Herpes and Breakfast Foods: Is There a Link?
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)Herpes
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Can You Make Changes to Your Breakfast to Prevent Herpes Outbreaks?

Can You Make Changes to Your Breakfast to Prevent Herpes Outbreaks?
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Updated on July 31, 2025
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No cure for herpes is available once you contract the herpes simplex virus (HSV), but you may be able to manage outbreaks with lifestyle changes.

Stress, for example, can trigger a flare-up of cold sores or genital blisters. Learning stress management techniques may help prevent these flare-ups.

This article explores where diet choices around breakfast time may fit into your herpes management plan.

However, talk to your doctor about the best ways to manage your condition. Don’t attempt to self-treat through diet.

Does Your Choice of Breakfast Food Affect Herpes Outbreaks?

The primary triggers of herpes outbreaks are extreme tiredness, stress, menstruation, injury, or genital irritation.

Some integrative health practitioners have taken the results of test-tube research on two amino acids, lysine and arginine, to mean that diet may also directly interact with HSV activity.

While it’s interesting and promising, it’s not yet clear how this translates to application in real human diets.

Maintaining a nutritious diet is more important than focusing on lysine and arginine content. A balanced, nutrient-dense diet supports a healthy immune system.

It can also be best to avoid sugary breakfast items, like processed cereals, muffins, and pastries. Sugary processed foods can suppress the immune system, increasing your risk of herpes outbreaks.

What Research Says About Amino Acids and Herpes

The amino acids lysine and arginine are found in many foods in different proportions. Research suggests that lysine may have the potential to reduce the symptoms of new herpes lesions, lead to fewer outbreaks, and reduce healing time.

Research in labs suggests that arginine may help the herpes virus replicate, while lysine slows it down. This can mean that lysine reduces the frequency of herpes outbreaks a person experiences once they acquire the virus, but arginine can worsen the condition. It might help to cut down on high-arginine foods if you have a lot of herpes outbreaks.

Plus, both amino acids compete for absorption. Lysine can trigger the release of enzymes that break down arginine.

High-arginine foods include:

  • Meats like turkey, pork, and chicken
  • Fish, such as salmon and haddock
  • Nuts and seeds, including almonds, pumpkin seeds, and cashews
  • Legumes, like chickpeas and soybeans
  • Whole grains, including oats and brown rice
  • Dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese
However, many high-arginine foods also contain a lot of lysine, including poultry, fish, some nuts, seeds, and beans. Shrimp, shellfish, eggs, and lentils also provide lysine.

Plenty of nutritious foods are on this list. Some, like yogurt, milk, and fish, feature in breakfasts around the world.

It’s vital to balance the risk of herpes recurrence with the shortfall in your nutritional intake if you cut out certain foods, such as whole grains.

You can also maintain the intake of these foods while taking a lysine supplement to balance out arginine intake, which some integrative medicine practitioners recommend.

However, study results on the effects of these supplements on herpes outbreaks, such as cold sores, have been mixed.

Also, the dose required to see an effect on herpes or the long-term effects of lysine supplementation on health are not yet clear.

Can Any Ingredients Help Prevent Herpes Outbreaks?

Limited research has shown that curcumin, the active component that helps provide turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties, might help block the herpes virus’s entry into cells and stop it from copying itself.

In test-tube studies, this has demonstrated an antiviral effect against the life cycles of HSV-1 and HSV-2, different types of herpes viruses.

While applying these results to outcomes in living human bodies isn’t possible, they show promise. Adding turmeric to foods is safe and flavorsome, so sprinkling this common spice on your breakfast carries no risk, even though only weak evidence supports its benefits for herpes management.

Turmeric is also available as a supplement. Taking turmeric supplements for two to three months at the recommended dose is also generally safe.

However, be aware that some turmeric supplements can cause liver issues, as manufacturers have engineered them to be as easy for the body to absorb as possible.

How to Prevent Herpes Outbreaks

If you already live with herpes, more reliable methods are available for reducing how often you get outbreaks than making dietary changes.

More often than not, these methods involve taking steps to preserve immune function or avoid triggers, such as:

  • Getting enough sleep to help strengthen your immune system
  • Sticking to a nutritious diet, which can also protect immune strength
  • Practicing stress management, as stress is a known herpes outbreak trigger
  • Using sunscreen on sunny days, especially around the lips to prevent cold sores
  • Staying indoors or protecting outbreak-prone areas on especially windy or chilly days
Contact a healthcare provider for advice if you experience frequent outbreaks, outbreaks that get worse despite taking precautions, severely painful outbreaks with sores that don’t heal, or outbreaks during pregnancy.

The Takeaway

  • Maintaining a balanced diet that supports your immune system can be beneficial for herpes management, as a healthy immune system might help reduce the frequency of outbreaks.
  • Avoiding sugary cereals and breakfast pastries can also help maintain good immune function.
  • Reliable studies on amino acids and their effects on the herpes simplex virus are limited and inconclusive. Consult a healthcare professional before making significant dietary changes or starting supplements.
  • If you experience severe or frequent herpes outbreaks, see a healthcare provider for advice and management strategies.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Genital herpes - self-care. MedlinePlus. August 11, 2024.
  2. Pedrazini MC et al. L-lysine: Its antagonism with L-arginine in controlling viral infection. Narrative literature review. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. June 20, 2022.
  3. Ma X et al. Excessive intake of sugar: An accomplice of inflammation. Frontiers in Immunology. August 31, 2022.
  4. Chang JY et al. A Narrative Review of Alternative Symptomatic Treatments for Herpes Simplex Virus. MDPI Viruses. June 2, 2023.
  5. L-Arginine. Cleveland Clinic. March 22, 2022.
  6. Adam MP, et al. Nutritional Requirements for L-lysine, L-Carnitine, Calories, and Natural Protein for Infants and Children with GA-1. GeneReviews. 2025.
  7. Cold sore. Mayo Clinic. January 5, 2024.
  8. Šudomová M et al. Nutraceutical Curcumin with Promising Protection against Herpesvirus Infections and Their Associated Inflammation: Mechanisms and Pathways. MDPI Microorganisms. January 31, 2021.
  9. Turmeric. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. April 2025.
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Kara Smythe, MD

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Kara Smythe, MD, has been working in sexual and reproductive health for over 10 years. Dr. Smythe is a board-certified fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and her interests include improving maternal health, ensuring access to contraception, and promoting sexual health.

She graduated magna cum laude from Florida International University with a bachelor's degree in biology and earned her medical degree from St. George’s University in Grenada. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She worked in Maine for six years, where she had the privilege of caring for an underserved population.

Smythe is also passionate about the ways that public health policies shape individual health outcomes. She has a master’s degree in population health from University College London and recently completed a social science research methods master's degree at Cardiff University. She is currently working on her PhD in medical sociology. Her research examines people's experiences of accessing, using, and discontinuing long-acting reversible contraception.

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