Are there any herbs you recommend to people with HIV?

[Guest guest]

Today's Question

Are there any herbs you recommend to people with HIV?

 

-- Anonymous

 

Today's Answer

(Published 12/01/1998)

 

Yes, there are several herbs and herbal preparations that I've seen

help people with HIV remain healthy. But before I get into them by

name, I want to stress how important it is for you to find a doctor

who will work with you to tailor a treatment program that's

appropriate for your specific case. As HIV infection progresses, you

can develop opportunistic diseases that require careful attention.

Some popular herbs may be useless against them, while others that

you may not have heard of might be very useful.

 

That said, I'd also like to make a point of warning you that there

are a lot of unscrupulous " doctors " out there

(especially on the Web) who take advantage of desperate patients by

hawking " natural cures " for AIDS that have no basis in science and

are simply fraudulent.

 

Not only does this harm people with HIV, it can also discredit the

work many are doing to promote bona fide alternatives to mainstream

medicine.

For example, scanning the Web I found practitioners of Ayurvedic

medicine selling herbal " cures " for HIV infection that include

ashwagandha.

 

Watch out for these, because while ashwagandha in particular and

Ayurvedic medicine in general are legitimate treatments, the claim

that they are cures for AIDS is medically irresponsible and

unethical.

 

Many people I know who have lived with HIV for years have relied, in

part, on herbs, together with healthy diets and lifestyles,

including positive mental states.

 

Two herbal remedies I recommend to strengthen the immune system are

astragalus, (Astragalus membranaceous)

and the mushroom known as maitake or hen-of-the-woods (Grifola

frondosa).

 

You can find both of these tonics in health food stores. The

National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine has

funded research into the effectiveness of herbs used in traditional

Chinese medicine as a treatment for people with HIV, with

encouraging results. So you might want to ask your doctor to help

you with research into this area as well.

 

The current research in herbal treatments for HIV is new and

dynamic, but there has been a lot of interesting data to support it.

 

That's why, again, it's important to have a physician who is

comfortable with these varied modalities and understands how natural

medicines can work to strengthen your immune system. Such a

partnership will help you make the best decisions.

 

www.drweil.com

_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/AIM.html