Life With Herpes
135: 3 Foods To Eat To Prevent A Herpes Outbreak With Alexandra Harbushka
There are foods that can help us and there are foods that can hurt us.
There are foods that can help us and there are foods that can hurt us. Here are some delicious ways to help prevent your herpes outbreak.Let’s face it. You are what you eat. At the end of the day what you put in your body will either help keep you healthy or make you sick. Food is a pleasure and there are so many yummy things out there. But at the same time, there are some foods that can really help us when it comes to our herpes outbreaks. With this being said by no means do I want you to deprive yourself of some delicious foods.
In past episodes, I’ve talked about foods to avoid for herpes outbreaks. Well’ let’s talk about some foods it includes that will help keep outbreaks away as well as help you recover faster when you have one.
Before we get into the foods we need to do a quick refresher on why these foods are helpful or harmful. It boils down to two essential amino acids, lysine, and arginine. They both are helpful and important for our bodies so we need to make sure they are included in our diet however too much of one can really increase the outbreaks. Arginine is like lighter fluid to the herpes virus. The virus loves the arginine rich diet, in fact, it feeds the virus. On the contrary, lysine is a fire extinguisher to the herpes virus.The virus considered a lysine rich environment in a hostile environment. So...that’s what we want to create, a hostile environment for the virus. I go way more in depth. Here’s the link.
So here are 3 foods that will help you prevent your herpes outbreaks:
All of these foods are high in lysine and low in arginine. This lysine arginine ratio is key. Keep in mind you can never have a diet without one or the other, remember they are essential amino acids.
Dairy - This includes all dairy types. Dairy is high in lysine and low in arginine. Dairy is a good source of vitamins and protein as well. Some examples of dairy products are: cheese, yogurt, kefir, sour cream milk, cottage cheese, and the list can go on. Of course, I have to put this out there that there’s a difference between the sugar processed dairy products and of course the organic low sugar or zero sugar added. Just saying, if you’re going down this health path you might as well do it right. Seafood - Seafood and shellfish are a great source of lysine. Really all types of fish are good for you but the key fishes are; tuna, halibut, sardines, and salmon. So a tuna sandwich is a great choice for lunch meanwhile add sardines to your pizza. Of course, you don’t have to stick to just these fishes go with what you love and enjoy. Avocado - Avocados are really good to include in your diet regardless of having herpes but in this case, they are helpful when fighting the virus. Avocados are nutrient dense and contain just about everything you need when it comes to fats, carbohydrates, and protein not to mention they are high in lysine. So add avocado to your daily diet.For a list of the herpes diet meals you can click here and we’ll get it right over to you.
Back to what I was saying earlier. Don’t stress yourself out about foods as well as deprive your self or punish yourself if you eat something that could cause an outbreak. There are foods that are known to increase herpes outbreaks and I eat them regularly but I watch my consumption. This is just a guide for you to be in control of your health and help support you from a nutritional way. If you don’t like the foods I mentioned then skip it if you love them than that’s great news.
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Xoxo,
Alexandra
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