What is lysine?

lysine is an amino acid (one of the building blocks of protein) and is considered one of the essential amino acids. All amino acids are positive for our body, they make up the different protein structures that the body needs.

However, there are some amino acids that the body knows how to produce from others. In contrast, there are some amino acids that our body does not know how to produce by itself, so it is essential to consume from external sources – from our food, or from nutritional supplements.

Fish, legumes, vegetables and fruits are considered foods rich in lysine. In the human body, the amino acid lysine is important for normal growth, maintaining the health of muscles and bones, healing wounds, lysine helps the body’s ability to produce energy from fat and also in building proteins.

Various manufacturers of nutritional supplements are currently marketing a lysine supplement and associate the supplement with significant health benefits, among which stands out the claim that lysine is one of the best supplements for treating heat blisters (herpes)!

A few words about herpes

Herpes is the name of a family of viruses. The most common among them causes mainly blisters on the lips, others cause blisters on other organs. The common feature of all viruses in this family is their ability to be dormant for a long time and occasionally wake up with the appearance of blisters. There is no effective way to get rid of the virus after we have contracted it, we can only hope that it will “fall asleep” for a long time. And he won’t raise his head at important events – like a wedding!

Unfortunately there is no way to predict if and when it will appear after falling asleep. What’s more, mental or physical stress, exposure to the sun, dryness and cold, heat illness or local trauma are known factors that may cause its eruption characterized by a tingling sensation that usually precedes the appearance of blisters.

Lysine to prevent herpes: where did the idea come from?

Herpes outbreaks pass by themselves even without treatment, but antiviral treatment shortens the duration of the event and reduces its severity. The treatment is given in pills or ointment for local treatment. Only after consulting your doctor.

In search of a natural treatment, herpes sufferers and alternative medicine use a lysine supplement to treat heat sores (herpes). It seems that those dealing with herpes prefer to experiment with changing their diet or taking a nutritional supplement rather than taking antiviral drugs for a long time. Despite this, it seems that in most cases, modern medicine, based on research evidence, will not suggest the use of a lysine supplement against herpes.

This is in light of insufficient evidence emerging from the research.

Lysine has a putative role in preventing herpes virus culture

Based on studies done in living tissues in vitro but not in humans, it seems that the ratio between the amino acids (the building blocks of protein) lysine and arginine, may have an effect on the expression of herpes.

Proteins rich in arginine lead to the reproduction of the virus, and in contrast, lysine has an inhibitory effect on the reproduction of herpes.

These studies have made the dietary supplement lysine a focus of interest, but currently, probably not enough interest.

As far as the addition of lysine against herpes is concerned, the research evidence is few and it cannot be determined according to them that the addition of lysine does help in the prevention or cure of herpes.

The few existing studies are also very limited and their strength of evidence is not high. All the studies were carried out on a small number of subjects, the length of the studies is relatively short, only some of them contained a control group and more.

The conclusion of a review article that analyzed the available data from the few studies in the field is that lysine supplementation at a dose lower than 1 gram per day was found to be ineffective in the prevention or treatment of herpes when given without a diet low in arginine. It seems that a dose higher than 3 grams per day improved the personal experience of the disease in the patients, that is, it improved the symptoms according to the patients’ personal report only.

Longer controlled studies at higher doses are needed to fully understand the role of lysine in preventing herpes and as of today, there is no scientific evidence that lysine can help cure herpes.

Is it worth doing a low-arginine diet?

Lysine and arginine are both necessary in the human body for various processes, both are present in many protein foods and in fact also in foods from the carbohydrate family, vegetables and fruits, which also naturally contain a little protein. It is impossible to find a food that contains one without the other.

In a low-arginine diet, which was referred to in the studies, the emphasis is on consuming foods with a low lysine and high arginine ratio. This means to consume foods that have more of the amino acid lysine than arginine.

In this type of diet, the foods are divided into recommended and those that are less recommended:

• Foods that are recommended to combine – rich in lysine and relatively low in arginine: fish, dairy products, avocado, zucchini, pumpkin, cauliflower, spinach, mango, peach, beans of various varieties.

• Foods from which it is recommended to avoid – contain a similar amount of arginine and lysine: seeds and nuts of various types, peanuts, grapes, grapefruit, onions, garlic, rice, oats.

But is it worth it? When we increase the consumption of certain foods and avoid others, the lysine:arginine ratio is not the only one that is affected and it is likely that we miss out on much of the goodness that different foods have to offer. We would not want to reach an insufficient consumption of arginine since it is also important for our health.

Arginine has important roles in the human body, including growth, wound healing and cell function. The lack of arginine can cause kidney and small intestine diseases, blood poisoning, burns and trauma. Therefore, arginine deficiency can have significant health consequences.

Is a lysine supplement safe to use?

A dose of up to 3 grams per day is considered safe for use in healthy people. Toxicity of dietary lysine has not been observed in humans. Using amounts higher than 3 grams may cause side effects such as abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea. In addition, over time, adding lysine may cause an arginine deficiency.

It is important to remember that while the supplement is safe for use in healthy people, the supplement in people dealing with various health problems has not been studied and in the absence of evidence about safety, if you are dealing with one or another medical problem, the recommendation for you is to avoid it.

Lysine to prevent herpes: in conclusion

Bottom line, lysine does have a theoretical role in preventing herpes outbreaks, but as of today the mechanism is not understood and therefore there is no unequivocal recommendation regarding its use.

In the absence of sufficient evidence, it is recommended to evaluate together with a doctor and a dietician, the possible risks compared to the possible benefits. Consult your doctor and dietician, and remember that until there is conclusive proof – even if after consulting a professional a decision is made that the supplement is not likely to cause you harm, it is possible that taking a lysine supplement will help you avoid the next outbreak of herpes, and it very well may not.

It’s easy to fall for false promises – but don’t do it! It is very likely that one or another nutritional supplement, or a diet low in arginine will not be a magic solution for you.

A balanced and varied diet combined with a healthy lifestyle that combines physical activity should provide you with everything your body needs to maintain normal immune system activity. Physical activity has been proven to help the body deal with stressful situations, which we have already said have been linked to herpes outbreaks. And if you are still not convinced, a balanced diet is also;

• More economically – if you consider the costs of the nutritional supplements you consume compared to the costs of food.
• More natural – lysine does exist in various foods naturally and is needed by the human body, but how natural can a solution be that includes a production process and is packaged in a capsule?
• More ecological – if you take into account the by-products of the production processes and the amount of plastic bottles used in the nutritional supplements industry