HIV/AIDS

HIV is a virus that takes over certain immune system cells to make many copies of itself and as it does so, it causes slow but constant damage to the immune system. As the immune system declines, the body becomes vulnerable to life-threatening illnesses, called an opportunistic infection (OI), causing groups of related symptoms.

In addition to its influence on the immune system, HIV directly affects a number of other metabolic processes in the body as it robs 4 key micronutrients from its host while replicating.1 These nutrients are selenium, cysteine, tryptophan and glutamine, which are required for the essential functioning of a number of metabolic processes and the production of glutathione and the enzyme glutathione peroxidase.

Current antiretroviral therapy targets the virus, inhibiting replication and decreasing viral load. For optimal recovery of the immune system and to restore the distinctive nutritional deficiencies of PLWHA, the provision of a carefully designed micronutrient supplement is recommended to replenish nutrient deficiencies which cannot be satisfied by changes in diet alone.

Sources:

  1. Taylor EW, BHat A, Nadimpalli RG, Zhang W, Kececioglu J. HIV-1 encodes a sequence of overlapping env. gp41 with highly significant similarity to selenium dependent glutathione peroxidases. J AIDS Hum Retrovirol 1997; 15(5):393-4.