HIV, ANTI-OXIDANTS and INFLAMMATION
Helpful Hints For Living with HIV by Dr. Mark Glasman.
Dr. Mark Glasman is a fellow of Australian College of Natural Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) and a Foundation Member of Australian College of Herbal Medicine and is a consultant to other doctors interested in complimentary medicine. He has considerable treatment experience with people living with HIV both as a complimentary and conventional practitioner and he is Consultant Director of Medical Research for Peak Natural Products an Australian Biotechnology business specialising in HIV and Immunological diseases.
Considerable research has been carried out on the inflammatory and antioxidant status of people living with HIV (Numerous References). For HIV to establish infection in the body it causes the infected cells to produce excessive amounts of immune system substances that over a period of time damage the whole immune system. The excessive production of these immune system substances allows the HIV to replicate faster and to make uninfected cells easier to infect (1). These immune system substances are the same ones released when you have a sprained ankle and cause the classic symptoms of inflammation, heat, redness, swelling and pain. Of interest is the fact that control of the inflammatory response results in a reduction of immune substances that promote HIV replication (2). When you take anti-oxidants you may not notice any difference in your health because the usual anti-oxidants are beneficial for suppressing only part of the inflammatory response activated by HIV. However do not stop taking them, they are beneficial.
The inflammatory response and indirectly the immune system are controlled by fatty acids in the body and indirectly from fatty acids in the diet. All cells in the body contain a fatty acid called Arachadonic Acid and use enzymes to oxidise Arachadonic Acid to a range of compounds, all of which have powerful biological functions. Inflammation caused by HIV produces excessive amounts of some of these biological active compounds. One such compound, PGE2, is associated with, dementia, the death of T cells and the suppression of CD4, B cells and Natural Killer cells (3,4). All these cells are vitally important to maintaining health. There is also scientific evidence to show that controlling excessive PGE2 can result in restoration of normal immune functions and a reduction in immune substances associated with the formation of Kaposi Sarcoma and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas. There are hundreds of these compounds released by infected cells in response to HIV. This one example shows how important the inflammatory response is for people living with HIV (5,6) and that modifying the inflammatory response may lead to a significant time delay in progression to AIDS and a reduction of AIDS related diseases.
At various stages in living with HIV it has been shown that there is a dramatic increase in saturated fats in the body. Arachadonic acid and the associated oxidation products are unsaturated fats. From day one of living with HIV, I believe it is important to maintain a healthy diet, low in saturated fat but include an essential fatty acid supplement like linseed oil and high in anti-oxidant fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices.
Simple everyday foods contain compounds that are useful for controlling the inflammatory response. Such foods include Nutmeg, Basil, Cloves, Cinnamon, Rosemary, Tumeric and Cayenne Pepper (Numerous scientific references). The easiest way to take them is as condiments or as herbal tea. Care should be exercised with nutmeg as it contains a material which can be toxic (dosage should not exceed 5 gr per day). A cup of herbal tea 3 times per day made from a teaspoon of freshly ground cinnamon or cloves can give a beneficial dose. Basil can be freshly eaten with a salad or spaghetti sauce. These foods contain powerful anti-oxidants that can replace supplement anti-oxidants where there is no underlying vitamin or mineral deficiency.
My research indicates that these foods are useful for a wide range of people living with HIV. These foods would also appear to have some benefits in assisting with malabsorption and intractable diarrhea (7). Diarrhea is associated both with infectious species and with a dysfunction of intestinal immune substances. These foods help to correct the dysfunction of the digestive tract and therefor help to reduce the risk of infection. Where malabsorption is a major problem, Peak has products that can be absorbed through the skin and are designed to provide the most potent and balanced combination of naturally occurring cellular nutrients to help restore normal cellular functions for persons living with HIV.
Other plant extracts can also be of benefit for AIDS related viral diseases. Cloves and the Chinese herb Geum Japonicum extracts have been shown to be of benefit in Cytomeglavirus and Herpes infection. In combination with conventional antivirals they show improved outcomes over the individual components (animal studies)(8,9,10). Seek advice if unsure about the effects of any plant extracts.
A very useful piece of additional reading is in Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behaviour Vol 54, no.1 285-298 and 299-303(1996) which discusses the connection between the brain, the immune system and cellular foods. It puts a scientific basis to the connection between mental state, diet and well being.
The advice in this article is for educational purposes and the articles given as references include some human but mostly animal studies. Whether animal research has relevance to humans is a decision for the reader to take. Such a decision should be an informed one.
References:
HIV, CANCER ANTI-OXIDANTS and ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS
Recent research (1,2) has shown that the high incidence of HIV induced cancer is associated with the production of immune system substances that act as attractants for mutant cells. These substances allow adhesion of the mutant cells throughout the body. Numerous scientific references indicate that both herb and spice derived anti-oxidants and cell metabolites of essential fatty acids significantly reduce the production of these adhesion substances and can consequently significantly alter the course of HIV induced cancer.
From day one of living with HIV, the stress of infection is altering the body's basic biochemistry and reducing the ability of the body to replace and absorb nutrients. Loss of the natural anti-oxidants in the body leads to tissue damage and research (3) has shown that a dietary deficiency of essential fatty acids significantly reduces the ability of the Gastro-intestinal tract to absorb nutrients, thus leading to a vicious cycle of declining health.
Much has been written about fat intake for people living with HIV. I believe the important fact is that as HIV progresses the unsaturated fat content of the body falls and this leads to an inability to absorb nutrients from the Gastro-Intestinal tract(3). This weakens the immune response and leads to tissue damage, opportunistic infection and invasive cancers.
The importance of taking an essential fatty acid supplement cannot be over emphasized. Such supplements include fish oil, evening primrose oil or flax seed oil(linseed). I favour the flax seed oil as it is cheaper and contains a good balance of essential fatty acids for people living with HIV. Approximately 2 grams per day is considered an adequate dose for a person not living with HIV. Depending on your particular state of health I would recommend a dose of between 2 and 10 grams per day divided between meals. It is preferable to take your spice and herb anti-oxidants with the flax seed oil. This I believe assists with the absorption of both. Where malabsorption is a major problem rub the oil into the skin. It is well absorbed via this route.
One particularly interesting example of herb and spice derived anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant is Curcumin that is a component in Tumeric. In reference 4 it was shown to be a powerful, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and a powerful anti-cancer agent.
The available scientific literature indicates that the above dietary approach will assist with reducing the impact of HIV induced cancers and cancers from other causes.
References