HIV vitamin natural therapy herbs and vitamins

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. When HIV enters your body, it moves inside white blood cells called "CD4 lymphocytes." HIV takes over the CD4 cells and makes billions of virus pieces each day. The virus pieces spread through your body. Your body tries to defend itself against HIV by making antibodies (these hook on to the virus and keep it from making virus pieces) and by special cells called macrophages and natural killer T-cells. These cells help you to get rid of some of the virus pieces. If antibodies against HIV show up in your blood, you know your body is trying to protect you from the HIV infection you have picked up. However, it's usually several months before your body makes enough antibodies to measure.
   The AIDS virus entered the United States in about 1969 from Haiti, carried most likely by a single infected immigrant

After acute HIV infection, your body works hard to attack the virus. With your body fighting, the virus can't make so many virus pieces. Even though you still have HIV infection, you'll begin to look well and feel well again. The usual blood tests will be normal. However, during this time, the virus pieces are still attacking your lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are the centers of your body's immune system. The virus may also attack your brain tissue and slowly cause damage there. Over 10 to 15 years, HIV would kill so many CD4 cells that your body could no longer fight off infections. At this point, a person is diagnosed as having AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Once you have AIDS, you can easily get many serious infections.

38 million people around the world, half of them women, are living with HIV/AIDS, according to the latest figures from UNAIDS, the United Nations agency spearheading the battle against HIV or AIDS.

HIV Natural options
There are no natural therapies that are endorsed by the medical profession. However, studies have shown several nutrients and herbs to have antiviral properties. It is difficult to predict what clinical effect, if any, these herbs and supplements have in the natural progression of HIV.

Antioxidant -- There is evidence suggesting that patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are under chronic oxidative stress. People infected with HIV may benefit from treatment with antioxidant vitamins.
Bovine Colostrum may reduce the severity of diarrhea in HIV patients.
Green Tea -- Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), one of the components of green tea has been suggested to have antiviral activity. To determine the effects of EGCG on HIV infection, peripheral blood lymphocytes infected with HIV were incubated with increasing concentrations of EGCG. EGCG strongly inhibited the replication of the HIV virus.
EGCG found in green tea prevents HIV from binding to immune system cells by getting there first. Once EGCG has bound to immune system cells there is no room for HIV to take hold in its usual fashion. The EGCG test is in vitro, and it will take human research to determine whether EGCG is effective against HIV in people who are infected or whether regular green tea intake or taking EGCG supplements have a role to play in preventing or reducing the severity of HIV infection.
Glutamine, the amino acid, could be helpful for those on anti-HIV medicines.
Glutamine-antioxidant nutrient supplementation can increase body weight, body cell mass, and intracellular water when compared with placebo in HIV patients.
Hyssop
has antiviral activity against herpes simplex and HIV-1.
Licorice may be helpful.
Olive Leaf has anti-HIV activity
Rooibos tea has anti-HIV activity.
Ginseng CD4+ T cell counts in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-infected patients are maintained or even increased when treated with Korean red ginseng.
Catuaba, an Amazonian plan, has anti-HIV activity.
Danshen, a Chinese herb

There is very little information on how these herbs interact with antiviral medicines used to treat HIV or AIDS. For instance, Garlic reduces saquinavir blood levels by 50% and may affect other drugs.

Chinese herbal medicine, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi and its identified components (i.e., baicalein and baicalin),  have been shown to inhibit infectivity and replication of HIV. 

Researchers with HerbalScience have identified chemical components in elderberry, cinnamon, and green tea extracts that bind to the HIV viruses and block them from infecting target cells in the laboratory. An article detailing the research, titled "HIV type-1 entry inhibitors with a new mode of action," appears in the August 2009 issue of Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy. The authors are affiliated with the University of Miami Leonard Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, and HerbalScience Group LLC, a Naples, Florida, and Singapore-based company dedicated to applying advanced science and technology to the production of botanical drugs and nutraceuticals. Randall S. Alberte, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer of HerbalScience and one of the authors of the published study. Previous research by HerbalScience had demonstrated the ability of its proprietary elderberry extract to inhibit entry of the H1N1 influenza virus into target cells. For the HIV study, researchers used the same elderberry extract, and compared the antiviral activities to those of extracts obtained from green tea and cinnamon, two botanicals that are also known to be rich in flavonoids, plant nutrients that are beneficial to health. All the extracts were prepared using the company's patented extraction technologies, which standardize the chemical profile of any selected botanical in order to deliver a compositionally and functionally consistent product, batch to batch. The researchers were able to identify specific compounds in each of the three botanical extracts that bind to and block HIV infection in target cells. Among the hundreds of compounds present in the extracts, only two compounds were found to bind to the HIV virus particles. Furthermore, the study examined the inhibitory interactions between the elderberry extract and enfuvirtide (also termed Fuzeon), among the first of a new class of HIV antiviral drugs called entry inhibitors, or drugs that disrupt the fusion of virus and target cells. Enfuvirtide is known to bind to a specific glycoprotein of the HIV virus required for viral fusion and infection. When enfuvirtide was combined with the elderberry extract, the inhibition of infection increased by nearly 6 orders of magnitude. That result indicates that the active antiviral chemistries in the elderberry extract bind to a different HIV glycoprotein than does enfuvirtide, demonstrating a significant synergistic effect on in vitro infection. The authors of the article are Ryan C. Fink, Bill Roschek, Jr., and Randall S. Alberte, all of HerbalScience Group LLC. Dr. Fink is also affiliated with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Miami Leonard Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida. HerbalScience is a privately-held life sciences company headquartered in Naples, Florida, with facilities in Singapore. HerbalScience is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of proprietary botanical compounds for human health in the U.S. and international markets. The company has prominent alliances with prestigious university laboratories and prominent researchers in the U.S., as well as research institutions in China.

Other options for those infected with the HIV virus.
Writing about emotional topics appears to reduce stress in HIV-infected patients and may improve immune responses.

HIV infection and circumcision
Circumcision reduces the risk of HIV infection by up to 60 percent in African men, but does not have a noticeable affect in gay and bisexual men of color in the U.S.

HIV and marijuana smoking
Smoking cannabis daily can reduce the chronic nerve pain experienced by many HIV -infected patients. However, the negative influence of marijuana on the immune system needs to be taken into account.

HIV Medical treatment
The medical treatment of HIV or AIDS is with several antiviral drugs.
The development of new antiviral drugs has had a tremendous impact on the quality of life and life expectancy of HIV-positive and AIDS patients, as the drugs effectively disrupt the replication cycle of the HIV virus. Yet the regular use of those drugs - such as zidovudine (also known as azidothymidine or AZT), protease inhibitors, and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) involving multidrug therapies - has led to resistant HIV strains and high side effect profile.

November 2009 - Countries should phase out the use of Stavudine, the most widespread antiretroviral, because of "long-term, irreversible" side-effects in HIV patients including wasting and a nerve disorder, according to the World Health Organization.

February 2010 - Patients taking a Bristol-Myers Squibb drug for HIV are at risk of a rare, but potentially fatal, liver disorder. The Food and Drug Administration said it has received 42 reports of the disorder since Videx was approved in 1991. Four patients died from bleeding or liver failure after developing the problem, known as non-cirrhotic portal hypertension.

Other options for those infected with the HIV virus.
Writing about emotional topics appears to reduce stress in HIV-infected patients and may improve immune responses.

Protein in sperm helps HIV enter cells
An ingredient in human semen may actually help the HIV virus infect cells. Naturally occurring prostatic acidic phosphatase or PAP, an enzyme produced by the prostate, can form tiny fibers called amyloid fibrils that can capture bits of the human immunodeficiency virus and usher it into cells.

HIV statistics
38 million people around the world, half of them women, are living with HIV / AIDS, according to the latest figures from UNAIDS, the United Nations agency spearheading the battle against HIV or AIDS.

HIV in China
The number of reported HIV / AIDS cases in China has grown by nearly 30 percent in 2006, and the HIV virus seemed to be spreading from high-risk groups to the general public. Experts from the United Nations and the Chinese Health Ministry estimate about 650,000 people in China were HIV positive by the end of 2006. Drug abuse accounted for 37 percent of the newly found infections this year whose transmission routes had been determined, while unsafe sexual contact had caused 28 percent. People selling blood illegally or receiving infected blood from hospitals in the 1990s accounted for 5 percent of HIV cases.

HIV in Indonesia
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, is projecting half a million HIV cases by 2010, and double that if preventive steps are not taken. Current estimates put the number of HIV cases in a range of 169,000-216,000 in Indonesia, which has a total population of 220 million.

FDA Rule Requires Warning on Nonoxynol 9 OTC Contraceptive Products
In December 2007, FDA issued a final rule requiring manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) stand-alone vaginal contraceptive and spermicidal products containing the chemical ingredient nonoxynol 9 (N9) to include a warning that the chemical N9 does not provide protection against infection from HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) or other sexually transmitted diseases. Stand-alone spermicides include gels, foams, films, or inserts containing N9 that are used by themselves for contraception.

HIV Research Update
A study of HIV-infected African women found that daily doses of multivitamins appear to slow down the disease and cut the risk of developing AIDS in half. The researchers who conducted the study in Tanzania suggested that vitamin supplements could be used in developing countries to delay the need for HIV drugs, saving them for use at more advanced stages and avoiding their side effects.

A randomized trial of multivitamin supplements and HIV disease progression and mortality.
Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. mina@hsph.harvard.edu
Results from observational studies suggest that micronutrient status is a determinant of the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. We enrolled 1078 pregnant women infected with HIV in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to examine the effects of daily supplements of vitamin A (preformed vitamin A and beta carotene), multivitamins (vitamins B, C, and E), or both on progression of HIV disease, using survival models. The median follow-up with respect to survival was 71 months (interquartile range, 46 to 80). Of 271 women who received multivitamins, 67 had progression to World Health Organization (WHO) stage 4 disease or died--the primary outcome--as compared with 83 of 267 women who received placebo. This regimen was also associated with reductions in the relative risk of death related to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, progression to WHO stage 4, or progression to stage 3 or higher. Multivitamins also resulted in significantly higher CD4+ and CD8+ cell counts and significantly lower viral loads. The effects of receiving vitamin A alone were smaller and for the most part not significantly different from those produced by placebo. Adding vitamin A to the multivitamin regimen reduced the benefit with regard to some of the end points examined. Multivitamin supplements delay the progression of HIV disease and provide an effective, low-cost means of delaying the initiation of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected women.

Advances in studies on flavonoids of licorice
College of Chemical Engineer, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116012, Liaoning, China.
Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2003 Jul;28(7):593-7.
The progress in the research of the active ingredients of licorice flavonoid and the pharmacological activities was reviewed. Licorice flavonoid constituents mainly included flavones, flavonals, isoflavones, chalcones, bihydroflavones and bihydrochalcones. Pharmacological investigation concluded that they had antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumer and inhibiting HIV activities. It is important to study further the flavonoid constituents and pharmacological activities.

A clinical review of micronutrients in HIV infection.
Ottawa Health Research Institute, Canadian HIV Trials Network, Ottawa, Canada.
J Int Assoc Physicians AIDS Care (Chic Ill). 2002 Spring;1(2):63-75.
This article reviews current literature on the role of micronutrients in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Deficiencies of micronutrients are common in HIV-infected persons. They occur due to malabsorption, altered metabolism, gut infection, and altered gut barrier function. There is a compelling association of deficiencies of micronutrients in HIV-infection with immune deficiency, rapid disease progression, and mortality. Also, there is increased risk of vertical HIV transmission from mother to child with deficiency of vitamin A, and of neurological impairment with vitamin B12. The last five years have been exciting in micronutrient research, and there is promise that some micronutrients may be key factors in maintaining health in HIV immunodeficiency, and in reducing mortality. Selenium appears important in reducing virulence of HIV and slowing disease progression. Vitamin A supplementation in pregnant women with HIV may reduce maternal mortality and improve birth outcomes. Supplementation in children with HIV may accelerate growth. Carotenoid supplementation is being evaluated. Vitamin B12 may slow HIV immune deficiency disease progression, and reverse neurological compromise. Clinical benefit of supplementation with some micronutrients may be measurable in the presence of pre-existing deficiency. Apart from improved general nutrition, the impact of micronutrient supplements on health and their optimal use in HIV infection is controversial because there are so few controlled clinical trials. Further research is needed to elucidate the role of micronutrient deficiencies on the course of HIV infection, and the preventive and therapeutic role of supplementation in its clinical management. Nevertheless, current knowledge supports the use of routine multivitamin and trace element supplementation as adjuvant to conventional antiretroviral drug treatment as a relatively low-cost intervention.

HIV natural treatment questions
Q. Hi. I found out about your products from a friend. I have been somewhat depressed since being diagnoses as HIV positive last December. I am currently taking Atripla and was wondering if I could use natural products with no problems.
   A. It is difficult to predict the role and influence of natural supplements in those who are HIV positive. Very little research has been done in this area. Plus, it is difficult to predict the interactions between HIV medications and natural supplements. If you were to begin using any natural pills, it is best to begin with very low dosages and inform your doctor.

I realize the treatment to help HIV is medication therapy and regular blood test. However, what role does vitamins and herbs play in helping HIV test results and how does this affect the outcome of HIV to keep from getting worse over time? I would like your professional opinion on using vitamins and herbs in treating HIV along with the regular medication therapy. Thank you for your kind response as I am very much interested in ordering some of the herbs and vitamins. WHICH are the ones I need to order to begin my regimen and cost?
   Research in this area is still in its infancy and we don't have enough research, hopefully you can discuss some of the options on the page with your health care provider.

Tribulus terrestris extract