All You Need To Know About Shingles
Pain Relief and What Not To Eat When You Have Shingles
Shingles, or herpes zoster, is a secondary outbreak of the chicken pox virus. Even if you suffered chicken pox as a kid, the virus continues to lie dormant in the nerve cells of your body, near your spinal cord and brain. Research suggests that the virus can reactivate anytime the body’s immune system is compromised, which could happen when we’re stressed, suffering from lack of sleep, or even anxious.
Doctors will prescribe just about anything for shingles to help ease the pain and discomfort — from painkillers, antidepressants, and topical petrochemical creams, to anti-inflammatories and antibiotics, steroids, and antiviral medications.
If you have shingles, you have to get more help than what doctors offer, that is for sure. You need to look at your overall diet and lifestyle to properly deal with shingles.
Bottom line: Shingles damages your nervous system and alters natural balance and neurological core control. With clients who suffer with shingles, we encourage changing their diet and looking at their overall lifestyle.
Natural Remedies for Shingles
Researchers believe that imbalances in natural amino acids contribute to the prolonged reaction time many have to the virus.
Two amino acids that seem important that are found in the human body but also in foods we eat are L-arginine and L-lysine. Studies show that if you have a greater level of arginine in the body, the herpes zoster virus will thrive. Arginine is found in nuts, tomatoes, and chocolate. On the other hand, lysine is a potent inhibitor of arginine. It is found in protein-based foods, dairy, and most vegetables. We also found writing on vitamin C being essential and oral doses of Colloidal Silver being helpful as well.
Here’s a list that shows other foods with both amino acids in them.
Foods rich in Arginine
Food to avoid when you have shingles
- Tomatoes
- Wheat Germ
- Brussels sprouts
- Cashews
- Grapes
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Pecans
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Peanuts
- Chocolate
- Sugars
Food rich in Lysine
Food to eat to promote healing from shingles
- All meats
- Fish
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Milk
- Eggs
- Apples
- Pears
- Apricots
- Avocados
- Pineapples
- Green beans
- Asparagus
Pain Relief for Shingles
The pain after the shingles look better is the part people have trouble with, called post-herpetic neuralgia. It consists of sharp, shooting pain in the region where the outbreak occurred and can persist for years after the initial outbreak. Up to 60% of people over the age of 60 who got shingles go on to develop this chronic condition.
Don’t be passive with your treatment of shingles. Keep seeking alternative care options and don’t rely on medication to cure your symptoms or relieve your pain.
Reducing stress wherever possible can help you recover from shingles. Using MELT Method can help reduce the daily accumulation of stress. My suggestion is to do the following treatments at least 3-4 times a week:
There are also advanced moves that MELT instructors can share, such as Neck Turn and Neck Side Bend, which stimulate tissue in and around the ribs and lungs. These sequences can offer additional relief for the pain symptoms.
Let one of the MELT Instructors listed on this site help you. Click here to find if there’s one near you, or sign up to MELT On Demand.
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