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HIV/AIDS and
Nutritional Treatment
By Bradford McIntyre
September 17, 2004 - We may have jumped the gun and put all our efforts into pharmaceuticals when it came to fighting AIDS. Recognizing the ability of the body to heal has prompted many to choose to combat HIV in a non-medical direction. Often, people are effective in preventing illness for years before drug intervention is ever necessary, or not necessary at all. Others have continued to live without any sign of HIV/AIDS-related opportunistic infections or disease. For some who have tested positive, there has never been any virus replicated in their body. Equally so, many people who are on drug treatments have learned to address the importance of diet, exercise, alternative therapies and supplements, mind, body and spirit. Let's not close our minds to what is right in front of us.
In both Canada and the United States, health care systems are being affected by the strains from use and rising costs. Billions are being spent, while people look to the medical profession to care for their illness. We must not allow ourselves to fall prey to the belief that science and the medical profession have all the answers, nor can we find all our answers in pharmaceuticals. Science, medicine and the use of pharmaceuticals play key roles, but so does the greatest disease fighter on the planet, our immune system.
Proper nutrition is necessary for HIV infected individuals, as those who eat well feel better compared to those who consume a less than adequate diet. Malnutrition can compromise their ability to fight off infection. We should be making good nutrition a high priority in AIDS treatment.
Since many people infected with HIV have neither the health nor energy to work towards creating awareness and change, it is my intention to speak through my experience for those whom I hope will benefit.
Bradford McIntyre, HIV+ for 20 years
Vancouver, Canada
www.PositivelyPositive.ca
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