cold sores

InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH

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Did you know that weather plays a big part in cold sore development? I want to talk about this in some detail today because we certainly know that cold and flu season is upon us, as is harsher winter weather, including more dry air and heightened winds. This can actually make the body more hospitable to the body that causes cold sores. I want to talk about the herpes family of viruses, as well as cold sores and what you can be doing about that.†

What are cold sores?

I want to discuss what a cold sore is. We know that roughly 50 to 80% of the US population has herpes simplex 1. This is the virus that is causative to creating cold sores.†

Generally speaking, when people get a cold sore, there are usually a few different factors that come into play. First, we always have to look at the immune system and what is actually occurring at the time that that cold sore develops. Are we currently ill with something such as the common cold? If we’re trying to fight that off, our body is at a heightened state of stress, which can create a reactivation of herpes simplex 1.†

We can also look at shingles, which we know is directly correlated to the reactivation of the chicken pox virus. Though these two viruses present differently, we know that lowered immunity and stress are the driving causes for both of those to come out.†

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Promoting your immune defenses

We have to make sure that we are doing what we can to support our immune system. The common cold and influenza are common drivers for the reactivation of the viruses that cause cold sores and shingles. If you have a fever, runny nose or any of the things that go along with the common cold or influenza, our immune system is left more open and prone to allowing the herpes viruses to reactivate themselves and create those issues.†

We can also see how certain nutrients and the lack thereof can lead to a greater likelihood for herpes simplex 1 reactivation. We can look at low intake of key nutrients including Vitamin C, Vitamin D and zinc. Americans commonly do not have enough of these nutrients. Being in more of an insufficient state when it comes to your intake of those key vitamins, as well as the mineral zinc, could put you at a higher risk for the development of issues such as shingles or cold sores.†

This would be a good time to turn to something like our Immunity HxⓇ formulation that contains those three nutrients in combination. It has Vitamin C, Vitamin D and zinc. During cold and flu season, it is quite advantageous to make sure we are bolstering up our system with higher amounts of those three things in particular.†

We can also look at mushroom extracts and the amino acid lysine. We know that lysine is not only important when we look at cold sores, but also when we think about shingles because herpes viruses rely heavily on arginine. If we take higher levels of lysine, that helps to offset the replication process.†

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In this episode, Amanda Williams, MPH discusses why outbreaks of cold sores and shingles are more common during cold and flu season. She explains the roll immunity and stress play in this issue and recommends nutrients that can help you build up your immune defenses.†

Key Topics:

• Shingles and reactivation of the chicken pox virus
• The impacts of cold sores
• How weather and stress impact immunity
• Research on nutrients to help fend off shingles and cold sores

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