Low Arginine Foods Supplements Diet for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

ALS Diet Pages

For the sole purpose of notcontributing to an excess fueling of nitric oxide production, you would at a minimum want to choose mostly from foods with a ratio of more lysine than arginine. This is also a well-known necessity in cell proliferative conditions like cancer and viral conditions like herpes. There will be foods with a favorable ratio that should not be consumed for other reasons, like their MSG content (Parmesan cheese is a good example- while higher in lysine than arginine, it is made with "enzymes" that cause the formation of excess glutamate), or dairy (excess mucous production or allergies to the proteins in dairy), or meats (see above). We would also want to make sure each low arginine food is grown organically and prepared without adding any MSG or other chemicals. Below is a table with examples of the ratios. This table by no means lists every food, but gives you a clear picture as to which categories of foods are the best for someone wanting to not fuel excessive nitric oxide production. Choose organic whole foods from the greater than 1.0 ratio. As you get to the "borderline foods" (.9 ratio, for example) the table has them a lighter color - use them less often or in lesser amounts. The foods you should avoid are grayed.

FOOD	Weight in grams	Lysine in milligrams	Arginine in milligrams	Ratio of Lys/Arg Listed highest to lowest ratio - with 1.0 and higher being the goal
DAIRY PRODUCTS Dairy Products are all higher in Lysine than Arginine, and in fact, have the highest favorable ratio
Plain Yogurt	14.1	9	3	3.000
Swiss Cheese	28	733	263	2.787
Provolone Cheese	28	750	290	2.586
Goat Milk	244	708	291	2.433
Cream Cheese	28	192	81	2.370
Mozzarella Cheese	28	559	236	2.369
Butter	14.1	9	4	2.250
Cheddar Cheese	28	588	267	2.202
Whole Milk	244	637	291	2.189
Cottage Cheese, creamed	210	2120	1190	1.782
Human Milk [as reference]	246	168	105	1.600

VEGETABLES Most Vegetables and Beans are slightly higher in lysine than arginine, and are extremely valuable in your diet for the phytonutrients, bulk, chlorophyll, and the satiety they provide. And remember, we need arginine...just not excess. Those vegetables that are not 1.0 ratio or higher include lima beans, broccoli, collards and peas - but they are too close ( in the 0.9 ratio range) and do not need to be left out of your diet unless you find you feel better without them
Beets	136	72	30	2.400
Potato	150	190	140	1.357
Green Beans	110	97	80	1.213
Lettuce, Romaine	56	58	50	1.160
Lettuce, Iceberg	75	60	52	1.154
Lentil Sprouts	77	548	470	1.166
Cauliflower	100	108	96	1.125
Spinach	55	98	90	1.089
Chinese Cabbage	70	62	59	1.051
Corn (fresh)	154	210	200	1.050
Sweet Potato	130	105	100	1.050
Turnip Greens	55	54	52	1.038
Asparagus	134	194	192	1.010
Beet Greens	38	20	20	1.000
Leeks	124	97	97	1.000
Pumpkin	245	96	96	1.000
Endive	50	32	32	1.000
Lima Beans	170	765	775	0.987
Okra	100	82	84	0.976
Broccoli	88	124	128	0.969
Collards	186	140	72	0.931
Carrots	110	44	48	0.917
Peppers, sweet	100	38	42	0.905
Radish	45	16	18	0.889
Watercress	104	172	200	0.860
Swiss Chard	36	36	42	0.857
Eggplant	82	42	50	0.840
Cabbage	70	40	48	0.833
Peas, Green	146	463	625	0.741
Brussels Sprouts	88	130	178	0.730
Onions, Green	100	4	6	0.667
Mushrooms	70	48	72	0.667
Cucumber	104	22	36	0.611
Squash, winter	205	902	1590	0.567
Yams	200	89	191	0.466
Pumpkin seeds & squash	140	2530	5570	0.454
Garlic	3	8	19	0.421
Onions, mature	160	90	262	0.344
Rutabaga	140	55	207	0.266

FRUITS A clear picture emerges: The best fruits are tropical fruits (papayas, and mangoes for example), "rose family" fruits (apples, for example), and stone fruits (apricots and plums for example). And yes, avocadoes and tomatoes are fruits.
Papaya	454	76	30	2.533
Mango	300	85	39	2.179
Apricot	114	103	48	2.146
Apple	150	17	8	2.125
Pear (dried)	175	116	56	2.071
Applesauce (unsweetened)	244	24	12	2.000
Apricot (dried)	35	89	49	1.816
Fig (dried)	189	228	131	1.740
Avocado	272	189	119	1.588
Pineapple	155	39	28	1.393
Persimmon	200	55	42	1.310
Peach	115	20	16	1.250
Plum	5.5	90	74	1.216
Watermelon	160	99	94	1.053
Tomato	123	41	27	1.519
Banana	175	55	54	1.019
Strawberries	149	37	39	0.949
Dates	83	50	55	0.909
Tangerine	116	27	37	0.730
Orange	180	62	85	0.729
Elderberries	145	38	68	0.559
Plantain	148	89	160	0.556
Blackberries	145	17	49	0.347
Blueberries	145	17	49	0.347
Grapes, slip skin	153	13	42	0.310
Grapes, adherent skin	160	24	78	0.308
Grape Juice	253	25	119	0.210
Orange Juice	248	22	117	0.188

BEANS, MEATS, POULTRY, EGGS Sadly, fish, though having a similar ratio of lysine to arginine as human milk, is unacceptable in the diet because of the high probability of mercury contamination. Whole soybeans or soybean sprouts are good, but any other soy product generates MSG in manufacture.
Soybean sprouts	70	386	266	1.451
Chicken dark meat	109	1860	1320	1.409
Chicken light meat	88	1730	1230	1.407
Beef Round Steak	454	7320	5550	1.319
Porterhouse Steak	454	6560	4980	1.317
Turkey, dark meat	152	2620	2020	1.297
Ground Beef, Lean	113	1670	1350	1.237
Lentil Sprouts	77	548	470	1.166
Whole Egg, dried	5	155	147	1.054

Way too high in arginine are grains, nuts, seeds, gelatin and chocolate [though the latter two are not listed below].
Examples:

Food	Weight in grams	Lysine in milligrams	Arginine in milligrams	Ratio Lys/Arg
Wheat, shredded	23.6	79	133	0.594
Bran Flakes	47	177	314	0.564
Oatmeal	234	78	147	0.531
Rice, puffed	14	38	73	0.521
Macadamia nuts	134	434	1200	0.362
Peanuts	144	1450	5050	0.287
Coconut, shredded	80	118	437	0.270
Almonds	142	946	3540	0.267
Pecans	108	315	1190	0.265
Sesame Seeds	150	1240	4990	0.248
Walnuts	100	466	2520	0.185

Transcribed and calculated using data from Agricultural Handbook, 1-23, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

And so we have walnuts as having our most "dangerous" ratio of high arginine to low lysine...and how many times have you met someone who could eat most nuts...but not walnuts? They'll tell you "I get little sores in my mouth". Hmmm.

ALS Diet Pages

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
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