Complex, expensive, exotic herbs may sound amazing for all sorts of ailments, but have a look what you’ve got lying around the house first.
Ginger has always been used as a treatment for ‘weak, cold’ digestion. Many people report that it helps with the nausea from anti-HIV drugs and research backs them up.
In a trial conducted in Thailand as little as 0.5g of ginger taken three times per day for three days noticeably reduced both nausea (p<0.001) and vomiting (p<0.01) among 32 pregnant women1. In a separate, placebo-controlledA method of investigation of drugs in which an inactive substance (the placebo) is given to one group of participants, while the drug being tested is given to another group. The results obtained in the two groups are then compared to see if the investigational treatment is more effective in treating the condition., trial just a single dose of one gram of ginger powder taken one hour before outpatient surgery significantly reduced post-operative nausea (p<0.05) in a group of 80 female patients2.
Ginger can help with all kinds of ‘motion sickness’ as well. A trial found that pre-dosing with either 1g or 2g of ginger was a good preventative for simulated motion sickness. People taking the ginger in this trial had less nausea, it took longer to develop and people recovered much faster if they took ginger compared to a placeboA dummy medical treatment, designed to have no pharmacological effect, administered to the control group of a clinical trial.3.
Ginger powder is stronger than ginger root for preventing nausea, however, the powder may be too heating and drying for some people for long-term use. Ginger has a better chance of working if you take it before the nausea comes on.
Even more common than ginger in the kitchen is garlic. Garlic is a major medicinal herb with centuries of traditional use—often for its antiseptic properties. But garlic’s effects on the immune system are just as important but not so popularly known.
Garlic has been demonstrated to increase the germ killing activity of macrophages, natural killer cells and cytotoxic T8 cells, as well as boosting the multiplication of macrophages and lymphocytes4. Garlic also increases levels of important immune enhancing chemicals in the body such as IL-2 and gamma-interferon and helps reduce the immune-suppressive effects of medical chemotherapy and ultraviolet radiation.
Many of these effects have been demonstrated in small-scale trials among people with HIV. Although Natural Killer (NK) cell counts don’t usually rate a mention in the medical management of HIV, natural therapists see them as very important because of their role in destroying virus infected cells and cancerous cells. NK numbers may start falling quite soon after infection with HIV. When a group of nine people with HIV who all had abnormally low NK counts took aged garlic all of them restored their NK counts to normal levels within 12 weeks5.
A subsequent lab trial revealed a potentially very important property of garlic—the ability of an extract to reduce the formation of ‘syncytia’[6].
Syncytia are clumps of HIV-infected cells, sometimes incorporating dozens or even hundreds of infected cells in one giant ‘blob’ cell with many nuclei.
‘Syncitia inducing’ strains of HIV may be much more virulent than the usual type of HIV—CD4 counts can fall rapidly as the cells join together in non-functional clumps. Syncytia have also been linked to neurological impairment in people with HIV.
Unfortunately, raw garlic is more effective than cooked garlic in killing germs and, probably, enhancing immune functions. Chinese herbalists believe the purple skinned variety has stronger germ-killing effects. Twenty minutes cooking at 100 degrees Celsius is enough to totally destroy garlic’s anti-bacterial properties; one minute in the microwave, or 45 minutes in the oven, destroys its cancer preventive ability.
Interestingly, chopping or crushing the garlic and allowing it to stand for 10 minutes before cooking can significantly reduce this loss of cancer preventing properties7.
Garlic is even more heating and drying than ginger, so long-term use of raw garlic can definitely be a problem—but a quick ‘blast’ to stop a cold coming on should be fine for nearly everyone.
More importantly, garlic has been shown to increase the rate at which some anti-HIV drugs are removed from the body, meaning that blood drug levels could drop too low to properly control HIV. If you’re taking antiretroviralsA medication or other substance which is active against retroviruses such as HIV., check with your doctor before using garlic.
Lastly, chilli—the hottest kitchen herb. When nothing else works chilli makes an effective ointment for reducing pain from peripheral neuropathy. It relieves pain in a unique way—the active ingredient in hot chillies, capsaicin, by using up a key chemical in nerve tissues called ‘substance P’ that’s necessary for pain to be transmitted to the brain. The ointment has to be used several times a day for many weeks before it starts to work but persistence gets results.
A trial involving 277 people with diabetes[Diabetes mellitus] A disorder in which sugars in the diet cannot be metabolised into energy due to a lack of the enzyme insulin. Late-onset diabetes mellitus may be a long-term side effect of some anti-HIV drugs.-related peripheral neuropathy used 0.075 percent capsaicin ointment versus an inert ointment, applied four times a day9. After eight weeks 70 percent of the people using the chilli-based ointment had measurable improvements in degree of pain (p=0.012), 26 percent described improvement in walking (p=0.029), 18 percent found working was easier (p=0.019), 30 percent had better sleep (p=0.036), and 23 percent rated their ‘participation in recreational activities’ as better (p=0.037).
Creams containing capsaicin are available over the counter from pharmacists.
Jim Arachne is the Complementary TherapyA broad range of healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies that Western (conventional) medicine does not commonly use to promote well-being or treat health conditions. Examples include acupuncture, herbs, Traditional Chinese Medicine, etc. Treatment Officer for the Victorian AIDS Council.
References:
1 A randomized comparison of ginger and vitamin B6 in the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Sripramote M and Lekhyananda N., J Med Assoc Thai. 2003 Sep; 86(9): 846-53.
2 The efficacy(Of a drug or treatment). The maximum ability of a drug or treatment to produce a result regardless of dosage. A drug passes efficacy trials if it is effective at the dose tested and against the illness for which it is prescribed. In the standard procedure, Phase II clinical trials gauge efficacy, and Phase III trials confirm it. of ginger in prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting after outpatient gynecological laparoscopy. Pongrojpaw D and Chiamchanya C., J Med Assoc Thai. 2003 Mar; 86(3): 244-50.
3 Effects of ginger on motion sickness and gastric slow-wave dysrhythmias induced by circular vection. Lien HC, et al., Am J Physiol Gastrointest LiverA large organ, located in the upper right abdomen, which assists in digestion by metabolising carbohydrates, fats and proteins, stores vitamins and minerals, produces amino acids, bile and cholesterol, and removes toxins from the blood. Physiol. 2003 Mar; 284(3): G481-9.
4 Urol Clin North Am., 2000 Feb;27(1):157-62, xi
5 Garlic as an antimicrobial and immune modulator in AIDS. Int Conf AIDS. 1989 Jun 4-9;5:466 – abstract no. Th.B.P.304
6 Ajoene blocks HIV-mediated syncytia formation: possible approach to ‘anti-adhesion’ therapy of AIDS. Int Conf AIDS. 1992 Jul 19-24;8(3):39 – abstract no. PuA 6173.
7 J Nutr 2001 Mar;131(3):1054S-7S.
8 Garlic supplements decrease saquinavir plasma concentrations. Piscitelli SC and Burstein AH. 8th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections – held in Chicago, USA from Feb 4-7, 2000 – Poster 743.
9 Effect of treatment with capsaicin on daily activities of patients with painful diabetic neuropathy. Diabetes Care 1992 Feb;15(2):159-65
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