I’ve been told a lot of times about the benefits of these supplements and food. Some pozzies believe that they can really help in increasing the CD4 and or decreasing the viral load, together with the ARV's. I asked Dr. RD about this and she just said that she has nothing against any of them except that there are really no proven facts or literature saying that they are effective.
Well, for the benefit of everybody, I made a research about these and this is what I got. It's up to you to decide.
Grapes
HIV promotes a strong and destructive Pro-oxidant state within the body. This Oxidative state produces stress that can damage cells and tissue in the body. Since we are on the subject of nutrition, I should mention a food that can help.
Grapes! Grapes not only have a full assortment of nutritional value, including; Vitamins B12 and C, Selenium, Zinc and Resveratrol, as well as much more. But it also acts as a powerful Antioxidant, thus reducing cell and tissue damage. In-fact to illustrate some of the power of grapes, there is something called the French Paradox. Researchers have found that the French regularly eat more animal fat, which has been linked to greater chances of disease, such as Heart Disease. The Paradox comes in when the French maintain a low incidence of Heart Disease. This is primarily believed to be due to their high consumption of red wine and the Resveratrol in it. Resveratrol is currently being researched as alternative treatments for cancer and HIV for its potent qualities. It is believed to work by halting both cancer and HIV from progressing and replicating, and even is believed to induce cell death within cancer cells.
Back in the 1980’s, Johanna Brandt, an immigrant from South Africa, developed what she called, a cure, derived from grapes. It was shortly titled, the Brandt Grape Cure, and it was believe to cure both cancer and reverse HIV, through it potent Antioxidant, detoxifying and nutritional properties. Though the cure has been ridiculed as being a hoax, it is only now that some of the many properties of grapes are getting a second look, as we are discovering some of its potential in the area of fighting diseases. This treatment starts off by cutting all other foods from your diet before going on a 12 hour water fast. After 12 hours, you casually consume grapes (preferably concord or purple grapes, with the skin and seeds intact) over the next 12 hours as well as your drinking water accordingly. Afterwards, you start the process over again until healthy.
The theory is, the fasting puts your body into a more starved state as well as the infected cells, then when you eat the grapes, the disease fighting qualities of the grapes are what the diseases themselves get instead. It is important to note that the skin and seeds should be intact and the grapes themselves, fresh and unprocessed, as that’s where a majority of these nutrients come from.
Selenium
HIV patients may have an effective weapon to lengthen their lives, thanks to selenium. Taking a selenium supplement daily appears to keep HIV at bay and also strengthen the immune system, according to research by the University of Miami.
In a double-blind study of 262 HIV patients divided between patients receiving the supplements and placebos, the patients who received 200 micrograms of high-selenium yeast each day fought the disease much better. When each patient was given a comprehensive medical exam at the end of the study 9 months later, the ones who took selenium daily had a lower amount of the HIV in their bloodstream and better immune cell counts compared to those who hadn't.
The reason selenium may help people with HIV live longer is its antioxidant properties: it may help reverse damage that the disease does to the immune system. However, that does not make it a substitute for the antiretroviral therapy medications used to fight HIV, the researchers concluded.
Virgin Coconut Oil
It was in the 1980’s when the ability of medium chain fatty acids like capric and lauric to fight HIV was first discovered. Antiviral drugs that are currently being prescribed fail to save lives and restore the health of Aids victim. Aside from the fact that the virus can develop resistance to these drugs, it also has lots of adverse side effects. Medium chain fatty acids is said to be a more effective cure as it attacks the virus in a different way than other drugs. Instead of targeting the genetic material of the virus, MCFA’s simply breaks the virus apart. The absorption of MCFAs by the virus weakens the lipid membrane of the virus and will eventually kill the virus. This mechanism of action makes it almost impossible for the virus to develop resistant strain to MCFAs.
Dr. Conrado Dayrit, a medical doctor from the Philippines did the first study on coconut oil for treating Aids patients. His study tested the effect of monolaurin and coconut oil in 14 HIV patients, ages ranging from 22-38. Four grams of monolaurin a day was given to four patients while five of them received 7.2 grams of monolaurin. The last group was given 3 ½ tablespoons of coconut oil per day. At the end of the study (six months), the viral count of nine patients decreased. Two of them were from the first group, four from the second, and three from the third group. Eleven of them showed health improvements. This research proves that monolaurin and coconut oil can be used to treat Aids patients.
It's for you to decide, but still best to ask your doctor first before you take any other supplement!
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