In the 1960s, an effect of L-lysine against herpes simplex virus was noted in the test tube. It seems that changing the nutritional environment of herpes alters its capability to make its essential proteins. This amino acid balance can be critical, especially between two amino acids, lysine and arginine. These two amino acids work in somewhat opposite ways, in that lysine in excessive amounts damages the virus, while arginine in insufficient amounts has a similar effect. The lysine/arginine ratio is the important factor: a high ratio has a damaging effect on herpes simplex virus in culture. It is a giant leap to say that altering these chemicals in the diet will change the body’s ability to combat clinical infection. In fact, it is not known whether this ratio can be changed in the body. There have been clinical trials with L-lysine, but they have NEVER involved total dietary management, which is being suggested by a number of L-lysine advocates. The lysine work to date in humans is summarized below.

Dr. R. S. Griffith and his coworkers published an article in 1978 describing a multicenter trial of L-lysine for herpes infections. Doses of 300 mg to 1,000 mg per day were used. A long term beneficial effect was observed. However, this study had NO control group. Many people with herpes swear by L-lysine, as popular trade magazines have attested. Without PROPER controls, however, placebo effects can be quite profound. In one study, 77 percent of 26 patients reported their oral herpes lesions to be markedly reduced in severity and duration by treatment with water! Ether, the test substance in that clinical trial, was shown to be no more effective than water placebo. Back to L-lysine. If water works for 77 percent of people who think they are using a drug, then it would be wise to be very critical of studies that have NO control group.

Two controlled trials of L-lysine have been performed in Denmark by Dr. N. Milman and his coworkers. First, L-lysine was used as treatment for recurrent oral herpes. The treatment was used as soon as a coming recurrence was sensed. It was tested on 251 recurrences. There was clearly NO beneficial effect. Next, people with recurrent oral herpes took 1,000 mg daily, while the control group took starch powder tablets. After twelve weeks, the groups switched places. The drug had no effect on the number of recurrences, the rate of recurrences, the rate of healing of recurrences, or the symptoms of recurrences. Fourteen people had no recurrences at all during lysine treatment. This was considered to be of borderline significance.

In another study, from the Dermatology Branch at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr. J. DiGiovanna and H. Blank performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of L-lysine taken for four to five months. The drug was given as 400 mg three times daily, and participants were advised not to take “excessive” amounts of seeds, nuts, or chocolate because of their arginine content. Their results were published in January 1984 in Archives of Dermatology. No substantial benefits of treatment were noted. The fact that only twenty patients were studied and follow-up during the treatment period was left mostly up to the patients themselves makes interpretation somewhat difficult. Nevertheless, all participants has a positive diagnosis at the time of entry, and no beneficial effects were seen.

In conclusion, it is not known whether the lysine/arginine ratio matters for herpes in Humans. Dietary controls have only recently been part of the experimental design, and in this setting no benefits were noted. The average North American diet is much higher in lysine (meats and dairy products) than in arginine (legumes, whole grains, nuts). We do not know if altering the amino acid intake actually changes the nutrients available to the virus inside the cell. However, we are also in the dark concerning the safety of this regimen, because alterations of amino acids have undetermined effects on the body. Because amino acids are not called drugs, they are not controlled as drugs; as “natural” nutrients, they can be put into tablets and sold for consumption at any dosage.