Good food choices, and GNLD products, to help people living with HIV

Please note…

My intention with this post is to be of help to anyone who’s in that no-man’s-land between a positive HIV test, and being sick enough to qualify for government-issued  medication.

However, although the suggestions are given with the best of intentions, they are not a substitute for trained medical advice, counselling, or medical prescription.

Please make sure you go to a properly qualified person to find out as much as you can about your condition.

The more you know about your health status, the more you’re able to help yourself.

Some basics first…

What is HIV?

HIV is a virus of the type that possesses just one strand of genes. The strand is called RNA.

In contrast, each one of our human cells has two strands of genes, wound around each other into a cork-screw shape. I’m sure you remember seeing the model of the double coil of human DNA in biology classes at school.

How does it multiply?

In order to multiply, the virus needs two strands of genes, so that when it splits into two, each new virus has one strand each.

So, once inside its human host, the virus makes a bee-line for particular types of cell, and burrows inside them.

There, the virus tricks the host cell into making another strand of genes for it. With two strands of RNA, the virus can now divide into two new virus cells.

Those two virus cells dupe their host into making another RNA-strand for each of them. Now there are 4 virus clones inside the host cell. Then 8…16… 32… 64… 128…

In no time at all, after doubling and re-doubling, the numbers of virus clones inside the host cell is so large the host cell bursts open, releasing a huge number of new virus clones  into the blood stream. They go off and invade new host cells, multiply, and eventually burst out of those host cells.

Which host cells are preferred?

HIV is programmed to hide away and multiply in certain cells of the infected person’s immune system. Although other types of immune system cells are invaded, most people talk about the CD4 cells.

Hiding and multiplying in the CD4 cells is a very good ploy by the virus clones, because there they are out of reach of the natural killer cells (NKC’s) that would gobble them up if  they had invaded other body cells.

CD4 count, and viral load

As the virus clones burst out of the CD4 cells, the CD4 cells are destroyed. Thousands of new virus particles find more CD4 cells to invade, and eventually burst out of those, going on to find other CD4 cells, and so on.

In this way, the number of CD4 cells destroyed in the HIV-infected person increases. And therefore the number of CD4 cells remaining that aren’t infected, gets less and less.

Doctors refer to the number of remaining healthy CD4 cells as the CD4 count.

Doctors also talk about viral load. That’s the number of virus clones in a certain volume of blood.

Both viral load, and the CD4 count, are therefore an indication of the activity of the HIV infection. If the viral load is increasing, and the number of remaining healthy CD4 cells is decreasing, HIV infection is actively multiplying.

AIDS

When the defensive cells of the immune system have been reduced to a low-enough level, infections that would normally be rapidly dealt with have a chance to take hold.

When several infections occur at the same time, it’s called a syndrome. AIDS is short for auto-immune deficiency syndrome, meaning a group of diseases occurring at the same time, as a  result of a weakened immune system.

Further reading

Of course, this is a very simplified version of what happens. There’s a really excellent description, with much more detail, at Wikipedia. Just type HIV into the Wikipedia search box and hit go.

Or you can use this direct link to Wikipedia’s HIV page (it will open in a new window).

Medical treatment

Doctors are trying to invent drugs that will kill the virus before it has a chance to invade the CD4 cells. And they’re also looking at ways of preventing the host CD4 cells from making another RNA strand of genes for the virus, so the virus can’t multiply.

In South Africa, the drugs that help to stop the HI virus multiplying in the CD4 cells (anti-retrovirals, or ARV’s) are theoretically made available when the infected person’s CD4 count has fallen from a healthy value of about 1000, to a low 200.

Even though South Africa has provided ARV’s to more HIV-positive people than any other country, sadly, the number of new infections is much more than the number of  government-funded ARV treatments started. And many Provinces are struggling to find the money to pay for the vast numbers seeking ARV’s.

If you can afford to pay for them yourself, start taking ARV’s much, much earlier than when your CD4 count has reached 200. Talk with your medical adviser about the possibility, and the costs involved.

Self help…

What everyone can afford though, is as soon as you know you’ve got HIV, start immediately doing everything you can to help yourself.

Please don’t waste your money and hopes on ‘street-corner’ pills or potions claiming to cure HIV. After more than 20 years, and billions of dollars spent on research, scientists  still haven’t found a cure for HIV, so it’s very unlikely the guy boiling up stuff in his garage will have found a cure.

Don’t despair, though. There’s a lot you can do.

Lifestyle changes…

Safer sex

Start your lifestyle changes by making sure you don’t spread your HIV about. Something like 1,400 people get infected with HIV for the first time, every day, in South Africa. And then go on to infect thousands more people.

That’s an alarming number of people ignoring an easy way of enjoying sex and staying alive. Using a condom will increase your chances of survival, but remember they’re not a 100 percent guarantee, so make sure you use them with utmost care.

And use a condom, even if you both have HIV. There are several different strains of HIV now, so it’s possible to get infected with a different strain from the one you’ve already got. Then you’ll have double the number of your CD4 cells being attacked, and double the viral load. The consequences are obvious.

Keep your immune system strong

The time between acquiring HIV and developing AIDS varies greatly from person to person: anything from two weeks to more than twenty years.

Why such a large difference? It’s most likely to do with the strength of your natural defences: your immune system.

If you keep your natural defences strong, you stand a much better chance of delaying the onset of AIDS, and getting into the twenty-plus-years group.

With this goal in mind, it makes sense not to drink, breathe in, or eat anything that may strain or weaken your immune system.

Put into your body only those things that will keep your natural defences as strong as possible.

Positive things you can do to keep your immune system strong

* Avoid alcohol, and popular fizzy drinks. They’re a waste of your money, and of no nutritional value at all. Instead, drink plenty of fresh (preferably filtered) clean tap water to help flush out toxins.

Rooibos and green teas (preferably without added cow’s milk or sugar) are also good, because they contain protective antioxidants.

* Do not smoke anything, and keep away from those who do. There’s no doubt at all that smoke deprives your body of life-giving oxygen by ruining your lungs, heart, and blood vessels.

* Avoid smoked and barbecued foods. After I read that researchers years ago, who were trying to find out about lung cancer, used chemicals from burnt meat to induce cancer in laboratory cells, I decided immediately to avoid eating anything smoked! You may want to do the same.

* Read the labels on food packaging, and if they’ve got chemical additives, colourings, synthetic flavourings, or preservatives, put them back on the shelf. Your liver and kidneys can get on with their normal functions, if they don’t have the burden of getting rid of foreign chemicals in your food.

* Processed foods like burgers, pies, pasties, and processed meats like polony often contain lots of unhealthy fat, useless carbohydrate, chemical ‘enhancers’, and preservatives. None of those ingredients helps your immune system.

* Factory-made foods from processed white flour, like biscuits, rusks, cakes, muffins, white bread and rolls are missing a lot of the nutrients Mother Nature put in the original grains from which the white flour is made.

Instead, eat small quantities of foods made from whole  grains, like brown wholemeal spaghetti, brown seed bread, and brown (basmati) rice.

If you’ve got an oven, bake your own bread. It’s really easy to knock up a loaf, and you’ll be amazed how much better it tastes.

* A plateful of pasta, a stack of bread, or a pile of mashed potato causes your insulin levels to run amok, which contributes to weight gain, diabetes, and robs you of energy.

Instead, when thinking carbohydrates, think vegetables. Vegetables contain much less carbohydrate, volume for volume, than grain foods.

For example, if you managed to eat 12 cups of broccoli, you’d only have the equivalent whack of carbohydrate you’d get from eating one cup of rice. So with vegetables, you feel nice and full with much less carbohydrate. Your insulin-producing pancreas will love you for it.

* Add a few lentils, beans, seeds, nuts, barley, oats, and millet (called mabele, here in SA) to your food choices. They’re full of vitamins, minerals, good fats, and fibre. They have a lot of calories though, so be careful with how much of them you eat.

* Good protein choices are chicken, turkey, ostrich, fish, and non-GMO soya protein instead of red meat. Cut all the visible fat off meat. And remove the skin from poultry, before you cook it, as that’s where most of the unhealthy saturated fat is stored.

* Processed and heated fats hinder your immune system, so avoid all fried foods, brick margarines, and tea and coffee whiteners.

* Use short cooking times. A long time in the pot destroys vitamins, enzymes, and antioxidants. Instead, steam vegetables, and eat them a bit crunchy rather than soft and mushy.

* Regularly eat some plain yoghurt. It contains healthy bacteria for your intestines, which help to strengthen your immune system. If you need to sweeten it, mix some  freshly-mashed fruit into it. The one we use is the plain yoghurt from the South African company, Bonlé. It’s real yoggie with no chemical additives.

* Garlic, onions, and leeks contain natural germ-killers that help stave off infections, so eat plenty of them.

* Choose vegetables and fruits with vibrant colours like yellow, orange, red, and deep green. They’re full of carotenoid and flavonoid antioxidants to fight free radicals and help keep your immune system strong.

* Eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower. And vegetables with dark green leaves, like spinach, kale, and parsley. They are known to help protect against cancer and other illnesses.

There’s a helpful list of good fruit and veg choices in my last post, here.

* Sprinkle a teaspoon of cold-pressed virgin olive oil over the vegetables on your plate. It tastes nice, and helps them slide down the hatch.

Also, the olive oil helps to dissolve fat-soluble vitamins and protective antioxidant carotenoids in the vegetables, so you’ll benefit from digesting more of those important nutrients.

And it’s got very little saturated fat, and more of the ‘good’ fats than other food oils.

* Spices like chillies, ginger, and turmeric are packed with natural disease fighters, so add them to your food as often as possible.

We grow our own chillies. They’re really easy…  and the monkeys don’t eat them! Just put a few seeds from a dried chilli into a pot of soil, and hey presto! Chilli plants.

A few general food tips

* Thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables before you eat them, to remove the chemicals farmers spray on them in order to prolong their sell-by date.

That includes things you normally peel, like bananas. And citrus fruits, which are usually sprayed with chemicals such as ortho-phenyl phenol, thiabendazole, and imazalil to stop fungus and other stuff growing on them.

If you don’t wash the chemicals off, they get on your fingers when you peel the fruit, then onto the segments when you touch them, and end up inside you after you’ve chewed and swallowed.

* GNLD LDC is good for dissolving and removing the chemicals (see GNLD section, below). And it rinses completely away, leaving a clean peel so you won’t get horrible chemicals under your thumbnail and on your fingers when you peel a piece of fruit.

General tips

These general tips may all seem obvious to most readers. However, the pictures in my mind after a visit to an HIV/AIDS hospice prompt me to repeat them here. If they’re not helpful for you, they may be of help to someone you may know of…

* Keep hair, skin, clothes, and bedding really clean to help avoid skin infections.

* Brush teeth, gums, and tongue with a clean toothbrush half-an-hour after every meal to keep your mouth healthy.

If your gums are sore, or bleed, use a soft toothbrush and brush them gently anyway. Avoiding the cleaning will only make matters worse.

Do not use a mouthwash containing alcohol. I think this tends to knock off some bacteria, but not others, thus disturbing the natural bacterial balance in your mouth and throat. If you must gargle with something, use half-a-teaspoon of table salt in a glass of warm water.

Hands are the primary spreaders of diseases, so…

* Always wash your hands thoroughly after going to the toilet.

* Always wash your hands before preparing food.

* Wash your hands often during the day, even when you think you don’t need to.

Most people pick their nose, where a bacterium called Staphylococcus aureus lives. After a good clear-out, lots of the bacteria will be on your finger, and from there it could get into your intestines or lungs, where it could set up an infection… especially if your immune system is weak.

There’s no need to buy disinfectant soap for your hands (once again, it only kills some bacteria, thus disturbing the natural harmony). Plain, simple soap does the job well.

* Keep your bathroom, toilet, floors, and all kitchen work surfaces germ free with a suitable disinfectant. GNLD’s Care is very good for this (see GNLD section below).

* If you’re a couch potato, get off your behind and go out into the fresh air to do some gentle exercise.

You don’t need to spend money on a gym membership. Walking is good. So is swimming. If you’ve got a bicycle, dust it off and ride it. Kick a ball about. Practice your cool disco moves. Anything to get moving!

* Another bonus of getting out into the sunshine is that the sunlight encourages your skin to make vitamin D, which helps strengthen your natural defences.

Be careful not to bake yourself: 20 minutes or so is enough, without sun protection.

* Thinking of protection, if you have sex, don’t forget to make sure you, or your partner carefully uses a condom every time… even if you’re both HIV positive. Remember, it is possible to get infected again, with a different strain of HIV, and that would be a disaster for you both.

GNLD products:  healthcare, and homecare ranges

The idea of healthy food choices, and taking good-quality food supplements to fill any nutritional gaps, is to help your body keep it’s natural defence systems strong, which will keep your CD4 count as high as possible, and your viral load as low as possible, for as long as possible.

Although the market is flooded with products claiming to make you healthier, very few of them actually do what they claim. And even fewer can back their claims with proper scientific evidence that’s been checked by independent experts.

One company that can prove their claims is GNLD International.

All GNLD’s food supplements are made from real food humans have been eating for centuries. They don’t contain tree bark, pond scum, marigold flowers, obscure berries, roots, or anything else humans don’t normally eat.

Nutritional supplements are not required by law to be controlled in the same way medicines are controlled. However, GNLD does proudly maintain a pharmaceutical licence. And they voluntarily subject their supplements to the same strict control of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that medicines have to undergo.

You can certainly trust GNLD for purity, and for quality. And their supplements really work!

Suggested GNLD healthcare supplements…

Remembering that no supplement will cure HIV or AIDS, and that they’re not a substitute for a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, they’re still a good investment.

They’ll fill any nutritional gaps, helping you and your immune system stay as strong as possible.

GR2 Meal Replacement

Gr2 Meal Replacement has been designed as a complete meal. It’s not just a protein drink. Apart from protein, there’s also a nice long list of vitamins and minerals, enzymes, ‘good fat’, and fibre in it.

You can get it in vanilla, or chocolate flavours, and it mixes easily with milk, in natural yoghurt, in fruit and veg smoothies, or in water.

Many people with AIDS find it difficult to eat properly, because of mouth and throat ulcers. GNLD GR2 Meal Replacement mixed with water is a nutritious drink that can be sipped, and is comfortable to swallow.

The protein in GR2 is in the form of single amino acids. That means there’s hardly any digestion is required, so it’s easily absorbed from your intestines.

All 22 amino acids necessary for human nutrition are present, too.

Amino acids

Amino acids are very important for everyone’s health. They’re used to make virtually everything in our bodies, including…

* hair

* skin

* nails

* bones

* gums

* teeth

* enzymes for digestion and other processes

* healing

* hormones

* red blood cells

* antibodies

* white blood cells (including CD4 cells, and all the other immune system cells)

As you can see from the list (which is by no means complete), it’s very important to have a daily supply of amino acids.

GNLD GR2 Meal Replacement is a great way of ensuring you get these essential nutrients.

GNLD Carotenoid Complex

GNLD Carotenoid Complex has been shown in tests by American government scientists, and various Universities, to…

* boost cancer-fighting natural killer cells (NKC’s)

* reduce the harmful effects of ‘bad’ cholesterol

* boost the cells of the immune system

GNLD’s dedicated website has lots of info about Carotenoid Complex, including the clinical evidence of why it works so well. If you want to read about it, please visit the website, here.

Formula IV Plus

Even with the most careful shopping, you won’t get all the vitamins and minerals you expect to have in your food.

One report on South African oranges showed the vitamin C content varied from zero to 60mg per orange. Doesn’t matter how many of those zero oranges you eat, you’ll still have a big vitamin C gap in your diet.

That’s where Formula IV Plus comes in. It contains a healthy list of vitamins and minerals, including the minerals usually processed out of food… selenium, chromium, and molybdenum.

Selenium is very important for the immune system. In Senegal, the number of HIV positive people, who develop Aids, is much fewer than in South Africa, even though the rate of infection is about the same. This difference is thought to be because the levels of selenium in the soil are much higher in Senegal. And therefore much higher in the fruits and vegetables grown in that soil.

In addition, Formula IV Plus contains Tre-en-en, GNLD’s unique ‘good fat’ extracts from rice, wheat, and soya berries. They’re deliberately removed by food processing, but they’re essential for healthy cell formation and function, including the cells of your immune system.

There’s more info about the benefits of GNLD Tre-en-en on our new product blog, here.

GNLD LDC (Light Duty Concentrate)

LDC is a biodegradeable, non-toxic, non-caustic, non-flammable, multi-purpose cleaner excellent for…

* washing dishes by hand. It works in hot, cold, and even salt water.

* washing clothes by hand

* washing yourself in the bath and shower

* as a hair shampoo

* washing waxes and pesticides off fruit and vegetables before eating or cooking them

This last use is the one we consider most important in our home.

We wash everything with LDC before we put it in the fridge, cupboards, cook it, or peel and eat it.

You might think that’s a bit fanatical, but if you could see the number of people who walk out of the men’s W.C. (even the thunder boxes) without bothering to wash their hands… ‘Nuff said.

GNLD Care Disinfectant

GNLD Care Disinfectant is biodegradeable, yet strong, passing the SABS 636 standard. That standard means GNLD Care kills a very wide range of germs around the home, and in clinic, hospital, and hospice settings.

It’s very economical, too. One litre of concentrate will make 51 litres of disinfectant for your home use (or 11 litres for hospital use). So you can afford to spray it everywhere to keep your home as germ-free as possible.

As I said at the start, my intention with this post is to offer some common-sense, helpful pointers in the right direction.

If you think I’ve left anything important out, please let me know in the comment box below. Thanks a lot.