An Alternative Treatment for HIV/AIDS: Is Gallium Nitrate a Cure for HIV and AIDS?

By George Eby
Austin, Texas
george.eby@george-eby-research.com

Here is a National Institute of Health (NIH) meeting abstract of results obtained using gallium nitrate to inhibit HIV-1 replication in vitro. As you read this abstract, consider the idea that this might be a useful anti-HIV agent for treating people and saving lives, which is what this essay is mainly about. Please be aware that this material is for education purposes only, and it is not a "proven" treatment or cure for HIV/AIDS.

WARNNG: If you are offended by frank and open discussion of sex, particularly male homosexualty, please immediately leave this page.



Gallium Nitrate: a Potent Inhibitor of HIV-1 Infection In Vitro

STAPLETON JT, KLINZMAN D, OLAKANMI O, WUENSCHMANN S, SCHLESINGER LS, BRITIGAN BE; Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Abstr Intersci Conf Antimicrob Agents Chemother Intersci Conf Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1999 Sep 26-29; 39: 319 (abstract no. 934).

Univ. of Iowa and Iowa City VA Med. Ctr., Iowa City, IA.

BACKGROUND: Gallium nitrate (Ga) is a potent ribonucleotide reductase inhibitor which was previously shown to inhibit avian retroviruses. Although the mechanism of its anti-retroviral activity was not elucidated, it is known that Ga inhibits cellular activation in a manner analogous to hydroxyurea (HU). Since Ga is administered to humans intravenously, and oral preparations are being developed, we evaluated Ga for its anti-HIV activity, and compared it with HU. METHODS: Various concentrations of Ga or HU were added to 1 x 106 PHA/IL2 stimulated PBMC's 24 hours prior to infection with HIV-1 stock virus. 16 hrs. following infection, cells were washed and culture supernatants were obtained 4 and 7 days post-infection. HIV p24 antigen production in culture supernatants was determined by ELISA. To determine if RT inhibitors were potentiated by Ga, zidovudine(zdv), ddI and ddC were also evaluated with and without Ga. RESULTS: Ga reproducibly inhibited HIV replication at concentrations which did not inhibit cellular proliferation or viability. Ga IC50 ranged from 4 to 10 micromolar, which was approximately 15-fold lower than HU (120 micromolar) in our culture system. Using sub-inhibitory concentrations of zdv, ddI and ddC, Ga potentiated the inhibitory effects of these nucleoside analogs. The addition of transferrin to the cell culture did not appear to have a significant effect on the antiviral activity of Ga. CONCLUSIONS: Ga was considerably more potent than HU in inhibiting HIV-1 replication in stimulated PBMC culture. This effect potentiated the effect of anti-HIV nucleoside RT inhibitors. Ga inhibits the same cellular target as HU although it does so by a different mechanism of action. Since the inhibitory concentration of Ga is achievable in humans, and the relative potency of Ga is greater than HU, additional studies of Ga appear warranted.

The above abstract is located here: Gallium Nitrate: a Potent Inhibitor of HIV-1 Infection In Vitro.



INTERESTING! I noticed that Stapleton had filed a patent on his discovery, and it is located here. Perhaps the most important point made in his patent is shown in this figure. Gallium inhibits HIV-1 replication, especially when its concentration is 100 micromolar or more, which is equivalent to 0.1 millimolar. Others have filed similar patents, like this one by Bernstein. They each say that gallium inhibits HIV-1 replication. Additionally, gallium nitrate potentiates the effects of NRTIs such as didexoyinosine, dideoxycytidine and azidothymidine.

COMMENT: The above abstract on the National Library of medicine/ National Institute of Health website and the patents got me to thinking. Is it possible that gallium (pronounced: Gal EE Yum), a simple mineral and nutrient could be a preventative, treatment or cure for HIV and AIDS? So I posted the abstract to the Wikipedia page on HIV. It lasted less than a day until it was taken off by some really mean editor/censor. Why? It is a legitimate article, and apparently it was funded by the NIH. Why would someone remove it? Who are they defending? A pharmaceutical company or the public? I don't know, particularly since it doesn't seem to me that anyone has commercialized these patents or made any effort to teach this to the public.

MY GOAL: In this page, I will try to teach this material directly to the sexually active men and women at greatest risk of HIV/AIDS; since, if gallium works in people the way it does in vitro, it might cure HIV and AIDS, and save many lives. Also on this page are recommendations for increases in dietary zinc, since inadequate dietary zinc causes collapse and failure of the immune system identical to AIDS.

SECOND WARNING: If you are offended by frank and open discussion of sex, particularly male homosexualty, please immediately leave this page.

IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS: What I do know is that people get acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and die within a few years of opportunistic infections from having an impaired CD-4 T-cell lymphocyte immune system and other immune system dysfunctions without treatment. The main cellular targets of HIV-1 are the CD4+ T-helper/inducer subset of lymphocytes, CD4+ cells of macrophage lineage and dendritic cells. HIV gets into cells genetics, and becomes a permanent infection. The most prominent effect of HIV is its T-helper lymphocyte cell suppression and lysis effects. The CD-4 T-cell lymphocytes (thymus derived) are simply killed off or deranged to the point of being non-functional (they do not respond to foreign antigens). The destruction of CD-4 T-cells in the intestinal tract is far greater than in the peripheral blood. Since these cells orchestrate the entire immune system response to pathogens, we cannot live without them for long. The infected B-cell lymphocytes (bone marrow derived) cannot produce enough antibodies either. Thus the immune system collapses leading to the familiar AIDS complications. HAART does not restore CD4+ cells in the intestinal tract, even though it does in peripheral blood. People living with HIV are 60 times more likely than their peers to get non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the white blood cells due to their low CD-4 counts. Interestingly, IV gallium nitrate is being formally tested for this disease. Another disease that is a complication of AIDS is tuberculosis, and gallium nitrate kills the bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that cause it.

Examine the relationship between zinc and HAART drugs here. Examine the relationship between HIV and zinc here. Examine the relationship between AIDS and zinc here.

If you want to know more about how HIV works, see this page. HIV can infect anybody, regardless of sex, age, ethnicity or sexual orientation. It is serious enough to drive people to love their dildos, which carry essentially zero risk of sexually transmitted diseases when not shared with others.

MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN: Men who have sex with men (MSM) by penile anal sex have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population, accounting for over fifty percent of all diagnoses. This data results mainly from bareback sexual activity. This is because the anus and colon (of both men and women) are vastly more susceptible to infection by HIV than the vagina. In fact, recent studies in HIV-1 infected individuals have demonstrated that the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is preferentially and profoundly affected during acute and chronic HIV-1 infection. About one-fourth of all MSM in a study was infected. Here is a Reuters article about the extremely high infection rate. Black MSM were twice as likely to be infected with HIV (about half had HIV) than other MSM. Only about a quarter of infected MSM knew that they were infected, thus the risk of spreading HIV is extremely high. With effective treatment, survival time after infection with HIV is roughly ten years, although after diagnosis of AIDS it is about one year. Although FDA approved drug treatments for AIDS and HIV can slow the course of the disease, there is currently no vaccine or cure. If there was a vaccine, then everyone taking it would become "HIV positive", without regard to whether or not they had HIV.

Because of the devastation resulting from HIV/AIDS to the gay community, it is mainly to MSM that I address this essay. What about gallium nitrate?

A CASE REPORT OF GALLIUM FOR HIV: A gallium nitrate equestrian client told me in February of 2009 that before taking gallium orally to treat his HIV case, that his CD4+ T-cell count was very low at 200 (CD4+ < 200 cells/mm3). After taking gallium nitrate his CD4+ T-cell lymphocyte count rose to 2200, an 11-fold increase.

His report is extremely important since it shows, for the first time, that gallium nitrate can increase peripheral blood CD4+ cells and have an undeniably beneficial effect on HIV/AIDS, although there was no discussion of intestinal CD4+ cell changes. Had he not commented to me about this, nearly as a matter of fact, I would not have written this page. His dosage? He didn't say, I would say that it was less than 3 CC (1/4 of a horse dose).

Will gallium be a cure for AIDS?

GALLIUM NITRATE SAFETY: Is gallium nitrate safe in treating HIV/AIDS? I assume so, but have no data yet. People have been using lower doses (1/10 to 1/4 of a horse dose) to treat arthritis and a number of other conditions for many years, and I have not heard of any safety related complaints. See my article on treating arthritis with gallium nitrate here. I have used it frequently to treat my own old-man aches and pains. I think that the risk of too much gallium in the blood is similar to getting too much of any mineral, since they can displace each other. Perhaps one should take large dietary supplements of calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium to compensate. The blood level of gallium said to be anti-HIV (100 micromolar) is the same as the high end of normal blood level (100 micromolar) of zinc. The 1% gallium nitrate solutions are 164 millimol solutions, or 1640 times the concentration needed to be anti-HIV. Here is a 2010 review of medical uses of gallium and toxicities.

Do not exceed 1/4 of a horse daily dose since no one has experience with larger doses and side effects become more likely with increased doses.

Most importantly, gallium nitrate should never be used with drugs that are known to harm the kidneys (e.g., gentamicin and amphotericin B) because of the increased risk for severe kidney problems. Overdose symptoms may include nausea and vomiting, or urinating less than usual. Thorough hydration (lots and lots and lots of drinking water) is a good antidote to gallium overdose. That is one reason we always mix it in lots of water.

GALLIUM NITRATE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT FOR HIV/AIDS: If you have tried the approved drugs and: (a) they have failed, (b) you can't afford them, (c) you want something natural and (d) you want to take your life in your own hands, then gallium nitrate deserves your research and consideration (according to the last line of the STAPLETON abstract above). If you are sufficiently concerned about the failure of your own treatment using approved drugs, and want to experiment with something that is natural and made by God, be my guest. I think it would be best to use gallium nitrate only as an "adjuvant" treatment in conjunction with an "approved" treatment. Gallium is a human nutrient, an "alternative" treatment, and it is not a human drug under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. In considering the use of gallium to treat HIV/AIDS, just remember that I am only reporting what others (the above abstract, patents and case history) have told me. I am not a physician and cannot and do not make diagnoses or prescribe drugs.

Blood levels of gallium need to reach 0.10 millimolar (100 micromolar), which is something that medical laboratory clinics could determine through blood tests.

CONCENTRATED GALLIUM NITRATE: The 42% gallium nitrate solutions that we market contain 57,000 milligrams of elemental gallium per each half-liter bottle. The product is sufficiently concentrated that it feel "oily" and is quite slippery on the skin. This feeling of oiliness on the skin must not be confused with any sex lubricant value, because it is not there. The pH of the 42% gallium nitrate product is 1, even though it is highly buffered by gallium (III). Since the pH is so low, it may be injurious to delicate anal/colon or vagina/vulva tissues. Diluting 42% gallium nitrate solutions to 1% solutions raises pH to non-harmful levels of around pH 4. Gallium nitrate can be stored in any glass or plastic (non metallic) container and it should be kept sealed to protect against evaporation, since evaporation (including gallium nitrate on towels and tissues) can produce much stronger, potentially harmful concentrations. The 1% (and weaker) gallium nitrate solutions do not cause pain or appear to be harmful to the mouth, penis, anus/colon or vagina/vulva.

ORAL USE: Here is an idea. For oral use (including swallowing} gallium nitrate solutions must be highly diluted, and never stronger than a 1% aqueous solution (volume basis). The label for my gallium nitrate horse medicine indicates that a 1% gallium nitrate solution (a daily dose) is made from 12 milliliters of the 42% gallium nitrate solution (1,368 mg gallium) mixed thoroughly into one pint (500 milliliters) of water. Alternatively, three times as much of the 14% solutions are used in a pint of water. The 1% gallium nitrate solutions are 164 millimol solutions, or 1640 times the concentration needed to be anti-HIV. The daily human dose of the 1% solution would be 1/5 (274 mg gallium equivalent to 100 milliliters) to 1/4 (342 mg gallium equivalent to 125 milli liters), although no one knows the best / safest dose at this time. Split the doses so that some is taken several times a day. One percent gallium nitrate solutions are astringent and drying in the mouth. They will damage saliva and make the mouth feel dry. One can hardly slide the tongue or penis around in the mouth due to destruction of mucus and salivary lubrication by gallium nitrate, consequenty it should best be used after sex. Do not regularly exceed consuming 1/4 of a horse daily dose, since no one has experience with larger doses and side effects become more likely with increased doses.

The 1% solution has been used orally in many thousands of horses since 1996, and orally in many thousands of people (mainly in treating arthritis). Considerably stronger solutions (over 5 - 8% gallium nitrate) cause exceptional oral pain. Horses have taken their 1% gallium nitrate medicine for many years without showing side effects. The question remains, how long can a person take these proportionately related doses without side effects? I don't know, but it might be many years, but to begin with, lets keep dosage restricted to 2-weeks on gallium nitrate and 2-weeks off it.

TOPICAL GALLIUM NITRATE WASHES: Here are some other ideas. Topical anti-HIV "pre sex" and "after sex" washes for the skin, mouth, penis, vagina/vulva and anus/colon can be prepared in the same manner as for oral use. A 1% gallium nitrate aqueous solution [12 milliliters of the 42% gallium nitrate solution in one pint (500 milliliters) of water], which is equivalent to 1,368 mg gallium per 500 milliliters of water is used to make a working stock or supply for later use as needed. The 1% gallium nitrate solutions are 164 millimol solutions, or 1640 times the concentration needed to be anti-HIV. Alternatively, three times as much of the 14% solutions are used in a pint of water.

Used topically, the anti-HIV gallium nitrate solutions will be used and absorbed exactly where it is needed. After oral sex, wash the mouth with the 1% gallium nitrate solutions for a few minutes, and very slowly swallow it (no more than 100 to 125 Milliliter) as a semen chaser in an effort to directly inhibit replication of HIV in the uploaded semen.

Washing the penis is straight forward, while washing the vagina/vulva and anus/colon would respectively require douching and anal syringes. An anal syringe can deliver 1% gallium nitrate solutions past the sphincter and into the colon.

Gallium treatment after anal and vaginal sex is prefered over pre-sex due to the drying effects of the 1% solutions. Due to the extreme risk of HIV infection originating in the gastrointestinal tract from infected penises and semen, anally introduced 1% gallium nitrate after sex solutions should be left in the colon.

These gallium nitrate washes are drying to anal and vaginal tissues and they have no sex lubricant properties. Anal mucus is also partially jellified by 1% (or 2%) gallium nitrate. The lubrication properties of anal mucus is slightly degraded by gallium nitrate, but gallium nitrate does not seem to harm production of it. No visible reaction occured upon mixing 42% gallium nitrate and Swiss Navy water-based and silicone personal lubicants.

The quality of feces may be improved due to gallium's potent antibacterial actions against pathological iron dependent bacteria. Healthy, noral intestinal bacteria are not iron-dependent and are not damaged by gallium.

Do not regularly exceed 1/4 of a horse daily dose since no one has experience (yet) with larger doses, and side effects become more likely with increased doses.

A 50 ML syringe will deliver 1/10 (136.8 mg gallium) of a horse daily dose of gallium. Don't overdose, but perhaps a second and even a third treatment after sex separated by a few hours would be well advised on a rare basis.

Remember that my main point in using gallium nitrate is to prevent HIV infection at the source (anus, mouth, vagina, etc.), since it seems best to remain free of HIV infection so that it does not need to be treated.

Gallium nitrate is also bacteriostatic to all iron dependent bacteria, excluding the beneficial gastrointestinal bacteria, since none of which are iron-dependant. Had gallium been harmful to intestinal bacteria in horses, they would have become colicy, but none have ever had an intestinal issue from gallium nitrate. Neither have people using gallium nitrate for arthritis or other illnesses. About 80% of all pathogenic (harmful) bacteria can be killed by gallium nitrate solutions. Actually, gallium can be more accurately thought of as a "birth control" agent for iron-dependent bacteria, and they die-off naturally - not from gallium toxicity. Consequently, they are reported to never become resistant to gallium. The bacteria see gallium as if it were iron, and they use it as if it were iron. Unfortunately for the bacteria, gallium (III) will not become gallium (II), just like iron (III) will not become iron (II), and the bacteria can not replicate.

WARNING! A recent research study of popular over-the-counter and mail-order sex lubricants showed that the majority were found to be toxic to cells and tissue, apparently rendering MSM more vulnerable to infection of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Wow! Can't win for losing! They will likely mess up gallium-treated sex lubricants too.

THE EASY WAY OUT: Why bother making an anti-HIV wash when condoms would do the same thing, that being prevent transmission of HIV? Twenty-four hour tests of TrojanŽ non-lubricated rubber condoms show that 1% gallium nitrate does not harm them. Rejection of condoms in the MSM community seems to be resulting from the MSM attitude towards HIV/AIDS of, "Oh what the hell, there are medicines that take care of HIV/AIDS." I will let others promote celibacy and condoms. However, I will mention that the statistical odds of being exposed to HIV through unprotected anal MSM sex is the same as being shot while playing Russian roulette with a revolver.

COMPLICATIONS AND SIDE EFFECTS OF HAART DRUGS: Have you thought about the complications and side effects from HAART drug treatment for AIDS? Did you know that about 25% of HIV patients stop therapy within the first year on HAART drugs because of side effects? What happens to them? I suspect they die. Would you really enjoy the following complications and side effects for the rest of your life? Some common side effects of HAART medicines include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, liver failure, skin rashes, swelling of the face, lips and tongue, kidney stones, anemia, peripheral neuropathy (chronic pain), pancretitis, myelosuppression (decreased bone marrow production of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets), increased cholesterol and triglycerides, cardiovascular disease, rapid aging, suicide, diabetes, depression, dizziness, abdominal pain, insomnia and ugly "fat pads". Did you know that up to 75% of all HIV/AIDS patients develop vision problems, with about 20% becoming totally blind? Here is a 1996 medical journal article that lists side effects of some of the HIV drugs. There are too many to list here. Read the article NOW! Educate yourself about side effects. Look through this Google search for "HIV medicine" and "side effects", and this Google search for "HAART" and "side effects". HIV/AIDS is a jackpot for physicians.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS: From the Stapleton patent abstract, there is no doubt that gallium nitrate is an excellent in vitro anti-HIV agent. The big questions are:

  1. Will orally ingested gallium nitrate raise peripheral blood and intestinal CD4+ T-cell counts?
  2. Will gallium nitrate washes prevent the transmission of HIV?
  3. Will gallium nitrate be more or less effective / safer than HAART drugs?
  4. What happens to CD4+ T-cells and other immune system cells in the intestinal tract from direct exposure to gallium nitrate?
  5. How long will gallium nitrate treatment be required?
  6. What are the side effects of gallium nitrate overdose when used to treat and prevent HIV, particularly the side effects resulting from long-term use?

Concerning the possibility of criticism of this extremely early and essentially uncontrolled research, I quote Albert Einstein who said, "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"

Consequently, I would appreciate anecdotes/case histories (diagnosis, previous treatment, results of previous treatment, treatment with gallium and zinc, records of results, especially CD-4 count, side effects, various records of opportunistic infections related to HIV) for publication as a testimonial below. I will also publish constructive comments and questions. Your e-mail address on the testimonial would add credibility. Confidential email addresses are available through Hotmail, Gmail and others. If gallium does work, I will write up the collected results (protecting confidentiality) for submission to a medical journal. Not that they would publish it! Heaven forbid! A cheap and effective nutrient treatment for HIV and AIDS? The pharmaceutical companies would have me shot!

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO! I will publish below the exact words (testimonials) of anyone that tries gallium nitrate as a treatment for HIV and/or AIDS. I am most interested in experiences using the oral route, since that has the potential to stop HIV infection in its tracks, as shown mainly by change in CD-4 T-cell counts. I am also very interested in methods for using gallium nitrate in preventing HIV/AIDS. Are there sex lubricants that work well with gallium nitrate? Although prevention is very important, only carefully controlled, large scale studies would be convincing.

CASE NOT CLOSED:

  • Did you know that not everyone agrees that HIV causes AIDS?
  • Did you know that the evidence is completely missing?
  • Did you know that Nobel Prize winner Kary Mullis thinks that the whole thing is a scam? Read Chapter 18,"Case Not Closed", from his book "Dancing Naked in the Mind field" here, wherein he pretty-much debunks the entire notion of HIV causing AIDS.
  • Did you know that many of the old "War on Cancer" researchers just needed something else to work on? So they invented the notion that one of the retroviruses, HIV, caused AIDS.
  • Did you know that no one really knows what causes AIDS? I think I do. Read further about zinc.
  • Did you know that the cause of AIDS could be a simple zinc nutrient deficiency?

DON'T FORGET ZINC FOR treating HIV/AIDS! I very strongly suggest taking zinc (about 150 mg/day of a zinc from zinc gluconate dietary supplements initially for a few weeks) as a nutritional immune system booster for people with HIV/AIDS or for those that do not want to develop AIDS. After the initial dose try a bit lower dose thereafter daily - every day.

See my 1994 article about zinc for HIV/AIDS here for an explanation of why this recommended dose is so much stronger than the tiny doses that "nutritionists" recommend. Zinc deficiency is defined by the nutritionists as being less than 11 mg zinc per day in men. Less than 10 mg zinc daily turns off the T-Cell lymphocyte system, just like the HIV virus. Zinc is an absolutely essential nutrient for the T-cell lymphocyte system, and large amounts are required to re-start this thymic lymphocyte system once it is down. Without an over-supply of zinc to re-start it, the immune system will remain turned off.

On the other hand, too much zinc, such as 300 mg per day in young people without HIV/AIDS, can be immuno-suppressive according to this 1984 article, so be careful with extra zinc, and have your serum levels of zinc tested by a clinic on occasion. You want blood levels at the high end of the "normal" range (around 110 micrograms/dl), and not higher.

ZINC VITAL TO IMMUNE SYSTEM Zinc has been shown to be vital in the treatment of HIV and AIDS. See this very important article titled "Zinc deficiency profoundly increases risk for HIV-1 related mortality". Also see this similar report. Zinc deficiency causes AIDS-like immune suppression, consequently having low blood zinc and HIV infection is a double-whammy to the immune system, and it is a one-way, pre-paid ticket to a quick death. Take your zinc!!!

IS ZINC DEFICIENCY THE CAUSE OF AIDS? It may be that inadequate dietary znc is the main cause of AIDS and related AIDS-like symptoms. See this Warning page on the symptoms of zinc deficiency. I wrote that page many years ago, and people still don't realize that there is so little zinc in our diets that we are all becoming increasingly suspeptible to AIDS.

There is absolutely no doubt that inadequate dietary zinc, specifically when considered relative to the large amount of zinc ejaculated daily by MSM, will cause AIDS-like immune supression and early death.

MSMs will always need much more zinc, due to frequent ejaculations and massive loss of zinc, than hetrosexual men with their much lower incidence of ejaculation, and much lower loss of blood zinc.

ZINC AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM If you are a scientist or physician, you may be interested in the nearly 4000 peer reviewed medical journal articles on "zinc" and "immune system" found here. However, for time constraint reasons, I would start the research with those articles written by Ananda S. Prasad MD, PhD, the father of human zinc biochemistry at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, found here.

LEAST DIETARY ZINC IS IN AFRICA The notion of low dietary zinc as the cause of AIDS also greatly explains the incidence of AIDS in Africa, a continent that has the lowest dietary zinc intake of the entire planet and the highest incidence of AIDS. Click here to see a map of the world by zinc dietary status, and here for a slightly different version. To see the webpage on "zinc and smallpox" in which these maps are found click here. Compare these "zinc in diet" maps with the incidences of AIDS by nation in this page. Notice that there is a good correlation, and that correlation plus the comments by Kary Mullis are why I think HIV-induced zinc deficiency is the real cause of AIDS. One hundred mg of zinc/day anyone?

ZINC AND SEX: Inadequate dietary zinc causes major sexual functional problems, as shown in this medical journal article. Serum testosterone concentrations, seminal volume, and total seminal zinc loss per ejaculate are sensitive to short-term zinc depletion. Each ejaculate uses about 0.5 to 1.5 mg of zinc (100 to 300 mg zinc/liter semen). Compare the amount lost per ejaculate with the RDA for zinc, which is around 10 mg per day. For the active MSM, I suggest taking 50 to 150 mg of zinc per day, since it also stabilizes and protects plasma cell membranes from damage by microbes (such as viruses) and other cytotoxic agents as shown in this article.

NUTRITION FOR A HEALTHY IMMUNE SYSTEM: No one knows more about nutrition and the immune system than the highly regarded RK Chandra in Canada. Here is one of his abstracts: "For millennia, food has been at the center of social events, in times of joy and in times of sorrow. Protein-energy malnutrition is associated with a significant impairment of cell-mediated immunity, phagocyte function, complement system, secretory immunoglobulin A antibody concentrations, and cytokine production. Deficiency of single nutrients also results in altered immune response: this is observed even when the deficiency state is relatively mild. Of the micronutrients, zinc, selenium, iron, copper, vitamins A, C, E and B6, and folic acid have important influences on immune responses. Overnutrition and obesity also reduce immunity. Low-birth-weight infants have a prolonged impairment of cell-mediated immunity that can be partly restored by providing extra amounts of dietary zinc. In the elderly, impaired immunity can be enhanced by modest amounts of a combination of supplemental micronutrients. These findings have considerable practical and public health significance. See his full report here. In this 1999 article Chandra reported that inadequate dietary zinc causes profound suppression of immune response.

NATURE RULES! It is interesting to me that zinc (element 30) and gallium (element 31) are immediately next to each other on the periodic table of the elements, and that they both have beneficial effect on HIV and/or AIDS prevention and treatment. What will Nature think of next?

REGULATORY AFFAIRS: I doubt that you will ever hear a physician advocate the use of either zinc or gallium to treat HIV and AIDS. They just push pharmaceutical company drugs. Market nutrients to treat or cure a disease? NO WAY! That would be illegal without a New Drug Application (NDA) in the United States under U.S. DSHEA of 1994! This is an unfortunate reflection of the power of the pharmaceutical companies over our lives, through the Congress, FDA and our physicians.

You are on your own, best wishes.

George Eby
George Eby Research Institute
Austin, Texas
george.eby@george-eby-research.com



TESTIMONIALS