"Bitterness" of HIV

Posted by Pozziepinoy on 9:39 AM

As an HIV Patient i keep on reading articles in the internet all the possible things to do to keep my body healthy. I always research for the nutritional content of all the foods I ate. As i browse about the  
nutritious vegetables .... i found this about AMPALAYA


Antiviral

In Togo, the plant is traditionally used against viral diseases such as chickenpox and measles. Tests with leaf extracts have shown in vitro activity against the herpes simplex type 1 virus, apparently due to  
unidentified compounds other than the momordicins. Laboratory tests suggest compounds in bitter melon might be effective for treating HIV infection. As most compounds isolated from bitter melon  
that impact HIV have either been proteins or lectins, neither of which are well-absorbed, it is unlikely that oral intake of bitter melon will slow HIV in infected people. Oral ingestion of bitter melon possibly could offset negative effects of anti-HIV drugs, if an in vitro study can be shown to be applicable to people.



MOMORDICA CHARANTIA LEAVES (Ampalaya)

Contains momordicin used to treat type II diabetes and used to increase production of beta cells by the pancreas thereby improving body’s ability to produce insulin. Endorsed by the department of health (DOH). Used to treat skin disease, sterility in women and also function as purgative. Used for treating and preventing malaria and HIV infections.


HOW IS THIS TRUE? IS THIS EFFECTIVE? DOES IT HAVE EFFECT TO ALL THE ARV'S  
WE ARE TAKING?

I hope you can answer my question coz  I'm very much willing to take ampalaya if this will help me to recover from my condition.

Thanks and God Bless.

XXX


CONTRIBUTOR'S RESPONSE

Hi ,

Currently, the most reliable website giving citation to the potential beneficial effect of Ampalaya on HIV is the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center site.. http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/bitter-melon.

It seems that there is a compound in Ampalaya, the MAP30.which  demonstrates dose-dependent inhibition of HIV-1 integrase leading to poor viral DNA integration, thus inhibiting T lymphocyte and monocytes. It a much simpler term, there are quite a few several studies suggesting that Ampalaya has indeed some anti-HIV properties acting in a similar way with CERTAIN ARV.

The body of literature mentioned on this is very limited but they DO exist in Pub Med ( a website citing boimedical literature).The most cited of these studies was done by Dr. Sylvia Lee-Huang way back in 1995 at the New York University School of Medicine.Limited clinical trials have been done though and I thought that this are due to cultural discrepancies where most westerners are not really keen on eating Ampalaya due its bitter taste. In this context and  with some body of evidence published , I will consider Ampalaya as a natural supplement , may have anti-HIV properties and  may help and boost the immune system of those with HIV.

There are however some consideration that one must remember. Ampalaya has also been studied for its effects on blood sugar as well as cancer and thus this ‘fruit’ actually contains several chemicals that may cause drug interactions with ARV or even toxicity  if taken in large doses.I do not really think that Ampalaya should replace ARV until at this point but it should complement your ARV.

My suggestion for this is to simply eat Ampalaya on your regular meal to avoid this potential problems if taken in juices, powder or capsule. Maybe incorporate it on your usual dishes like ampalaya with eggs, beef and ampalaya, or pinakbet. The list is actually endless and personally, I like ampalaya dishes too.

This is also a cheap source of your immune boosters as well.


Regards,
Phillip Tjr (MD)




POZZIEPINOY’S RESPONSE

I hope I was able to answer your concerns. Feel free to email me again if you have other questions.


Stay healthy,
Pozziepinoy






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