What to Eat to Get Rid of a Cold Sore Quickly

Cold sores appear overnight, seemingly at random. What you eat can sometimes trigger outbreaks--and luckily, what you eat can also speed up the duration of the outbreak. While there's no immediate way to get rid of a cold sore, eating certain foods can shave a day or more off your healing time.

Diet

• The virus that causes cold sore outbreaks uses the amino acid arginine to grow. You can make it more difficult for the cold sore to get bigger by reducing its arginine source. Try to avoid indulging in: chocolate, beer, soda pop, nuts (including peanuts, cashews, walnuts), whole grain cereals and gelatin-based products (candy with gelatin).

  Eating vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and brussels sprouts is a good start to eliminating your cold sore. These foods have high levels of indole-3-carbinol, a compound that may slow the reproduction of herpes cells. Unsweetened yogurt has high levels of lysine, an amino acid that is highly effective in healing and preventing cold sores.

  Alkaline foods work to cancel out the acidic effects of arginine. An easy way to get some alkaline in your system is to squeeze some lemon into your water. Drinking lots of water will also help flush out your system.

  As a general rule, if you eat healthy foods, your immune system will be stronger and your cold sores will heal faster.

Supplements

• Taking vitamins is a crucial part of healing during an outbreak. Taking between 1,200 and 3,000 milligrams of lysine a day will shorten your healing period. Since stress is often a cause of cold sores, a vitamin B complex is helpful as well. Zinc and vitamin C supplements will support your immune system and help your body to build new tissue as the cold sore is healing.