Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a sexually transmitted infection that can affect the mouth and genitals. The general consensus is that once you get the virus, you have it for life, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be active throughout that time.
The best thing to do is to try to avoid herpes in the first place. But it is estimated that about two-thirds of the population has the virus. That means there’s a good chance that you have it, even without knowing it. It is estimated that 85% of people that carry the virus are unaware.
In this article, we’ll look at a few different factors that can stop you from getting herpes in the first place, and if you do have it, keep it dormant.
Herpes and Arginine/Lysine Ratio
One thing that may make herpes active, causing outbreaks, has to do with two amino acids, arginine and lysine.
The general recommendation for herpes is to up your lysine intake and decrease your arginine intake. Limited research has been done on this, specifically on lysine supplementation. Some research has seen positive results.[1] Others no results.[2]
Perhaps lysine is not the main thing, but other stuff going on in the food could be. If you look, some people do seem to be getting good results in doing this, so I would say it’s worth a shot.
Foods High in Lysine and Low in Arginine
- Dairy
- Fish
- Chicken
- Lamb
- Beef
- Eggs
- Quinoa
- Amaranth
- Most Fruits
- Most Vegetables
Foods High in Arginine and Low in Lysine
- Nuts
- Legumes
- Peanuts
- Lentils
- Beans
- Chocolate
- Wheat
- Oats
- Rice
- Shellfish
- Corn Syrup
- Gelatin
- Protein Powders
If we look at this second list and know a little bit about what these foods actually are, they are mostly made from the reproductive parts of plants. They’re all seeds essentially ready to grow, and thus have more arginine which can be an important amino acid for growth.
In fact, it was based on this idea that this article got started. A customer asked about the possibility of pine pollen causing herpes outbreaks. Well, pine pollen is a reproductive material. The arginine (30 mg per 3 grams of pine pollen) is a little higher than the lysine content (24mg per 3 grams). Thus, it may not be best for those with herpes.
Other Steps to Control Herpes Outbreaks
If you have the herpes virus, the main thing you’ll want to do is support your immune system. If your immune system is strong it can keep the viral load at bay and stop outbreaks.
Some simple steps along these lines include making sure you have adequate supplies of:
- Vitamin C
- B Vitamins
- Zinc
In addition, you’ll want to not do many things that can lower your immune function including avoiding, or limiting, alcohol, as well as most packaged, processed and high sugar foods. Keeping the stress levels down is important too, as that also has an impact.
What are Good Herbs for Herpes?
Note that all of this research is pretty preliminary. Almost no double-blind placebo-controlled human studies have been done on the use of herbs for herpes. But this does not mean that they don’t work, just that they haven’t been thoroughly investigated.
Many people would prefer natural remedies to drugs, and in the case of herpes, drugs won’t even cure it, just manage it, like herbs can help do. Plus, attempts at herpes vaccines have failed though they keep trying.
So, what does show promise?
The oil of Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) was shown to kill the virus. “Both herpesviruses were significantly inhibited by pretreatment with balm oil prior to infection of cells. These results indicate that Melissa oil affected the virus before adsorption, but not after penetration into the host cell, thus lemon balm oil is capable of exerting a direct antiviral effect on herpesviruses. Considering the lipophilic nature of lemon balm essential oil, which enables it to penetrate the skin, and a high selectivity index, Melissa officinalis oil might be suitable for topical treatment of herpetic infections.” [3]
And it turns out that other plants in the Lamiaceae family, of which Lemon Balm is one, but also includes Peppermint, Self-Heal, Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme, also have anti-viral activity when used topically. [4]
An alcohol tincture of Rhubarb was shown to kill the virus in rats at a medium and high dosage and is as effective as Acyclovir, an anti-herpes drug. [5]
Turmeric, or the active compound curcumin, was shown to work against HSV2 in mice. Even more effective was eugenol, which can be found in clove oil. [6]
Some other commonly recommended herbs are elderberry, echinacea, eleuthero, garlic, astragalus, licorice, neem, olive leaf and more.
Keep in mind that any herbs that support the immune system and are anti-viral likely have effects here. This includes reishi mushroom, which has been investigated for this use. [7]
For a lot more information you can check out JustHerpes.com a website devoted entirely to the topic.
References:
- Griffith, R. S., Norins, A. L., & Kagan, C. (1978). A Multicentered Study of Lysine Therapy in Herpes simplex Infection. Dermatology, 156(5), 257-267.
- Digiovanna, J. J. (1984). Failure of lysine in frequently recurrent herpes simplex infection. Treatment and prophylaxis. Archives of Dermatology, 120(1), 48-51.
- Schnitzler, P., Schuhmacher, A., Astani, A., & Reichling, J. (2008). Melissa officinalis oil affects infectivity of enveloped herpesviruses. Phytomedicine, 15(9), 734-740.
- Nolkemper, S., Reichling, J., Stintzing, F., Carle, R., & Schnitzler, P. (2006). Antiviral Effect of Aqueous Extracts from Species of the Lamiaceae Family against Herpes simplex Virus Type 1 and Type 2 in vitro. Planta Medica, 72(15), 1378-1382.
- Wang ZY, Xu B, Song YY, et al. Inhibition effects of rhubarb ethanol extract on herpes simplex virus infection in vivo. Zhonghua Shi Yan He Lin Chuang Bing Du Xue Za Zhi. 2003 Jun;17(2):169-73.
- Bourne KZ, Bourne N, Reising SF, Stanberry LR. Plant products as topical microbicide candidates: assessment of in vitro and in vivo activity against herpes simplex virus type 2. Antiviral Res. 1999 Jul;42(3):219-26.
- Hijikata Y, Yamada S, Yasuhara A. Herbal mixtures containing the mushroom Ganoderma lucidum improve recovery time in patients with herpes genitalis and labialis. J Altern Complement Med. 2007 Nov;13(9):985-7.
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Im Jaydene Austin from Ohio, i was diagnosed with Herpes (hsv-2) for 6 years i have bought lots of medications tried most of all the Doctors, i went online searching for any means of possible cure,so i came across Standard Herbs Home and contacted them, they told me all i needed is to purchase their herbal medicine, i was desperate and decided to give a try, i purchased the herbal medicine and i used it for 3 weeks now i am totally cured of Herpes (hsv-1), thanks to Standard Herbs Home, God bless your good work for dying people, God bless.
I have heard good stuff about Standard Herbs from a friend though haven’t tried them yet. Glad you got it taken care of Jaydene, that is really awesome!
Having been born with the Herpes virus in my eye? I didn’t have an outbreak until my mid 20’s when removing a contact lens set it off. For 25 years I tried all kinds of treatments all of which eventually failed, before trying Hydrogen-Peroxide. This also proved successful for a short time ( a year or 2) before another outbreak.
It was about then that I found a website recommending Oregano Oil as an anti viral treatment.
I tried Oregano Oil and it is now approx. 5 years since I have had an outbreak!
I know a lot of the viruses that leads to herpes. 1st of all they say if you’ve the chicken poxs the virus lays dormant in your spine, cheek bone & in your ears. Let’s be real here herpes isn’t a disease but a man made plague. Just as AIDS,lupus etc. a lot of place in the European nation have the cure, but unable to have a pharmaceutical backing them up to massly manufacturers the cure. Before the death of Sibi, he once said by the body being alkaline above a 7 ph level & mucous you can build your red blood cell to fight viruses & diseases because our body is a healing chamber. If we view certain nations & see some of those things doesn’t exist in there societies, because they’ve the cure one of the reasons is that our body are polluted with toxins such as metals which act like a host that poisons the mitochondria of the cells & prevent the white blood cell from attacking the viruses which makes our immune system weak. by raising the levels of our white blood cells & purging our liver & kidney from being host for these ridiculous diseases not only can we prevent it but eliminate it for instance look at how Cuba uses ozone therapy to help eradicate those diseases and viruses. I’ve done my research I know what’s need to be done just like how to prevent a flu.