Recent Health Related Answers by Nelson Vergel at TheBody.com

Joint problems	May 10, 2011
Difference between Creatine and Creatinine	May 10, 2011
VIRAL LOAD NOT DETECTED	May 10, 2011
Recently diagnosed, supplements and multivitamins	May 10, 2011
GANAR PESO	May 10, 2011
Nutrition Advice to Lose Weight/Build Muscle	May 10, 2011
Long flight to visit someone with low CD4 - precautions to protect them from germs?	May 10, 2011
Any Hope? (response) 5/9/11	May 10, 2011
HIV Pregression	May 9, 2011
getting weight and energy back	May 9, 2011
Panic attack Sustanon/Anadrol/Atripla?	May 9, 2011
Too much Zinc? Vitamin C?	May 9, 2011
Any Hope?	May 9, 2011
Nandrolone Prices, Motivation to Exercise	May 5, 2011
relocation	May 4, 2011
LGV	May 4, 2011
enquiring abt an endocrinologist	May 4, 2011
Topical vs. injected Testosterone	May 2, 2011
Vitamin interactions with Atripla?	Apr 29, 2011
Watery sperm	Apr 29, 2011
Rectum swollen	Apr 29, 2011
D3 supplemets and Tenofovir-containing ART	Apr 27, 2011
DEJAR TRATAMIENTO, UNA PREGUNTA	Apr 27, 2011
What are the best meds for HIV+	Apr 27, 2011
Creatine & Fish	Apr 27, 2011
About Testosterone and Nandrolone	Apr 27, 2011
HIV Muscle wasting and Anabolic Replacement	Apr 27, 2011
Again, not a question but a comment... deeply thankful	Apr 26, 2011
body image problem	Apr 26, 2011
ejercicio e hipertensión	Apr 24, 2011
Niacina	Apr 24, 2011
Body wont change	Apr 24, 2011
Atripla & Flax Seed Oil	Apr 24, 2011
Travel and atripla	Apr 24, 2011
Need advice	Apr 24, 2011
reactivo a la sifilis (urgente orientacion)	Apr 24, 2011
Is this Possible?	Apr 24, 2011
Creatine and Renal function	Apr 24, 2011
expanded access	Apr 24, 2011
Nandrolone	Apr 24, 2011
Pre-workout Supplement	Apr 16, 2011
Creatine	Apr 16, 2011
Protein, IsoPure and sodium	Apr 16, 2011
Nandrolone and liver	Apr 16, 2011
D3 supplemets and Tenofovir-containing ART	Apr 11, 2011
Weight Gain	Apr 11, 2011
excessive itchin	Apr 11, 2011
Safety of Axiron	Apr 11, 2011
recuperarme de los gemelos	Apr 11, 2011
Slow CD4 increase	Apr 11, 2011
Testosterone	Apr 11, 2011
Compounded vs. Injection based Testosterone	Apr 11, 2011
Facial Body Wasting	Apr 11, 2011
THANKS FOR YOU ALL SUPPORT AND HARD WORK!	Apr 11, 2011
Where to apply testosterone gel	Apr 7, 2011
arv and a1or 2 glasses or 2 glasses of beer once a week	Apr 7, 2011
any solution ?	Apr 7, 2011
curious about your current med regimen	Apr 7, 2011
Atripla, 18 years old. i feel like killing my self.	Apr 7, 2011
Will My Energy Return?	Apr 2, 2011

What Supplements Can I take with HIV medications?

		Supplementation while on Meds Apr 13, 2009 Hi I have been + for 4 years now workout regularly have built some of the muscle back that I lost. I am on Prezista and Truvata with Norvir. Is it ok to supplement with Creatine (Cell-Tech), and Protein (Nitro-Tech) along wiht Glutamine?
>      Response from Mr. Vergel Great question. Creatine+ Exercise versus Exercise alone in HIV+ Men: ( from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2646129 ) Dr Mulligan et al performed a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, clinical research center-based, outpatient study in San Francisco. 40 HIVpositive men (20 creatine, 20 placebo) enrolled in a 14-week study. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive creatine monohydrate or placebo for 14 weeks. Treatment began with a loading dose of 20 g/day or an equivalent number of placebo capsules for 5 days, followed by maintenance dosing of 4.8 g/day or placebo. Beginning at week 2 and continuing to week 14, all subjects underwent thrice-weekly supervised resistance exercise while continuing on the assigned study medication (with repeated 6-week cycles of loading and maintenance). The main outcome measurements included muscle strength (one repetition maximum), energetics (31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy), composition and size (magnetic resonance imaging), as well as total body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry). Thirty-three subjects completed the study (17 creatine, 16 placebo). Strength increased in all 8 muscle groups studied following progressive resistance exercise, but this increase was not augmented by creatine supplementation (average increase 44 vs. 42%, difference 2%, 95% CI −9.5% to 13.9%) in creatine and placebo, respectively). There were no differences between groups in changes in muscle energetics. Thigh muscle cross-sectional area increased following resistance exercise, with no additive effect of creatine. Lean body mass (LBM) increased to a significantly greater extent with creatine. They saw increases in creatinine in some patients taking creatine, so you need to watch your kidney function. They did not see changes in viral load so hopefully this means that there were no drug-drug interactions with this supplement. Whey Protein Use in HIV+ Women (From http://journals.lww.com/aidsonline/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2001&issue=12070&article=00011&type=abstract) Denise Agin et al studied the use of whey protein plus or minus exercise in HIV+ women and found that resistance exercise significantly increased body cell mass (BCM), muscle mass, muscle strength, and QOL in HIV-infected women with reduced BCM. Whey protein had little effect on BCM accrual. Combined protein and exercise did not increase BCM in excess of gains achieved by exercise alone. Whey Protein in HIV+ Men (from http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/88/5/1313 ) Dr Satler et al studied the use of whey protein supplement without exercise and found no increases in lean body mass in patients. Patients seem to adjust their calory intake daily when taking the shakes, so the net effect on calories was not improved. There seemed to be some improvement in CD4 cell counts with whey, though. Diarrhea and bloating also were more common in those taking whey. Glutamine (http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102231134.html): This supplement has been shown to improve gut function and diarrhea in some studies. There one was a study done by Dr Shabert et al that found that glutamine plus an antioxidant improved lean body mass in people taking that combination. She even compared her results with those obtained with growth hormone, I remember. So, it seems that there is some benefit of taking these popular body building supplements if used with exercise. But I would watch creatinine blood levels to make sure that your kidneys handle the extra load. Of course, we really cannot say much about specific brands since quality control may be an issue in some supplement companies. I always tell people to consult with the houstonbuyersclub.com for HIV specific information on supplements and brands to trust. I hope this helped Nelson

Vitamin Research in HIV- anything exciting now?

Vitamin Research in HIV- anything exciting now?
Nov 12, 2008


I have been reading your emails about supplements and HIV and you seem to be concerned that the research has slowed down. My question is: what is being studied right now, if any?

Thanks

Tony




Dear Tony

I am glad you asked this question. I have done a search on clinical trials.gov and have actually found some really interesting studies that are currently enrolling:

Micronutrient Supplemented Probiotic Yogurt for HIV/AIDS and Other Immunodeficiencies

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00517803?term=HIV&recr=Open&rank=441

Effects of Mixed Exercise Regime and L-Carnitine Supplementation in HIV Patients

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00572429?term=HIV&recr=Open&rank=54

Chromium Picolinate to treat HIV related diabetes

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00109746? term=HIV&recr=Open&rank=340

A Trial of Vitamins and HAART in HIV Disease Progression

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00383669?term=HIV&recr=Open&rank=124

The Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency and Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00306410?term=HIV&recr=Open&rank=410

Acupuncture for Nausea in HIV

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00624793?term=HIV&recr=Open&rank=390

So, I guess I was not 100% correct when I said there is little research on nutritional and complementary therapies in HIV

I encourage everyone to call these sites and support these studies

Nelson Vergel