AIDS HIV Treatment and Supplements
AIDS HIV Treatment and Vitamins
Take at least a multivitamin, and in consultation with your doctor, possibly much higher doses of some nutrients — for example, antioxidants such as vitamins C and E. In a study at the University of California, Berkeley, researchers followed the diets of 296 HIV-positive men for six years. Compared with the men who took no vitamins, those who took vitamins daily maintained immune function longer and were less likely to progress to full-blown AIDS. [1]
Selenium
In a study done in Miami, Florida, researchers followed 125 HIV-positive people for three and a half years, periodically analyzing the nutrient levels in their blood. In general, the lower their nutrient levels, the greater the risk of the disease progressing. One nutrient, selenium, was especially significant. Compared with participants with normal selenium levels, those with the lowest levels had 11 times the death rate. [2]
AIDS HIV Treatment and Carnitine
This helps treat the side effects of protease inhibitors, the newest class of drugs used to treat HIV infection. The inhibitors are very effective — at least for a while — but they can also redistribute body fat. It then accumulates in places such as the back of the neck (an effect called “buffalo hump”). Carnitine, also known as acetyl-L-carnitine, often helps reverse this side effect (2 to 3 g/day). [3]
Herbs
AIDS HIV Treatment and Chinese herbs
These appear to enhance quality of life and reduce AIDS symptoms. At the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, researchers gave 30 HIV-positive people either a placebo or a Chinese herbal medicine formula involving seven pills four times a day. After 12 weeks, those taking the Chinese herbs reported a better quality of life and fewer symptoms of illness (although the results were deemed not statistically significant because of the small sample size). [4]
AIDS HIV Treatment and Adding Alternative Therapies to a Drug Regimen
In San Francisco, researchers worked with 10 HIV-positive men who agreed to continue their AIDS medication, and in addition, committed to exercising at least three times a week; listening to a 15-minute stress reduction tape twice daily; attending a monthly support group; taking a multivitamin and -mineral supplement; eating a diet largely consisting of fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains; and taking an herbal formula containing herbs traditional Chinese doctors recommend for viral infections, including astragalus, licorice root, ginger root, schizandra, and peony root. After almost three years, members of a comparison group who received only standard medical care experienced a 49% decline in the T cells that HIV attacks, and many reported early AIDS symptoms, including fatigue, diarrhea, weight loss, and infections. But in the group members practicing the combination of natural therapies, T-cell counts declined just 4%, and only one member experienced any early AIDS symptoms. [5]
1Abrams, B. et al. “A Prospective Study of Dietary Intake and AIDS in HIV-Positive Homosexual Men,” J. of AIDS. (1993) 6:949.
2Baum, MK. et al. “Hight Risk of HIV-Related Mortality is Associated with Selenium Deficiency,” J. of AIDS and Human Retrovirology (1997) 15:370.
3Blanchet, KD. “Complementary Medicine and HIV,” Alt. and Compl. Therapies, 12-98.
4Burack, JH et al. “Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Chinese Herbal Treatment for HIV-Associated Symptoms,” J. AIDS (1996) 12:386.
5Kaiser, J. and E. Donegan. “Complementary Therapies in HIV Disease,” Alt. Therapies, (7-1996) 2:4:42.