by Frederick Cheng, R.Ph., and Christine Cheng, R.Ph.
The flu season always gets us searching for ways to boost our immunity. Coupled with the threat of a Covid-19 infection during the pandemic, it is definitely to your advantage to do whatever you can to stay healthy this season. Always start by having a well-balanced diet (focused on plentiful water intake, adequate protein and minimizing sugars and fats), maximizing sleep, reducing stress, and consulting a physician at first sign of any ailments. Many supplements are available to help boost and regulate your immunity. Keep an eye out for our future articles on a similar topic, but we will focus on the use of lysine for now.
Being an essential amino acid, L-lysine must be sourced in our diet or through supplements. Meat, fish, eggs, dairy, soy, and legumes are common dietary sources. Vegetarians often lack lysine in their diet, since it is found in relative low amounts in vegetables and grains. Most lysine on the supplement market is produced via bacterial fermentation.
L-lysine is most commonly studied for its effective treatment and prevention of cold-sores. It is thought to oppose herpes simplex growth. Although much less well-studied, similar reasoning has been applied to its effect on the growth and proliferation of other viruses, such as the flu virus. Thus, many people seek Lysine year-round as a way to ward off viral infections. One of our favourites is the L-Lysine by the well-respected New Roots Herbal, which comes in “clean” 500mg capsules. It can be used alone, or safely in conjunction with items such as oil of oregano, bioflavonoids, anti-oxidants (eg. Vitamin C8), or herbals (eg. Esberitox, Prevail).
Long-term use of 3000mg of lysine daily appears quite safe, but typical dosing is generally much lower. Some do comment on getting some abdominal pains, diarrhea, stomach discomfort, especially when they are approaching the 6000mg daily that some people short-term use.
Its effectiveness is unclear, but lysine has also been used by people trying to treat diabetes, hypertension, stress, schizophrenia, and improve athletic performance such as muscle strength.
Come talk to our integrative pharmacist teams at Cloverdale Pharmasave and Pharmasave Steveston Village to see how best to arm yourselves and stay healthy throughout this flu season.
Christine and Fred Cheng are a passionate, charismatic sister-brother pharmacist team at their unique, family-operated Pharmasave stores in Cloverdale and Steveston, B.C. They specialize in natural remedies and compounding for both human and veterinarian use. Find them on Instagram and Facebook! Everything mentioned in their article is available InStore.
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