I've noticed some supplement companies offer Free Form L-Lysine. Is that better than the standard L-Lysine or unimportant?
"Free-form" appears to be a marketing gimmick. In chemistry, "free-form" generally means that the molecule is un-connected to any other. A pure molecule. Big deal? Nope. That's what all of the lysine products are, offered by any of the reputable supplement vendors (Vitacost, Swanson's, etc.). Pure lysine, (L-lysine) substitutes for arginine when herpes viruses replicate. The lysine, then, stops or dramatically slows the herpes replication process. Of course, don't take the lysine with food. It gets mixed with other amino acids in the food and the body then uses the lysine to make its own protein. Take the lysine at least 20 before a meal, or 2 hrs after.