|
GNC Laboratories
Lysine
is one of numerous amino acids that the body needs for growth and tissue
repair. It is classified as one of the nine "essential" amino acids because
you need to get it from outside sources such as foods or supplements--in
other words the body can't make it on its own.
Like all amino
acids, lysine functions as a building block for proteins. It's also a
key player in the production of various enzymes, hormones, and
disease-fighting antibodies.
Many foods
supply lysine, but the richest sources by far include red meats, fish, and
dairy products (milk, eggs, cheese). Researchers are exploring the value of lysine supplementation
and the consumption of lysine-rich foods for lowering cholesterol, improving
athletic performance, and enhancing recovery after surgery.
Some
nutritionally oriented physicians and dentists recommend taking lysine
during an outbreak of canker sores to speed healing. The exact cause of
these tiny but quite painful mouth ulcers is unclear, but most research
indicates that
a virus is responsible. However, there have been almost no
clinical trials using lysine as a remedy for canker sores.
The most
promising application of lysine is its use in managing and preventing
painful and unsightly herpes sores caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV).
Specifically,
lysine may help to:
Prevent
and relieve cold sores (herpes). Exciting research over the past several
decades suggests that lysine may be helpful in controlling herpes
simplex-related infections. There are two types of this virus: type 1, which
typically causes cold sores or fever blisters around the mouth, and type 2,
which tends to cause genital sores. However, both forms can cause eruptions
around the mouth or on the genitals. Once infected with the virus, you have
it permanently.
It may lie dormant, but it doesn't go away. Outbreaks are
usually painful and unsightly, as well as contagious.
A few years
ago, researchers discovered that in order to grow (replicate), the herpes
virus needs arginine, another common amino acid. (Foods high in arginine
include chocolate, peanuts, almonds, seeds, cereal grains, gelatin, and
raisins.) Lysine competes with arginine for absorption and entry into tissue
cells. And when lysine is present, it inhibits the growth of HSV by knocking
out arginine.
This makes a
diet high in lysine and low in arginine a useful tool in managing HSV
infections. In a recent study, participants consumed large amounts of lysine
(about 1 gram three times each day) while restricting food sources of
arginine. A significant number of participants (74%) noticed an improvement
in their HSV infections and a decrease in the number of outbreaks.
Lysine
supplements (as opposed to foods high in this nutrient) can also play an
important role in staving off and reducing the severity of herpes-related
cold sores. Results of a six-month trial involving more than 50 people
indicate that lysine is far more effective than a placebo in preventing cold
sores. Participants given a placebo had more than twice as many such
infections as those taking lysine. Moreover, the herpes sores that did
develop in the lysine group tended to be milder, and to heal faster, than
the outbreaks in the placebo group.
Lysine
supplements may even prevent HSV outbreaks in chronic sufferers.
Speed
healing of shingles lesions. Painful shingles blisters are caused by a
reactivation of varicella-zoster virus,
an infection that started out as an
attack of chickenpox. Herpes zoster is closely related to herpes simplex. Lysine appears to have a similar role to play in treating an
eruption of shingles. Keep in mind, however, that most nutritionally
oriented physicians will combine lysine therapy with conventional antiviral
medications such as acyclovir or valacyclovir.
|
