Proper nutrition for herpes. Useful and dangerous foods for herpes

A properly selected diet helps suppress the reproduction process of the herpes virus and helps speed up recovery. Following a diet will allow you to effectively control the manifestations of the disease, containing its outbreaks and prolonging the period of remission.

Following a diet will allow you to effectively control the manifestations of herpes, curbing its outbreaks and prolonging the period of remission.

The importance of choosing a diet for herpes: prohibited and permitted foods

Diet plays an important role in the treatment and prevention of herpes. The virus is susceptible to certain amino acids that enter the human body with food. They have different effects on the development of infection, and this property helps influence the virus through nutrition.

Arginine promotes the proliferation of viral cells and activates the manifestations of symptoms, and lysine slows down the spread of infection, prevents recurrent rashes , and affects the duration and severity of the disease.

Foods that contain the optimal amount of lysine include:

Meat (beef, lamb, rabbit).
Fish (cod, salmon, pike perch, pollock).
Seafood (squid, mussels).
By-products (liver, tongue).
Milk and dairy products (yogurt, kefir, cheese, cottage cheese).
Legumes (soybeans, beans, lentils).
Eggs.
Fruits (apricot, mango, apple, pear).
Vegetables (beets, potatoes, tomatoes, celery, cauliflower).

Important! For treatment to be effective, it is necessary not only to fight the herpes virus, but also to strengthen and support the immune system. The diet should contain foods that help the body fight pathogenic bacteria, such as ginger or garlic.

Some foods slow down the healing process, and it is advisable to either completely eliminate them or minimize the amount consumed:

Nuts (any kind).
Sour fruits, berries (citrus fruits, grapes, strawberries, cranberries).
Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame).
Bread and bakery products.
Chocolate.
Cereals (wheat, rye, oats, buckwheat).
Vegetables (white cabbage, onions, green peas, cucumbers).

By using foods high in lysine for cooking and limiting the consumption of those in which arginine predominates, you can prevent the development of herpes infection and avoid the reappearance of unpleasant symptoms.

Carbohydrates: harm or benefit?

A common mistake patients make is completely avoiding carbohydrates. Yes, you really have to completely give up sugar and sweets. But complex carbohydrates are the basis for high-quality immune function.

They give a person energy. Without normal amounts of these nutrients, healthy performance and blood composition are impossible. You should eat porridge, diet bread, vegetables and fruits every day. Bakery lovers don’t have to give it up completely. You can bake your own bread from whole grain flour, in which case it will be classified as complex carbohydrates. You can prepare crackers. Store-bought crackers almost always contain too many spices and salt. By preparing it yourself, this problem can be avoided. Patients use low-fat sour cream with the addition of herbs as a sauce for crackers.

Menu options depending on the type of herpes

In modern medicine, depending on the location of the disease, eight types of herpes are distinguished. Each type of virus has its own characteristics, so the diet for type 2 herpes (genital) will be slightly different from the diet for herpes zoster or herpes on the body.

Menu options for different types of herpes
Type of rash	Breakfast	Dinner	Afternoon snack	Dinner
Herpes on the body	Oatmeal, cheese, boiled eggs, milk	Vegetable soup from broccoli and zucchini, rabbit with stewed vegetables, tomato salad, juice	Fruit salad, rosehip decoction	Steamed pike perch fillet, potato and pumpkin puree, banana, herbal tea
Herpes on the face, lips and mouth	Cottage cheese, banana-apple puree, fermented baked milk	Pumpkin puree soup, steamed turkey cutlets, baked potatoes with mushrooms, still mineral water	Pear mousse, milk	Fish souffle, stewed vegetables, chamomile tea
Genital herpes	Cottage cheese casserole with fruit, yogurt, herbal tea	Fish soup, mashed potatoes with stewed beef, beet salad, juice	Boiled eggs, kefir	Seafood salad, vegetable stew, baked apples, tea
Herpes zoster	Boiled eggs, cheese, milk, apple	Soup with chicken and vegetables, stewed lamb with mushrooms, celery and potato salad, juice	Fruit salad, tea	Liver, beans stewed with tomatoes, berry mousse, kefir
Herpes in a child	Steamed omelette, banana, milk	Vegetable soup with chicken, mashed potatoes with steamed meatballs, beetroot and carrot salad, sweet fruit juice	Cottage cheese casserole, sour apple, tea	Boiled chicken with rice, pear and apple puree, kefir

With the first type of herpes, rashes appear on the face, lips and mouth. In order not to irritate the mucous membranes during illness, it is necessary to exclude sour and spicy foods from the diet. In addition, hard foods scratch the surface and interfere with the healing process of the rash.

Herpes zoster not only affects the skin throughout the body, but is also accompanied by quite severe pain. When creating a menu, you should focus on zinc-containing products (beef, lamb, shellfish, liver). They promote faster skin regeneration and strengthen the immune system.

For herpes rashes on the body, it is necessary to eat as much plant food , and the main dish on the diet menu for genital herpes is fish and seafood .

Allergenic foods, salty, sour and spicy foods should be excluded from the child’s diet during the period of illness .
With type 6 herpes in children, the immune system is weakened, so the diet is aimed not only at relieving symptoms, but also at maintaining the body’s protective functions.

General diet rules

The disease can be triggered by injuries, long-term infections, overwork, exhaustion and poor lifestyle. Proper nutrition for herpes, along with drug therapy, reduces the symptoms of the disease and helps the body cope with viral attacks. The diet for herpes infection has general principles:

Balance. The diet should contain proteins, fats and carbohydrates, as well as foods rich in vitamins and microelements. Among protein foods, preference is given to dairy products, lean meat and fish. Carbohydrates can be obtained from cereals, vegetables, fruits and whole grain bread.
The diet should be gentle on the liver. It is necessary to exclude smoked, fried, fatty, spicy foods, black pepper, spices and canned foods.
The presence of fermented milk products with bifidobacteria in the diet is mandatory. They restore intestinal microflora, increasing immunity.

The diet is prescribed by the attending physician depending on the type of herpetic infection. In addition to the general rules of diet, it is necessary to observe certain dietary features according to the typology of the virus.

Products that prevent infection and drinking regime

The anti-herpes diet does not exclude the use of foods containing arginine, but the ingredients in dishes must be selected so that the ratio between lysine and arginine is no less than 1.5:1.

To prevent the activation of viral bacteria, it is necessary to include in the daily diet such products as:

Butter (2.2:1).
Yogurt (2.9:1).
Milk (2.9:1).
Cauliflower (2.5:1).
Beetroot (2.4:1).
Apples (2.1:1).
Fish (1.6:1).
Beef (1.6:1).

Advice! Products of animal origin are best combined with plant foods - in this case, the ratio between amino acids and alkaline components will be optimal.

An important component of the diet when a herpes virus is detected in the blood is the choice of drinks and adherence to the drinking regime. to drink at least two liters of liquid per day . Drinking improves digestion and helps eliminate toxins and waste. Additionally, herpes is often accompanied by a high fever, so fluids are essential to prevent dehydration.

Best for these purposes, in addition to purified drinking water, are all kinds of herbal teas, fermented milk drinks and pure milk, fruit decoctions, berry compotes and jelly.

Expert comment:

“For some it may seem funny that with a disease such as herpes, proper nutrition plays a huge role.
More precisely, a special diet aimed at reducing the manifestations of herpes outbreaks. The cause of exacerbation of the disease is colds, stress and ..... poor nutrition. To avoid relapses of herpes, it is important to adhere to proper nutrition and diversify your diet with fruits and vegetables. It is important to eat foods rich in lysine and poor in arginine.
Well, if herpes does manifest itself, then follow a special diet:
Eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible, but not sour ones. Especially with herpes on the lips and mouth. The acid contained in fruits will irritate the wounds and slow down the healing process.
Drink 1–1.5 liters of fluid per day (but if you suffer from cardiovascular disease or kidney failure, be sure to consult your doctor).
Do not eat fatty and smoked foods.
Forget about sugar and chocolate for a while.
Eat less salt, peanuts, and seeds.
Avoid any alcohol for a while.
Certain foods can trigger a herpes outbreak. These are mainly foods rich in cholesterol, sugar, and alcohol.
To shorten the interval between outbreaks of herpes, I recommend following certain dietary rules and eating more foods with a high lysine content.
Natural sources of lysine: potatoes, meat, eggs, soybeans, wheat germ, lentils. This does not mean that you only need to stick to a lysine diet. Of course not. You can eat other foods too. But it is advisable to use these regularly. Then you won’t have to go on a diet if herpes recurs.”

Elena Pavlova, nutritionist, Omsk

Peculiarities

For the first 14 days, you must strictly follow the diet, avoiding the presence of prohibited foods in your diet. During the period of remission, any food is allowed, although it is better to give preference to food that does not contain arginine and fat.

For the first 14 days, you must strictly follow the diet, avoiding the presence of prohibited foods in your diet.

During exacerbation

During an exacerbation of herpes, you need to monitor your diet without deviating from your diet. After 2 weeks, after the rash disappears, you will have to continue to follow the diet for 7 days, but not so strict.

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The menu during this period includes more products:

For breakfast – 2 boiled eggs and bread and butter. You can drink it with weak tea.
For brunch, you can eat any fruit, including forbidden citrus fruits, grapefruit and kiwi.
For lunch, try chicken noodle soup, broccoli salad, oven-baked cutlet and berry juice.
For an afternoon snack, it is better to drink a glass of diet yogurt.
For dinner - mashed potatoes and a salad of shrimp or any fish except flounder.

For brunch, you can eat any fruit, including forbidden citrus fruits, grapefruit and kiwi.

When expanding your diet, carefully monitor your condition. It is better to introduce 1-2 products per day. If an exacerbation does not occur, you can gradually increase the proportion of prohibited foods in the diet. After another 7 days, you can switch to your usual diet.

Essential vitamins and where are they found?

One of the main reasons for the activation of the herpes virus is a decrease in the body’s protective functions, which occurs due to a lack of vitamins and minerals. Some beneficial substances are necessary to speed up the healing of ulcers and prevent their recurrence.

Whatever diet is used for herpes, when choosing foods it is important to take into account the body’s need for the following vitamins and minerals:

Vitamin C - ascorbic acid not only strengthens the immune system, but is also involved in the production of collagen, which is necessary for the regeneration of damaged tissues and the elasticity of blood vessels. A source of vitamin C, in addition to citrus fruits that are not recommended for consumption for herpes, are apples, apricots, Brussels sprouts and bell peppers.
Vitamin A helps get rid of many skin diseases by participating in regenerative processes and the synthesis of epithelial cells. Contained in carrots, celery, fish, butter, cottage cheese and beef liver.
Vitamin D supports the immune system and promotes better absorption of certain minerals. Foods that contain vitamin D include almost all types of fish, cheese, eggs, mushrooms and milk.
Vitamin E activates and stimulates cell synthesis. Of the foods approved for use against herpes, it is found in prunes, rose hips, viburnum, and sea buckthorn.
B vitamins are involved in many processes occurring in the body. In particular, vitamins of this group are necessary for restoring damaged tissues, normalizing digestion and stabilizing the functioning of the nervous system. You can maintain the required amount of B vitamins by eating animal products, eggs, potatoes, and mushrooms.
Zinc is involved in fermentation processes, normalizes acid-base balance, supports and strengthens the immune system. It enters the body mainly from plant products. Products containing zinc include: cabbage, beets, beans, spinach, apples, avocados.
Magnesium – one of the factors that provokes the development of herpes is stress. Magnesium stabilizes the functioning of the nervous system and restores energy balance in the body. Found in pumpkin, bananas, apples, beans and asparagus.

Interesting: vitamin E acts not only inside the body. Oils based on this substance are applied to damaged areas of the skin - they speed up the healing process and relieve pain in the affected area. It is recommended to use as an external remedy in combination with a diet for herpes on the body, face and lips.

You might be interested in: What vitamins in foods do we need every day?

Doctors' advice: how to prevent relapse

Advice from dermatologists will help you forget about the manifestations of the disease for many years:

complete abstinence from any alcoholic and sweet carbonated drinks;
quitting smoking (if the patient suffers from this bad habit);
eating properly prepared foods;
moderate physical activity;
avoiding overwork at work and at home, you should set aside time for proper rest and sleep;
regular intake of vitamin and mineral complexes;
absence of psycho-emotional stress: the state of the nervous system is very important for achieving remission in any skin diseases.

These tips seem banal and simple. but it is their regular implementation that can restore immunity and save a person from constant relapses of herpes.

Taboo on sugar and sweets - why is this important?

Products containing sugar are contraindicated for any type of herpes. Sugar interferes with the absorption of nutrients and vitamins. This negatively affects the restoration of damaged tissues and the body’s protective functions.

It is especially important to exclude foods containing sugar from the diet for herpes on the lips . In places where the rash appears, the skin cracks and dries out, this process is accompanied by pain, itching and burning.

Affected areas are more susceptible to various types of infections and bacteria. With a weakened immune system, this can lead to complications and the development of other diseases, against the background of which it will be even more difficult for the body to fight the herpes virus.

Is it possible to cure herpes with nutrition - folk remedies

It is impossible to completely get rid of the herpes virus that has entered the human body. Diets and complex treatment help remove the external manifestations of the disease and achieve stable remission, but do not destroy the infection.

In folk medicine, there are also many ways to stop the development of herpes:

In addition to diet, you can add to the treatment measures for herpes on the face, rubbing the affected areas of the skin with milk with a fat content of 1.5%. The rash treated in this way dries out faster and does not cause burning or itching.
A cocktail of apple and carrot juice with the addition of beet tops contains many vitamins, strengthens the immune system and charges the body with the energy necessary to resist infection.
You can speed up the healing process and increase the body's resistance by drinking half a glass of freshly squeezed parsley or beet juice every day.
It is recommended to add herbal teas and decoctions based on chamomile and licorice root to the diet for herpes in the mouth. They soften the manifestations of the disease, relieve inflammation and disinfect damaged areas of the mucous membrane.

Tip: the film on the inside of the eggshell helps dry out herpes rashes. To do this, you need to apply it to the affected area (repeat the procedure several times a day).

The presence of the herpes virus is a serious problem that should not be underestimated. A body weakened by infection is unable to fight more serious diseases that can affect internal organs and significantly affect overall health.

Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the quality and variety of food consumed, use foods with a large amount of vitamins and nutrients, because a balanced diet is one of the main methods of prevention, helping to prevent the development of not only herpes, but also other diseases in the body.

What is the essence of following a diet and is it really necessary?

Many can simply wave their hand and say that the devil is not as terrible as he is painted. However, it’s worth learning at least once about the consequences of herpes to change your mind forever.

In an advanced state, visually visible blisters are only a small part of the existing problem; in fact, the infection can affect the lymph nodes, lungs, intestines, liver, kidneys, heart, blood vessels, internal genital organs, etc. If it spreads to the membranes of the brain, it can even occur remain disabled or end your life with death.

Having looked through these “passion-faces”, we still make a reasonable choice and return to proper nutrition. Why is it so useful:

immunity is strengthened;
the level of acidity in the body decreases;
growth and regeneration of tissue structure is ensured;
the production of hormonal and enzymatic substances is restored;
prevention of vitamin deficiencies is provided;
the overall well-being and health of a person improves.

Attention: including a balanced diet in your usual lifestyle is part of the comprehensive treatment of herpes, as a result of which we simply “drive” the virus into a long latent form of progression.