I have been recently presenting workshops on HIV and nutrition. What I have come to understand and acknowledge over the 15 years of speaking on nutrition, many poz persons have not fully integrated nutrition as part of their health regimen.

Unfortunately, many staff and volunteers at ASOs/NGOs in Canada or across then world, who work in treatment or outreach with PHAS have minimal knowledge of impact of nutrition on immune system.   As the Vienna Conference is over,

with not a single word, abstract or presentation on nutrition-no big surprise! In 2006 International AIDS Conference there were 2 sessions on nutrition and 3 poster presentations on nutrition and complementary medicine. In 2008 International AIDS Conference, there were a total of 2 abstracts on nutrition and complementary medicine and one presentation on food shortage.

Antiretrovirals (ARV) are crucial to our health, but 70 percent of the immune system is in the gastrointestinal system. Hence the key to maintain optimal immune functions and overall health lies in what foods we ingest. I was reading a recent article in The Body called An Introduction to Dietary Supplements for People Living With HIV/AIDS. You can read it at, http://www.thebody.com/content/art56659.html?getPage=3

Over all, it is a good read and it listed Alpha-Lipoic –Acid, Calcium and Vit D 3, Carnitine, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), Zinc and B 12. However, the article has missed a few gems notably Omega 3 oils and NAC (N-acetyl cysteine). Another comprehensive resource on nutrition is the Practical Guide to Nutrition for PHAS, Get a free copy at www.catie.ca.

As a strong advocate of nutrition for PHAS, there is research documenting the role of micronutrients for good health and minimizing many of the side effects of HIV drugs. Micronutrient depletion starts at the onset of HIV infection, hence it is wise to supplement early vs. when health needs are chronic. In a nut shell, healthy nutrition consists of providing the cells, tissues, and organs of the body with adequate micro-nutrients to function at optimal level. Medications also need nutrition to break it down, be processed, absorbed and metabolized by cells and tissue. And all solid and liquid foods are processed by the liver. New HIV drugs may come onto the market, but all drugs have their slew of side effects.

During HIV infection, many researchers have observed an increase in free radicals (extra unpaired oxygen molecules). The cause of this increase is not completely understood. Free radicals are produced mostly during metabolism and exposure to toxins and cause much damage in the cell. A decrease in antioxidants in general and glutathione in particular, has also been observed. All antioxidants are crucial in eliminating free radicals from your body. To control the oxidation process, our body produces an antioxidant called glutathione in the walls of our cells. Glutathione as a strong antioxidant has a crucial role to combat free radical damage in the cells. An easy source of glutathione is NAC. In all the years, I have presented on nutrition and micro supplements, many PHAS still have never heard of glutathione or NAC

N-acetyl cysteine was first used by PHAS when there was no anti-HIV medication available. In the dark days, PHAS who survived the epidemic, took NAC found it helped to keep their CD4+ at a decent level and prevented opportunistic infections. NAC is converted to glutathione in the body and glutathione is the single most important antioxidant the cells need. It is found inside every single cell in your body. "Glutathione is a vital protein that cells need to function. Many studies have documented low glutathione in people with HIV. Dr. Luc Montagnier's work with CD4 cells from PWAs suggests that even cells without HIV can grow weak and die, but with added GSH can regain their vigor. This is where NAC comes in. NAC is broken down by the body into cysteine. Researchers have also noted that low levels of cysteine in PWAs. The body uses cysteine to replace glutathione" (The Body).

While it is important to eat healthy, since 70 percent of the immune cells live in the gastrointestinal tract. HIV is most abundant where the immune cells are, most of HIV lives in the gastrointestinal cells. We do not know if anti-HIV medications are successful in minimizing HIV replication in the gastrointestinal cells. If you are interested to know more of the gastrointestinal system and HIV, look up GALT online. GALT stands for 'gut associated lymphoid tissue'.
As such digestion is compromised for many PHAS inspite of healthy eating. Only 2 percent of HIV is found in your blood. We also know that HIV infection causes inflammation and on a cellular level accelerates the aging process.

Millions of people are employed in the business of HIV/AIDS and billions are profited from sales of the HAART, both generic and brand name. PHAS in the western hemisphere have the option of claiming disability and live on limited income. However if live in a country with no social assistance, it means getting up every day and earning your bread; regardless of whether you are sick, low CD+, high viral load, TB, malaria, and may have no access to generic or brand name HAART. And we call HIV, a chronic manageable disease vs. a death sentence. What is morally and ethically wrong with this label?

In the midst of all this unresolved issues in 30 years of the AIDS epidemic, we have the highly glamorized AIDS 2010 Conference in Vienna for the western world. In between that we have the Asia Pacific AIDS Conference for the other half of the world. I was lucky enough of attend it last year in Bali on my way home to Malaysia. I have been to my fair share of AIDS International conferences, the horror for me –is the amount of money that is spent and what do we exactly accomplish not to mention the exorbitant registration fees. For the IAS, the AIDS International conference is a fund raiser of sorts.

Many of us have long forgotten the possibility that we might one day live without HIV in our bodies and in our life, what would that be like? What would it be, to never see another anti-HIV drug, what would it mean to have a sex anyway you wanted, what would it mean to eat anything without the worry of cholesterol or triglycerides? What would it be to live without fatigue, stigma, discrimination, or fear of disclosure? What would it mean to be able to travel to any country and not fear arrest or detention by immigration officers? What would it mean to live without the fear of having missed a darn pill, drug resistance, lipodystrophy, or bone loss due to HIV, or HIV associated neurocognitve disorder, and the hundreds of issues we negotiate daily in our lives? Yes HIV sucks –but we have coped and have resilience, and no we do not get a medal. But it does not mean we have stop dreaming the impossible- a Cure!

At least one group the AIDS Policy Project, http://www.aidspolicyproject.org/ in Philadelphia, has never stopped dreaming on the impossible. The group has just released a report, at http://www.aidspolicyproject.org/documents/The%20Cure%20Final.pdf "contending that a cure for AIDS may be closer to fruition than most people think, but lack of research dollars is holding it back."

"Who knows exactly what's going on with AIDS cure research?" ask Kate Krauss, Stephen LeBlanc and John James, the activists who wrote the report. They argue "that most people outside of the research community don't know how close we may be to a cure, nor how much funding is being spent toward a cure. This includes reporters, members of Congress and the public at large." And for the matter most researchers, HIV activist and treatment advocates in Canada have no clue what is happening in the area of research for a cure or HIV vaccines, preventative or therapeutic. And sadly, "millions of lives are at stake" and HIV infection is not decreasing but increasing worldwide.

The authors of this report define a cure as "either completely eradicating HIV from the body or teaching the immune system to control the virus." Then they give an example of one person who apparently has already been cured. The man, who received a bone marrow transplant due to aggressive leukemia, was given cells that are naturally resistant to HIV. More than two years later, he still has no detectable HIV in his body. Research building on this case is already underway, along with a number of other approaches."

The report alleges, "that funding for cure research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is about one fifth of what it should be or less than 3 percent of its AIDS budget on cure research," they note. The authors are calling on US Congress to increase the NIH budget by 20 percent.

Beyond funding, the activists are also calling on the AIDS research community to spur innovation, to be more open to scientists working in other areas and to openly declare—to other researchers and to patients—that their goal is a cure.

Throughout the report, the authors stress that a cure for HIV is not only possible, but even within reach if sufficient funding is available. And therein lies the problem. The dream can only manifest IF there is enough of political will-power, advocacy and activism from the HIV community of researchers, funding bodies, ASOs, policy analysts, PHAS and allies to push forward to maintain the funding and encourage collaboration between researchers.

I believe we can realize the dream and a cure is closer than we dare to dream.

Ref: http://www.poz.com/articles/hiv_cure_nih_761_18717.shtml

As the football fever rages on, I recall my growing years in Asia when I played football at school. Hard to believe as it may, we 10 to 15 years old boys were out there chasing a ball in exactly the same humidity and heat wave as we have in Toronto. We met around 4.30 pm and played till 6.30 pm –leaving wet and soaked with sweat.

We indulged in the game, running across the field, referee blowing his whistle, we boys

chasing the ball, diverting and hoping to score a kick into the net. I enjoyed the sport even more when it rained. The rain was heaven sent in the heat of the tropical sun. Sometimes we played barefoot in the field. The grass was cool against the soles of the feet, wet and soggy in some spots after a torrential downpour, our T-shirts wet and cool against the skin. Alas the fun of youth.

And here we are in 2010, it is quite amazing to see so much passion about football even in people who have never kicked a ball or seen a football in realtime. I see folks around the city with flags sticking out of their backpacks, in cars, caps and jerseys and one morning in the subway, a young man of 16 years had a flag draped over naked upper torso. Sports ignite many a passion in all of us for very different reasons.

Then my mind wonder if –just IF, we could ignite the passion in the same critical mass of people, mass media, celebrities, governments, department stores around the world in social justice and political issues that affect all of us –wouldn't the world be a happier place. If we could mobilize them to act on all the issues that plague mankind in 2010, such as; ongoing genocide, corruption, child welfare, famine, HIV, tyranny of government, public health issues, poverty, homelessness, homo/bi/transphobia to name a few.

But it might a tall order. I found my antidote instead of the call for global advocacy. My highlight of the football fever is seeing 5 of the Italian footballs players modelling the D & G underwear, sexy hip hugging wear. They are trim, fit without the gross bulging muscles. Dolce & Gabbana new Calcio underwear campaign http://www.luxuo.com/sports/dolce-gabbana-calcio-underwear-campaign.html

The Dolce and Gabana underwear campaign, are a series of short videos of the underwear campaign. But it also never ceases to amaze how much of everything we see, is air brushed and touched up. The beautiful men are airbrushed and the make up artist diligently applies body touch ups. But a glance at the interaction of the football players speaks volume of their homo-social interactions. It is refreshing to see men being so comfortable in their skin with little on.

What has this to do with health- well a little eye candy at any time of the day is sufficient to increase your endorphin levels and put a smile on your face. Endorphins are "natural pain killers' and are released in the brain by the pituatry gland and hypothalamus. Endorphins are released during orgasm, exercise, pain and excitement. And last but not least it reduces stress. We all know stress has a huge negative impact on the immune system. Do your part to increase your endorphin levels and you will be the beneficiary of your efforts.

The research revealed, lubricants significantly increased risk of contracting STIs, regardless of number of sexual partners, HIV status, gender, and how many times they had sex and "was also independent of whether they used condoms or not." "When syphilis was included in the analysis, the association of STIs with lubricant use was even stronger."

If you are wondering how the lubes affect the rectal cells –it comes down to osmolality. Osmolatity is the concentration of salts such as sodium, chloride, potassium, etc. The higher the salt content (hyperosmolar), the more damage the lube caused to the epithelium (cells) lining the rectal and cervical walls. "The top layer of cells that provides the greatest barrier protection from disease was stripped away by the lubes." The worst lubes to slap up the ass are the water -based lubes- Astroglide, Elbow Grease, ID Glide, and KY Jelly. Astroglide caused almost as much damage as nonoxynol-9, a spermicide no longer used, as it was shown to increase susceptibility to HIV. The only water-based lube that scored well, with no harm to tissue, was PRÉ a vaginal lubricant. The silicon-based Wet Platinum scored equally well.

What can we draw from the research if we happen to be on the receiving end of sex? In general always be well informed of any liquids, gels or lotions inserted up the ass or vagina. Regular douching can also negatively affect cells integrity and pH value of rectal cells and mucosa membranes. Research and chose the lube before purchasing. If needed call the manufacturer and ask for list of ingredients. Continue to use safe and bio-friendly lubricants that maintain health of the rectal and vagina cells when engaging in sex.

I hope after the release of these results, there is sound quality control of lubricants manufactured following GMP standards. And just maybe a spike in sales of Wet Platinum!

For more information refer to:

http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=4840

http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/C230F97B-E001-49B0-A756-7954B82200AC.asp?Tracking=Bulletin&Referrer=1412299

As summer approaches, the Poz Cruise seems eons ago. It was only over a month ago in May, and yet the sweet memories linger on. As it was my first virgin cruise, it was anticipated with much excitement.

I was going with my pal Kent and my goal was to take it easy, which is what I exactly did. We boarded our flight to LA and little did we know the excitement was just about to start. I was sitting with a lovely young woman who was traveling with her mom to Las Vegas for Mother Day.

As the last passenger got on, my neighbor was getting visibly excited. She asked me, "Isn't it him?" I asked, "Who?" She replied, "Its Jake.""Jake? Yeah he looks familiar". "Is he from Grey Anatomy?""No, he is the recent Bachelor."Duh, yes here was the stud muffin himself in economy class. The women were swooning around him for autographs. Jake was very cute and adorable, but visibly less muscle bound in real life. TV does make you look bigger!

My first impression as we entered the ship was, My God! Who in the world chose this décor? It was a garish pink everywhere, pink leopard strips, pink dots accentuated with silver and gold. I asked the staff, is this color on every level, (there are 12 levels). He smiled politely and said, "You will get used to it."It was as if Liberachi chose the décor while on acid. I did take a few pictures of the central hallway for your viewing pleasure.

Paul had organized evening group dinners for the 47 of us who has signed up. He organized side excursions at the destinations, afternoon meet and greet sessions, among a slew of other activities onboard including discussion of local HIV community activities. It was a wonderful way to relax or join in the activities or just eat or sleep all day long. One of my best memories was watching the sunset every evening while on deck, absolutely gorgeous.

The food on the cruise is vast array from gastronomic experience to culinary delight to absolute horror (fattening foods, pizza and burger available 24/7). It is said, you can put one pound per day on a cruise. Some of us made it to the gym and made sure we got some cardio workout. Dinner time was always fun to meet other exceptional poz men.

From the point of view of poz guys traveling, new connections, new friendships formed and wonderful memories to take home with you. The poz group was supportive and for many, it was an opportunity to be in a comforting, supportive environment. I saw the value of a group of poz men connecting and bonding while away and having lots of fun doing so. It was a trip I will always remember!

The next poz cruise is from Oct. 23-31, 2010. Paul can be reached at, cruise This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.hivcruise.com