PART 1: Comprehensive Goals for Managing HIV Infection

• Guest/Cleaning and Rearranging the House

  I. To improve overall health by recognizing that the body is a complex, interrelated and dynamic entity

  II. To support the body ’s ability to fight chronic,ongoing infection before obvious disease conditions occur,by using key nutrients that help to improve and maintain an adequate immune response

  III. To reverse specific nutrient deficiencies that often start very early in HIV infection and worsen as the disease progresses

  IV. To provide a fundamental,basic approach to prevent microbes from establishing an infectio

  V. To strengthen the whole body with substances known to improve overall body function and fight disease

• Replenishing the Body ’s Antioxidant Capability/Fireproofing the House

  VI. To diminish damage caused by oxidative stress and the overproduction of free radicals

  VII. To raise low levels of sulfur-containing amino acids,as well as glutathione — a critical compound normally made by the body but which is often depleted in people with HIV

  VIII. To reduce oxidative stress,thereby limiting viral activation

  IX. Using essentially nontoxic amounts of phytochemicals (plant-based compounds)in an attempt to limit HIV ’s ability to replicate

• Stabilizing or Improving Immune Function/Repairing the Furnace

  X. To further reduce excessive inflammation that results from the body’s response to infection – known as the acute phase response – that occurs in the chronic, overexaggerated immune response

  XI. To normalize excessive levels of cytokines (messengers between cells)that are overproduced during the course of HIV infection,such as inteferon-alpha, TNF-alpha, interleukins 1 and 6

  XII. To limit apoptosis and further hyperimmune activation.Apoptosis is cellsuicide, prematurely activated in highly free radical-sensitive immune cells during the course of infection

  XIII. To attempt to maintain or restore cell-mediated immunity, especially when a person has fewer than 100 CD4 cells

• Supporting Stressed Organ Systems/Repairing the Thermostat

  XIV. To support the overworked endocrine system:the adrenal and pituitary glands

  XV. To support and replace hormones,like testosterone and DHEA,that are depleted during HIV infection

• Improving GI Function/Fixing the Plumbing Minimizing Secondary

  XVI. To improve nutrient absorption so the body can get those nutrients where they need

  XVII. To improve general stomach and intestinal functions that are damaged by HIV infection (maldigestion)

• Damages/Ongoing Housekeeping Chores

  XVIII. To assist overall detoxification and offset toxicities and other pharmaceutical therapies widely used in treating HIV.

  XIX. To strengthen other organs often damaged by HIV infection and/or therapies

  XX. To prevent or repair the damage associated with mitochondrial toxicity

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