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AIDS is the worst epidemic in history. More than 42 million people are now living with HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS. In 2002 about 3.1 million people died of AIDS and five million people became infected. With the virus constantly spawning new drug-resistant mutations, antiviral drugs remain only part of the strategy for survival and for people with HIV (PHIV) there are further options to hold off this insidious virus.

People With HIV-1 Have Many Options

From the epidemic’s beginning, PHIV found they could stay healthier and delay AIDS by improving their diet, doing regular exercise, taking dietary supplements, and cutting out drinking, smoking, and recreational drug use. Even with all the high-tech drugs now available, a total health approach to life is still the only means for long-term survival.

There still isn’t a cure for AIDS, no magic bullet. The vaccines aren’t working, the drugs have severe side-effects, and the virus can still develop resistance. These factors are largely beyond the control of the PHIV. But other very important factors are controllable. Many positive things can be done to improve the body’s health and make the immune system more robust, while many negative influences can be identified and eliminated. This is the essence of total health management.

Environmental Toxins Take Away Our Power

Back in 1990, when writing my book on HIV/AIDS, I found proof that smoking speeds HIV/AIDS progression, as does recreational drug use (including high marijuana use). It’s important for the PHIV to understand that toxic-chemical attacks on the body work in synergy with the infectious stress from the virus and with the many other stressful factors we encounter, including emotional stress. Each factor multiplies the effects of the other as they increase free-radical activity, deplete the body’s protective antioxidants, and lower immune-system function. Everything the PHIV can do to minimize these effects on the body will help slow the progression to AIDS.

Not totally under individuals’ control, but also synergistic with the lifestyle toxins, is the planet’s heavy burden of environmental toxins. To these, the HIV person is particularly vulnerable. Immune system organs are especially at risk, because they’re continually making new cells and cells are more vulnerable when dividing. Single immune cells, which circulate with the blood or are posted in the tissues, are additionally vulnerable to high concentrations of toxins in the surrounding blood.

It is very hard for the individual person with HIV to avoid toxins when literally billions of pounds are being released into the air, water, and soils each year. Major offenders are the thousands of chemicals from cigarette smoke and car emissions; the hundreds of pesticides and herbicides, including their “inactive ingredients,” which often do not have to be disclosed on the label; solvents used in dry-cleaning, chip making, and other industries; and toxic metals, including lead, arsenic, cadmium, asbestos, and aluminum; and last but not least, the mercury still used in dental fillings. All of these work together against the immune system, circulation, reproduction, the brain, the liver, the kidneys, and other organs. Contrary to what you sometimes hear in the media, the cumulative scientific evidence indicates there is no safe level of exposure to toxins. Many integrative-medicine physicians offer detoxification programs.

Emotional stress also has biochemical effects that elevate the free-radical load on the body and otherwise suppress immunity. Meditation and other stress reduction strategies are essential for the PHIV.

Upgrading the Diet is Essential

Dietary reform coupled with intensive dietary supplementation is just as essential now in the HIV-drug era as it was when the epidemic began. A high-nutritional status makes the person living with HIV-1:

Parris M. Kidd, PhD, is a frequent contributor to alive. In his pioneering book, Living with the AIDS Virus: A Strategy for Long-Term Survival, published in 1990, he made the early case for integrative management of HIV-1/AIDS. For more information on HIV/AIDS management, visit his website at www.dockidd.com Reprinted with permission from totalhealth magazine.

Source: alive #254, December 2003