L-Lysine PLUS - Pharmavita - Natural supplements Calivita International

With Lysine against herpes

For many of us, herpes means an unexpectedly recurring nightmare. It disfigures our skin time after time and in addition it may be accompanied by pain, indisposition and dejection.

For this condition affecting many people’s life 2 viruses are responsible: Herpes simplex 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV – 2). The latter is transmitted sexually and in turn it colonizes in the ganglions of the sacroiliac causing discomfort on and around sexual organs; while the former characteristically spreads by droplet infection and direct bodily contact, using common kitchen utensils and glass. 40% of people who get infected with this virus, are infected in childhood.
Characteristically symptoms of herpes include tiny blisters full of liquid on and around lips, usually at the least convenient time. Some individuals are able to feel it coming on feeling pain, itching, and burning and is usually triggered by hormonal changes, UV radiation (sunbathing), infection, feverish conditions, physical, intellectual or mental stress. Unfortunately, following the acute phase the virus will not disappear from the body and instead it prepares for the next attack retiring to the ganglions. So once you caught herpes virus, you will be a host till death, however symptoms are not certain to reoccur.
During the acute phase it can be treated with different ointments or with orally applied aggressive antiviral medications. The latter are continuously applied by many in the latent phase as well in the hope of being able to shorten or reduce the chances of the acute phase and not continuosly burdening the body with drugs. The effectiveness of these drugs also depends on timing however and it is very hard to “get right” as blisters usually appear unexpectedly.

As contamination involves many people around the world, it may have serious consequences in the long run such as diseases related to the cornea,and many studies have examined the problem. Many of them have concluded that lysine, which is present naturally in the body, may help patients in some way or another. At present we already know how. Lysine is one of the amino acids which builds up our proteins. It participates in building up such proteins like collagen, and it may promote calcium absorption from the intestines, so it may be useful in the prevention of osteoporosis. As it is essential and our body is unable to synthesize it, it should therefore be supplemented from external sources to make up for the amounts we have utilized in the course of metabolism.
Studies prove that lysine is absorbed competitively with arginine, another amino acid. In other words if there is more of one than the other, clearly smaller amounts of one enter the body. As the herpesvirus needs arginine to multiply, by blocking absorption we may hinder the multiplication of the virus and the acute phase,which may alleviate symptoms. Although arginine is not essential it can be produced by the body and by blocking the absorption of lysine we do not cause any deficiency.However, food such as cereals and meat are good sources of lysine and contain significant amounts of arginine as well. Consequently, the desired lysine-arginine “ratio” cannot be achieved by diet alone.
In a 6 months study participants were divided into 2 groups – those receiving lysine and those not. During the study half of all cases of illness were reported from the group receiving lysinecompared to the control group not receiving lysine. In another study, when applying 312-1200 mg lysine daily (in one or more doses) scientists found that it shortened the period of the acute phase as well as reduced the frequency of recurrence. Lysine did not cause any side-effects in any studies even in doses of 3000 mg per day.

As we can see from the above, lysine may be a promising complement to anti-herpes therapy as it may shorten the acute phase and may reduce their frequency. Additionally, it is not an aggressive antiviral “chemotherapeutic” drug but a natural substance which is present in our body.

Bibliography:
Griffith RS, et al. Succes of L-lysine Therapy in Frequently Recurrent Herpes Simplex Infection. Treatment and Prophylaxis. Dermatologica 1987.
Civitelli R, Villareal DT, Agnusdei D, et al. Dietary L-lysine and Calcium Metabilsm in Humans. Nutrition. 1992.
Thein DJ, Hurt WC. Lysine as a prophylactic agent in the treatment of recurrent herpes simplex labialis Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1984.