Shingles, also known as herpes zoster or zona, is a viral disease caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have had chickenpox, the virus remains latent in the nerve tissues without causing any problem. Exactly how the shingles virus remains dormant in the body, and subsequently re-activates, is not understood.
General beliefs are that certain age, weakened immune system, certain medications, emotional stress, or recovery from surgery can trigger shingles. Although shingles can occur anywhere on your body, mostly it appears as a single stripe of painful skin rashes with blisters on one side of the body.
Foods that can help healing shingles are beans, chicken, fruits, lean meat, milk, nuts and seeds, poultry, seafood, vegetables, vegetable oils, wheat germ, whole grains, yogurt. Foods that are high in vitamin E and C may improve your immune system, and help prevent inflammation associated with postherpetic neuralgia, a long-term complication of shingles. And zine-rich foods can also help strengthen your immune system.