Deer Antler Velvet, Selenium, Maitake Mushroom, Vitamin D

[47DegreesNorth]

*Im big on vitamins and supplements to maintain health, work out often as well.

I use these three to help support my immune system and so far have been feeling really good. Since starting I haven't had my labs done yet but I'm hopeful for good results.

Vitamin D
Deer Antler Velvet
Selenium
Maitake Mushroom

Reading some articles these seem to be good tools in battling the virus.

Has anyone had any experience or tried any of these?

[emex27]

Hello second2none,

I tried Maitake D4, Amazon AV from Rain-tree, Zeolite-AV, Iodine caps, Colloidal Silver from Ag sol, all for about 18months and I still had a Herpes outbreak every 8-10 weeks depending on how stressed I was. For that I take Valtrex 500mg 2x a day for 5days. My VL has been UD for the 4 years and CD4 ranged from 550 to 790.

A Friend introduced me to Cellfood oxygen drops and BSF3 - Bio-superfood algae in January this year. I take 25drops of Cellfood 4 times a day and 6-8 BSF3 caps a day.

I have had no tingling sensation or Herpes outbreak for 5months. So, cellfood is doing something about the Virus. I can't find any posts on people having used Cellfood drops but there is a lot of info on the net and testimonies. I will not say too much. I suggest you search "cellfood oxygen supplements" on the internet and read up on it. It is not expensive. 1 bottle at 100drops a day sees me through for a week. I'm fine.....and hoping!

All the best,
Emex27

[leatherman]

Reading some articles these seem to be good tools in battling the virus.

nothing except good ol' antiretrovirals "battle the virus". Of course, vitamins and supplements** might help you to be healthier; but they sure don't do a darn thing to HIV.

as to "colloidal silver", emex27, it'll turn you blue and isn't of any help
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/silver/
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html
http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=33309.0


**(while Selenium has been shown to help slow down HIV replication, HAART reduces HIV replications to undetectable)

[emex27]

letherman

thank you for your links. Is there a table of various supplements that we can take on the forum? with recommendations and different budgets. that will guide some of us who have been mislead and have spend a lot of money on un-necessary things. Thanks.

[mecch]

Sure, three HIV experts in Switzerland said straight to my face that "supplements" as a way to fight HIV are useless.

Oh, and stay away from Silver.  Jesus.  Don't you guys do any Internet Research.

CATIE has good information on supplements and HIV:  Scroll Down to the supplement fact sheets:

http://www.catie.ca/en/fact-sheets

New York Buyers Club - i wont link to it cause they sell supplements but have been around a long time.  In fact a lot of this supplements for HIV is a relic of the days when there was no HAART or when it was really crappy.

[Ann]

Is there a table of various supplements that we can take on the forum? with recommendations and different budgets. that will guide some of us who have been mislead and have spend a lot of money on un-necessary things. Thanks.

Anything other than a standard multivitamin is very likely to be a waste of money.

[madbrain]

*Im big on vitamins and supplements to maintain health, work out often as well.

I use these three to help support my immune system and so far have been feeling really good. Since starting I haven't had my labs done yet but I'm hopeful for good results.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is good and one of the few supplements that has a lot of evidence behind it as being beneficient.
Most people are deficient in vitamin D nowadays. Get your blood levels checked to determine how much supplementation you need. The general recommendation of 400 IU is very insufficient. Some meds deplete vitamin D, including HIV meds.

I take in excess of 10000 IU/day.

Deer Antler Velvet

I have taken a *lot* of supplements before. Never even heard of this one. I will have to look it up.

Selenium

This one is good. Most multi vitamins include it. Choose one that has a higher dose of selenium, such as 200 micrograms.

Maitake Mushroom

I have tried that before, can't say it did anything.

I have taken as many as 20 different supplements at a time. Up to 50 pills/gels a day.
I am not sure that it was really all that beneficial. My lab numbers were always good. But there is just no way to tell. The numbers improved after I started HAART.

The supps I still take regularly are a good multi-vitamin, vitamin D, and omega-3. I think many doctors will agree that those have some benefit.

[elf]

I recommend these, based on my experience:


useful: omega-3, zinc, selenium, Ca+vit D, vitamin C, taurine, melatonin, aspirin


somewhat useful: Co-Q10, alpha lipoic acid, magnesium


useless: resveratrol, L-carnitine, niacin, beta-glucane, turmeric


Your mileage may vary.

[mecch]

Regarding antioxidants: 

Just this evening I saw on Swiss TV the professor of pharmacy, including Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Kurt Hostettmann (Universities of Lausanne and Geneve AND EPFL) speaking about antioxidants.
He said recent studies show that too much antioxidant supplementation could pose a risk of accelerating aging AND accelerating cancer growth. He said we must be extremely prudent about dosage and for his own part, he would never take an antioxidant.

So go carefully.....

(reminded me of what my Nutrition and Chemistry prof told our class back in the early 80's - NEVER put margarine in your shopping basket, and avoid hydrogenated oils at all cost - just eat "natural" old fashioned fat.  This was when margarine and all those butter substitutes were being pushed as a great advance for health and diet! Then we learned... argh!)

[PositivelyMotivated]

i dont know about the mitake but ive been taking cordycep mushroom extract %40 polysachharides once a day at bed and dont seem to be as debilitatingly tired when i get up ... ppl dont really know about stuff like that in the western world and tend to badmouth it but in japan this stuff is actually PRESCRIBED to cancer patients for its ability to elevate all levels of the immune system ... ive heard of the deer velvet but have to say im not sold on it ... id much rather go with something like the cordyceps that has a proven track record with proper studies behind it ...
ive also been taking olive leaf extract 750 mg %20 oleuropein in the mornings and have noticed a spike in my energy level ... i was also having constant boils in my armpits since i was infected and those have completely gone without a trace since taking a combonation of the 2 ...
other than those 2 "exotic" forms of supplements im on board as well with the selenium , mega multi , and vitamin d /cod oil in one vitamins ...

[Matty the Damned]

i dont know about the mitake but ive been taking cordycep mushroom extract %40 polysachharides once a day at bed and dont seem to be as debilitatingly tired when i get up ... ppl dont really know about stuff like that in the western world and tend to badmouth it but in japan this stuff is actually PRESCRIBED to cancer patients for its ability to elevate all levels of the immune system ... ive heard of the deer velvet but have to say im not sold on it ... id much rather go with something like the cordyceps that has a proven track record with proper studies behind it ...
ive also been taking olive leaf extract 750 mg %20 oleuropein in the mornings and have noticed a spike in my energy level ... i was also having constant boils in my armpits since i was infected and those have completely gone without a trace since taking a combonation of the 2 ...
other than those 2 "exotic" forms of supplements im on board as well with the selenium , mega multi , and vitamin d /cod oil in one vitamins ...

Correlation doesn't equal causation, doll.

Just because you take this shit and you suddenly think you feel better doesn't mean diddly. I don't wanna piss on your parade but your claims are based on what is known as  post hoc reasoning.

MtD

[PositivelyMotivated]

as for the cordyceps it does when proper studies were done to back up the info with control groups and the lot ... this is how the selenium results were obtained and its becoming pretty well accepted ... besides this is my testimonial about my own personal routine ... go crawl back under a rock or something ...

[Matty the Damned]

as for the cordyceps it does when proper studies were done to back up the info with control groups and the lot ... this is how the selenium results were obtained and its becoming pretty well accepted ... besides this is my testimonial about my own personal routine ... go crawl back under a rock or something ...

You can link to these proper studies?

I'd like something to read when I'm back under my rock.

MtD

[PositivelyMotivated]

http://www.kalahealth.com/cordyceps_studies.htm

[Matty the Damned]

http://www.kalahealth.com/cordyceps_studies.htm

Hmmm. A bit sus really. The site you link to flogs altie supplements to dog owners mainly: http://www.kalahealth.com

More reputable links suggest that there is no reliable clinical data to support any demonstrable health benefits in humans. Some animal testing has been done, eg:

http://www.drugs.com/npp/cordyceps.html

MtD

[PositivelyMotivated]

Zhu, J.S., Halpern, G.M., and Jones, K. (1998): The Scientific Rediscovery of an Ancient Chinese Herbal Medicine: Cordyceps sinensis. Part I. Journal of Alternative and complementary Medicine 4(3), pp 289-303.
Zhu, J.S., Halpern, G.M., and Jones, K. (1998): The Scientific Rediscovery of a Precious Ancient Chinese Herbal Regimen: Cordyceps sinensis. Part II. Journal of Alternative and complementary Medicine 4(4), pp 429-457. 
Mizuno T. (1999): Medicinal effects and utilization of Cordyceps (Fr.) Link (Ascomycetes) and Isaria Fr. (Mitosporic Fungi) Chinese Caterpillar Fungi, “Tochukaso” (Review). International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms 1 (3), pp 251-261.
Xiao Y., Huang X.Z., Chen G.,Wang M.B., Zhu J.S., Cooper C.B.: Increased Aerobic Capacity in Healthy Elderly Humans given fermented Cordyceps Cs-4: a Placebo controlled Trial. Ann. Meeting American College of Sports Medicine, Seattle, WA, June 3-5, 1999.

of course the site you posted is going to shun it its ran by phamacutical companies lol ...

every last one of these were human studies ... i bet if you asked the cancer patients whose tumors shrank by over %50 if its valid they would tell you lol ... its all good man ... i think ppl SHOULD be skeptical of supplements and i am myself ... but this one i find to have merit both in medical journals and in my own life ...

[Matty the Damned]

Zhu, J.S., Halpern, G.M., and Jones, K. (1998): The Scientific Rediscovery of an Ancient Chinese Herbal Medicine: Cordyceps sinensis. Part I. Journal of Alternative and complementary Medicine 4(3), pp 289-303.
Zhu, J.S., Halpern, G.M., and Jones, K. (1998): The Scientific Rediscovery of a Precious Ancient Chinese Herbal Regimen: Cordyceps sinensis. Part II. Journal of Alternative and complementary Medicine 4(4), pp 429-457. 
Mizuno T. (1999): Medicinal effects and utilization of Cordyceps (Fr.) Link (Ascomycetes) and Isaria Fr. (Mitosporic Fungi) Chinese Caterpillar Fungi, “Tochukaso” (Review). International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms 1 (3), pp 251-261.
Xiao Y., Huang X.Z., Chen G.,Wang M.B., Zhu J.S., Cooper C.B.: Increased Aerobic Capacity in Healthy Elderly Humans given fermented Cordyceps Cs-4: a Placebo controlled Trial. Ann. Meeting American College of Sports Medicine, Seattle, WA, June 3-5, 1999.

of course the site you posted is going to shun it its ran by phamacutical companies Lil ...

every last one of these were human studies ... i bet if you asked the cancer patients whose tumors shrank by over %50 if its valid they would tell you Lil ... its all good man ... i think ppl SHOULD be skeptical of supplements and i am myself ... but this one i find to have merit both in medical journals and in my own life ...

Any sources outside J. Alt. Med?

MtD

[PositivelyMotivated]

the last one there is outside of j alt med ... im sure i could dig up more and may do so over the course of the day ... this doesnt even include the clinical trials on the cancer patients ... dont really want to turn it into a pissing contest so when i get around to it ill post the best info i can on it ... these findings were just the easiest to get ...

[Matty the Damned]

the last one there is outside of j alt med ... im sure i could dig up more and may do so over the course of the day ... this doesnt even include the clinical trials on the cancer patients ... dont really want to turn it into a pissing contest so when i get around to it ill post the best info i can on it ... these findings were just the easiest to get ...

Cheers.

I'll be interested to read them.

MtD