[QUOTE=FUZO;1329325]L-lysine is one of the eight essential amino acids and one of the 22 proteinogenic amino acids. It cannot be produced by the human body and must be consumed in its entirety with the diet.

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L-Lysine Benefits the Gut, Brain & Herpes Outbreaks

The same building block of protein that helps treat cold sores can also help fight cancer. It’s not a myth; it’s just science — and that’s just one of the many L-lysine benefits.
For years, people have been using L-lysine to treat the herpes virus and recover from workouts. But, as it turns out, this amino acid is good for more than just these two things. L-lysine benefits are extensive and include everything from anxiety to diabetes.
This essential amino acid is found in food as well as available in supplement form. Let me show you how very essential it is and all the wonderful things L-lysine benefits can do for your health.
What Is L-Lysine?

L-lysine is an essential amino acid. Many people know that several amino acids are known as the “building blocks of protein” and are needed in order for a huge number of proper internal functions, including growth.
Of the few hundred amino acids found in nature, 20 are necessary for protein creation and growth, and only 10 of those 20 can be produced by the body. The remaining 10 are known as “essential” amino acids because humans must consume them for proper health. Amino acid deficiencies cause a degradation of internal cells and can lead to huge problems, so it’s important to get enough of them in your diet.
Essential amino acids are most often stereoisomers, meaning they exist in two variations that are identical to one another as mirror images. There are both D- and L- forms of these amino acids, and the L- form is used in protein synthesis and therefore the form found in food and supplements. Because of this, most people simply refer to this nutrient as “lysine” for short.
There are many incredible L-lysine benefits, from its use as a common treatment for cold sores to a potential anti-anxiety supplement. As is true with most nutrients available in supplement form, L-lysine can be taken orally but is absorbed best into the body when consumed through food. It’s found in large amounts in various kinds of meat, beans, cheeses and eggs.
Specifically, L-lysine is very important in the creation of carnitine, which converts fatty acids into energy and also lowers cholesterol levels. L-lysine also seems to play a role in absorbing calcium and helps the body form collagen, which aids in the growth and maintenance of bones and connective tissue (including skin).
As a natural disease-fighting agent, L-lysine benefits the human body in a variety of ways, many of which are only recently undergoing research.
L-Lysine Benefits

1. May Decrease Outbreak and Frequency of Herpes Viruses
If you’ve heard of L-lysine before, it’s probably in conjunction with a natural cold sore remedy. Cold sores are a result of the Herpes simplex-1 virus, also referred to as HSV-1, and around 67 percent of people under 50 are infected with the virus, even if they never display symptoms. HSV-2 is the herpes virus responsible for genital herpes, which 85 percent of carriers are unaware they even have.
While research is inconsistent on the subject, most individuals who use L-lysine to treat cold sores rate it as very effective. (2) Some studies support that L-lysine can help reduce the number of HSV outbreaks someone has, while others say that outbreaks happen at the same frequency but last a shorter period of time. Experts generally agree that L-lysine is unlikely to completely stop outbreaks altogether but may aid in lessening their severity and/or frequency.
One study using a cream combining L-lysine with herbs and zinc found that 87 percent of patients found their cold sores gone by day six of treatment, although these outbreaks usually last about 21 days. (
The way this nutrient may fight cold sores is not entirely clear, but one such reason may be the way that it interacts with arginine, another amino acid that’s produced in small amounts within the body. Arginine has been shown to increase the replication rate of herpes virus cells, and high amounts of L-lysine in the body decrease the activity of arginine because they work against one another.
Along with the HSV-1 virus that causes cold sores, L-lysine may potentially help alleviate genital Herpes
2. May Help in the Treatment of Cancer
One reason many scientists search for natural cancer treatments has to do with the way conventional treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation, negatively impact healthy cells along with diseased ones. Amazingly, there have been huge strides recently in this area, as researchers discover more and more ways that nutrients found in our food and in nature may potentially do just what we desire — target malignant cells without killing good ones.
In 2007, scientists at Florida State University studied the effects of “lysine conjugates” on damaged strands of DNA, like the ones found in cancer. Basically, this substance can locate a damaged strand by identifying “cleavage” in it (a damaged spot) and cause the rest of the strand to cleave (tear apart) as well. The cell is usually unable to repair this damage, leading to apoptosis, the suicidal death of cells.
What’s most fascinating about the potential of this treatment is how it works alongside specific types of light. The cancer-killing ability of lysine conjugates are only activated when exposed to particular types of light, which allows researchers, and potentially doctors, to inject or place the treatment into the most concentrated location of cancer cells and activate them at their most potentially effective spots.
The scientists conducting the study found results ranging from 25 percent all the way to 90 percent of destroyed cancer cells, which is astounding! (
A lysine oxidase was tested against instances of colorectal in mice in 2014. In this study, the injection of lysine oxidase was associated with zero deaths and shrunk solid tumors in significant amounts, signifying this may be a promising form of cancer treatment for colorectal cancer in the future. (
Cancers related to the bone marrow, such as leukemia, may also meet their match with L-lysine, according to preliminary research. In one study, L-lysine injection helped prevent genotoxicity (DNA and RNA damage) in cells exposed to a cancer-causing substance. (6)
3. Reduces Anxiety and Other Psychological Symptoms
Along with eating foods high in B vitamins, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids, you can also try increasing your L-lysine intake to minimize anxiety. Because L-lysine may help your body absorb calcium, which is another beneficial nutrient for anxiety sufferers, this may be one of the primary ways in which it helps treat anxiety .
In addition to helping you absorb calcium more efficiently, L-lysine behaves like a serotonin receptor antagonist. That’s a wordy phrase that means it partially binds to serotonin receptors in order to partially prevent anxiety responses. This research, in particular, found that L-lysine helps reduce stress-induced anxiety responses, including .Diarrhea
This is especially important in developing countries in which wheat is the primary staple food. People living in these environments are much more likely than those in first-world countries to be deficient in L-lysine. Fortifying diets of people in wheat-dependent countries can help reduce both stress-induced anxiety and diarrheal responses.
It’s possible that L-lysine benefits those with schizophrenia as well, which manifests in extremely serious symptoms often related to anxiety. Preliminary findings suggest that L-lysine supplementation along with conventional therapy can help decrease negative and general symptoms of schizophrenia, although dosing and long-term effects have not yet been determined.




Dosages and Food Sources of L-Lysine

I’m definitely a proponent of getting your nutrients from food rather than supplements whenever possible. This way, your body absorbs more of the nutrients, and you don’t risk overdosing. However, supplements can be extremely beneficial in cases where you know you aren’t able to meet your daily value recommendations of specific nutrients.
The average person (around 150 pounds) should get between 800–3,000 milligrams of L-lysine in his or her diet each day. Dosage recommendations for treating herpes outbreaks are suggested at one to three grams daily of an additional L-lysine supplement. (14)
Lysine is also available in cream form, often used to apply to cold sores.
When eating lysine-rich foods, remember that conventional preparation methods can decrease the nutritive value of the lysine. These include methods like reducing with a sugar-based substance, heating foods in the presence of yeast or sucrose, and cooking with the absence of moisture.