Cold sores are annoying, embarrassing and sometimes painful outbreaks that may occur around your lips and in your mouth. Andrew Weil, M.D., states that cold sores occur because of the herpes simplex virus. Though cold sores usually go away in a week or two on their own, most people want to speed up the healing and get rid of the cold sores as quickly as possible. While medications are usually used as a treatment for cold sores, you can actually help to prevent outbreaks and reduce the duration of cold sores, simply by eating the right foods.
Margarine
According to the San Diego Homeopathy website, people who experience viral outbreaks like cold sores should eat foods high in the amino acid lysine, because it helps to prevent outbreaks and shorten their life span. The amino acid arginine works in opposition to lysine; the higher the lysine-to-arginine ratio of a food is, the better it is to get rid of cold sores. The San Diego Homeopathy website states that a serving of margarine has about 14mg lysine, but only 9mg arginine, so the lysine-to-arginine ratio is an exceptionally high 3.0.
Yogurt
Yogurt is another helpful food for people with the herpes simplex virus. Yogurt made from fat-free milk has 1,160mg lysine and 391mg arginine per serving, giving it a lysine-to-arginine ratio of 2.97. Yogurt made from low fat milk is also high in lysine and low in arginine, with a ratio of 2.95, according to the San Diego Homeopathy website.
Cheese
The San Diego Homeopathy website explains that cheeses are another cold-sore fighting food, since they are generally high in the amino acid lysine. Swiss cheese has a lysine-to-arginine ratio of 2.79, while Gruyere cheese has a lysine-to-arginine ratio of 2.78, according to the San Diego Homeopathy website. Even processed American cheese spread has 427mg lysine per serving but only 155mg arginine.
Apples
Even though most of the foods that help to get rid of cold sores are dairy products, apples are a fruit that can also decrease herpes outbreaks. The San Diego Homeopathy website states that an apple has 17mg lysine and 8mg arginine, which means it has a lysine-to-arginine ratio of 2.13. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that apples are an especially important source of lysine for vegans who have cold sores, since most other foods with lysine are dairy products that vegans do not eat.
