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Veganism = coldsores?
Started
by Zucchini Babe
on January 5, 2010
Has anyone else noticed this? I used to get 1 maybe 2 a year.. and in the last 2 months (been vegan for 5 months) they are recurring! It's frustrating, which then doesnt help the stituation since they are made worse by stress. I read they will become active due to lack of amino acids which are mostly found in meats and dairy... I've heard lysine should help. Any suggestions?
Get some Melissa officinalis (lemon balm) either tincture or supplements. It is one of the best things for cold sores. I would venture a guess that you are just detoxing and may have to 'put up' with little annoyances like that for a while. Keep up the good work!
I take lysine supplements daily.
Hi Amber,
The form of Lysine with an "L" meaning it's left sided is the one often recommended for cold sores. From the Traditional medical point of view we tend to look first to blood sugar and sugar in the diet. Dietary restriction plans like veganism are highly variable. So called organic dehydrated cane crystals act a lot like sugar in the body and can easy cause such outbreaks, yet they are vegan.
I would suggest you try reducing your sugar consumption for a short while and see if that helps.
We don't find amino acid deficiency occurring in the vegan community and consider the risk of such deficiency minimal. Many meat eaters get them as well. Good luck
Justin
I heard that cold sores can be exacerbated by excess arginine, which is an amino acid. I am pretty sure it comes form nuts. Like walnuts. Do you eat a lot of nuts? Lysine should balance you out though.
Also cut back on corn, popcorn as for me if I overeat these foods I have them , and for some reason , stress related. Hope this helps you.
Thank you all for the feedback! Anything helps!! :)
I just want to add that coldsores are totally typical when switching to a vegan diet. This is also true with canker sores. It's because your body is detoxing. Once your body gets in balance, they may go away all together. Just know that your body is reacting perfectly and wants to get rid of the toxins. You're on the right track!
Agree with the others about the cold sores. I still got them while Vegan but I also had a lot of Vegan sugary foods... home made and whole vegan ingredients but lots of sugar.
Since I stopped baking, they have gone away.. but Lysine did help them go away if one popped up and caught in time. Also tea tree oil helped me.
Hi Zucchini Babe,
At the begining I too got some cold sores but they quickly went away. I think it was part of my detoxing too. I used to always use LLysine 1000 mg when I used to get them and take it for about a week and it would all clear up pretty quick but they were so annoying. I think you'll be fine probably just releasing junk from your system so that is a good thing :)
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