HIV Support Group
HIV (also known as human immunodeficiency virus, and formerly known as HTLV-III and lymphadenopathy-associated virus) is a retrovirus that primarily infects vital components of the human immune system which can lead the syndrome known as AIDS. Many of the problems faced by people infected with HIV result from failure of the immune system to protect from opportunistic...
Does any body know of an actual way to increase your t cell count?
Perhaps Dr, Duke may know?
I am trying to get my t cell count up higher but run into all kinds of different
products promising to do so. some say diet , some drugs, some say vitamins.
My doc suggested vitamin C and E.
Does anybody have a good grasp on this?
Perhaps Dr, Duke may know?
I am trying to get my t cell count up higher but run into all kinds of different
products promising to do so. some say diet , some drugs, some say vitamins.
My doc suggested vitamin C and E.
Does anybody have a good grasp on this?
stay away from fried, fast foods & dont over do it on beef
i often eat foods that are fresh, easy to digest and not heavy on the stomach -
if your CD4 does not go up, at least you will look and feel better.
My own opinion, although somewhat informed, is still just an opinion and not some sort of scientific fact. My opinion is that living the healthiest lifestyle that is possible for us, is always a good thing. Whether or not lots of exercise and good food will make us live longer, the more important factor is that it makes us feel better each day of our lives. Not everyone can jog 2 or 10 miles a day, and for most people, that much exercise would be such an effort and a pain that it would not improve their quality of life. But we can all make some effort to be active, keep our blood flowing, and eat well.
Likewise, humans and other mammals can survive on a huge variety of diets, from near starvation with just a cup of rice each day and no vitamin supplements, to vegetarian, raw food, or nearly totally meat diets. Most people will be mostly healthy over a wide range of diets anywhere in between the very extremes. One of the most important factors is to balance the intake of calories with the burning of calories, and that tends to happen naturally, with our hunger increasing with our level of exercise. Almost all information about weight loss focuses on the food side, whereas the real problem is almost always on the level of exercise side.
Almost every day I hear the phrase "boosts your immune system" in an advertisement for some product. And another frequently heard phrase is "kills germs" or something similar. The number of such ads would make people think that infectious disease is the number one threat to our health and happiness. In reality, our physical health is far more controlled by normal diet and exercise than any type of product for sale, and infectious diseases are much less of a problem in the developed world than hear disease, liver disease, diabetes, alcoholism and dozens of other things.
HIV does not kill all white blood cells. It does almost nothing to the B-cells that make antibodies, and among the T-cells it kills mostly the CD4 "helper" T-cells and not the CD8 "killer" T-cells. The loss of a fraction of the CD4+ T-cells is usually not a big problem. Many people have survived with no symptoms until their CD4 count was far below 100 (from a normal range closer to 700). People with very low CD4 count are not extra susceptible to colds, flu, or many other types of infections, they begin to have problems with fungi (yeast infections, thrush, PCP, etc) and certain types of more chronic bacteria and viruses (CMV retinitis, shingles, tuberculosis, etc).
Immune system cells (T cells and B-cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, etc) and nerve cells (brain cells, sensory nerves, motor nerves) have a lot in common. They are very similar cell types, with a lot of different types of cell to cell signalling going on between them. The immune system is really a type of "intelligence", but closer to the intelligence we see in dogs and cats with "instincts" than the intelligence we see with humans making plans for the future and all that. It has been scientifically shown that a positive mental attitude and happiness is very healthy, and actually reduces the incidence of infectious disease.
So my advice is to take walks, do things, have friends, have some fun, and try not to worry about T-cell numbers or anything else. Antiretroviral drugs have been proven to work at fighting the virus and keeping CD4+ T-cell numbers up at least to the range where the thrush and PCP and other AIDS-defining illnesses do not show up. HIV infected people are now living normal lifespans, so avoiding heart attacks and other things is just as important as it is for people who are not infected with HIV. Focus on mental health and enjoying life, and helping others to enjoy their lives too. Show the world that HIV is just a little virus and help reduce the stigma, or keep it secret and go about living a normal happy life.
Barak Y.
Source
Autoimmun Rev. 2006 Oct;5(8):523-7. Epub 2006 Mar 21.
Psychogeriatric Department, Abarbanel Mental Health Center, Bat-Yam and the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Bat-Yam, Israel. mdybarak@netvision.net.il
Abstract
Human ability to experience negative and positive emotions has an evolutionary perspective and the presence of feelings designed to influence behavior should thus be reflected in physiological and immune interactions. The complex interactions between the immune system and the central nervous system have been studied extensively in schizophrenia and depression. On the other hand, effects of positive human emotions, especially happiness, on physiological parameters and immunity have received very little attention. Emotions are intimately involved in the initiation or progression of cancer, HIV, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune disorders. The specific physiological responses induced by pleasant stimuli were recently investigated with the immune and endocrine systems being monitored when pleasant stimuli such as odors and emotional pictures were presented to subjects. The results revealed that an increase in secretory immunoglobulin A and a decrease in salivary cortisol were induced by pleasant emotions. The mechanisms by which positive as opposed to negative states are instantiated in the brain and interact with the immune system are not yet understood. The present review investigates relations among physiological measures of affective style, psychological well-being, and immune function. There is data to support the hypothesis that individuals characterized by a more negative affective style poorly recruit their immune response and may be at risk for illness more so than those with a positive affective style. Future research is needed to expand our knowledge of the physiological and immune interactions of positive emotional states and their beneficial effects on health.
PMID: 17027886
It also does no good, and probably makes people angry rather than happy, to tell them: "Just smile and you will feel better". It is not that simple.
Likewise, Mr. Couch Potato is not going to run a marathon next year just because someone tell him it would be good for him.
Health and happiness don't just happen, it is all about taking lots of little baby steps that eventually take you somewhere down the road. They don't make an iron-on patch, you have to put in lots of little stitches. It's something everyone has to work at continually, not just one day a week, or "I'll start tomorrow".
Anyway thank you all for your answers, I didnt think there was a sure fire way of beefing up T cells. But a lot of people trying to sell you something to do it. my T cell is 77 has been for a long time.
Ill keep pounding down the vitamins and hope for the best.