. I was getting large embarrassing blisters round my mouth at least 4-5 times a year and I would have genital outbreaks about 10 times a year... I seriously went into depression, gained weight and stopped having a life. I was embarrassed knowing that I could never address the issue with a potential counterpart and of course I could not be irresponsible, as the guy who was irresponsible with me. What have I done? How have things changed in my life? Well number one, I started a regular exercise program. I run 3-4 times a week. I topped eating processed meals - (no restaurants, no fast food, no packages, no cans, no boxes, and no microwave popcorn, nothing out of a package, nothing frozen). So what am I eating? I eat fruits all day, until I gag. I eat Vegetables all day, until I gag. I eat oats and whole wheat, in the form of "old fashioned oatmeal", "wheat bread" 'brown rice", you get the picture. I eat meat two to three times a week, mostly chicken and once or twice a month I eat fish. I keep beef to a minimum. I eat a variety of mixed nuts.
. these are RAW nuts . almonds, peanuts with skin, cashews, sunflower, flax seed, pumpkin seed . you get the idea. I stopped drinking wine, coffee, tea and I stopped smoking. I drink water all day long, till I gag. I drink 8oz of milk daily and I drink home made smoothies and juices and vegetable juice. I take prenatal vitamins (I am not pregnant). Since, I am a girl and I have sugar cravings. guess what. there is honey. I use natural honey on toast, on my Oatmeal, in my milk.you get the idea.
I try to exclude white table sugar, white table salt, white flour, sodium, cholesterol, fats. But I don't count the natural sugars in fruits and the oils in the nuts. The only thing I really track is my protein intake; I try to make sure I have enough protein daily. (Protein is balanced according to ones height, weight, gender, activity level)
Since I started paying attention to my body, eating what my body needs, dinking what my body needs and taking all the vitamins that my body needs: I have not had an outbreak in over one year. ALSO, I have lost weight, I feel better than I have ever felt in my entire life. At 43, I feel that I am in GREAT shape! Of course I still need to overcome my fears of having a difficult conversation with the possibility of a rejection, which is something I will have to live with the rest of my life.
This seems to work for me. If you would like to try something similar please consult your doctor prior to making any changes in your diet. Good luck!
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Deb (Dayton, OH) on 03/15/2007
★★★★★
I just wanted to add to all the great info about herpes. I have found that the greatest culprits to preceed a herpes outbreak are the consumption of chocolate and nuts (except almonds). These are high in L-arginine, so whenever I eat these things, I take some lysine to counteract the effects of the arginine. I eat a natural diet and don't get outbreaks, except when I forget to do this. It's always "oh, yeah, I had a buch of nuts yesterday!
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Tanya (Darwin, Australia) on 03/13/2007
★★★★★
I was told by a conventional Western doctor he has seen huge reductions in herpes outbreaks when people stop eating chocolate, almonds and peanuts. Hopefully this, along with never touching aspartame, may help people.
Dietary Recommendations
Posted by Jennifer (San Diego) on 05/25/2006
★★★★★
I haven't been able to really find any other explanations or any information regarding this on the web but I have been on a low carb diet for 2 years now. I do consume splenda and aspartame (although I try to avoid aspartame) but since starting my low carb diet I have been breakout free. Prior to going low carb I typically had 5-6 breakouts a year for the 5 prior years I had the virus. Low carb diets have an effect on how your body metabolizes splenda and aspartame which may be why these have not caused more breakouts for me. I also know that a high-protein diet is high in natural l-lysine so that may be what has helped to stop the breakouts. The amazing thing is that although I have tested positive for years, I have been tested twice in the last six months and tested negative for the virus both times, which I am told is rare, but possible. I'm not getting too excited about those results just yet - but if anyone has had a similar experience I would LOVE to know!
