Go to the site: http://www.larrylands.com/lark/larktreatments.htm
Download the PDF file: http://www.larrylands.com/lark/TR4_Core-List-of-Nutrients.PDF

This four-page article recommends a program of supplements to help boost the immune response, whether you’re on drugs or not. Lark’s main point: “Everyone living with HIV needs to be doing a base program that will replenish all the nutrients that are so often deficient, boost the immune response, [and] counter miserable symptoms.” In these pages you’ll also find good explanations of how supplements may address three underlying processes that damage the body in HIV infection: mitochondrial toxicity, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

2. Much more detail about controlling and preventing side effects of HIV medications can be found in Lark’s A Practical Guide to HIV Drug Side Effects which we have posted for your convenience on our site. (We are asked to note that this guide is provided by the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange. For more information, contact CATIE at 1 800 263-1638). Available on the Lark Lands website: http://www.larrylands.com/lark/larktreatments.htm

or download (PDF) “A Practical Guide to HIV Drug Side Effects”
From: http://www.larrylands.com/lark/TR5_Drug-Side-Effects.PDF

In this 25-page guide, Lark sets forth specific recommendations for dealing with the side effects of HIV medications. The topics include: appetite loss, body distortions (lipodystrophy), bone destruction, cardiac concerns, diarrhea, gas and bloating, fatigue, hair loss, headaches, insulin resistance and diabetes, kidney stones, liver toxicity, muscle aches and pains, nausea, sleeping difficulties, pancreatitis, peripheral neuropathy, skin problems, and sexual difficulties. Although Lark’s recommendations often focus on supplements, she also discusses diet, prescription pharmaceuticals, and complementary/alternative therapies such as acupuncture and stress reduction techniques.

We’d also like to recommend GMHC’s web pages on Nutrition and Wellness The approach in these pages is a holistic one. That is, a combination of options (including diet, exercise, nutritional supplements, alternative and conventional therapies) is recommended as the best way to maintain and improve health. The “Nutrition Fact Sheets” contained in these pages include strategies for coping with: elevated lipid levels; fatigue; gas and bloating; insulin resistance; constipation; diarrhea; dry mouth and mouth sores; nausea and vomiting; and taste changes. In addition to offering specific recommendations for supplement use, the GMHC guide suggests ideas for preparing nutrient-rich meals and snacks, and also provides handy information on New York City greenmarkets.

Since liver health is such a big issue for people with HIV (and an especially complicated question when you’re dealing with hepatitis coinfection), we’d also like to point you toward GMHC’s online guide to keeping your liver healthy. In these pages you’ll find a review of amino acids and herbal remedies useful in maintaining liver health. And you can also check out recipes for herbal teas recommended for supporting liver function.

Another good overview of nutritional supplements and their use in managing HIV is the July/August 2002 issue of Positively Aware, p. 26-41. You can find this online at:

DOWNLOAD PDF “July/August 2002 issue of Positively Aware”

Here are the titles in this collection: Update on Micronutrient Needs in HIV, Treating Unintentional Weight Loss, Treatment Options for Medication-Induced Diarrhea, Nutrition and Lipodystrophy, Eating for Exercise, Drug-Nutrient Interactions and HIV, and Drugs and Food. Useful charts in these articles summarize nutritional strategies to improve your lipid profile, and food-medication-supplement interactions to watch out for.

We also recommend the Spring 2002 Treatment Update posted on the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA) website. It’s entitled “Recipe for Living: Nutrition and HIV” and can be found in PDF format at

DOWNLOAD PDF “July/August 2002 issue of Positively Aware”

or HTML format at: Spring 2002 Treatment Update

Very useful here is George Carter’s article The Role of Dietary Supplements in HIV. He looks at the limits of our knowledge about which supplements at what dosages may yield the most benefit to people with HIV/AIDS, and summarizes the consensus thinking about some questions. In this ACRIA Treatment Update, you can also find advice about planning your diet, as well as strategies for managing medication-induced side effects such as lipodystrophy, insulin resistance, fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea.


Keeping up-to-date on treatment information can be a challenge, so we’d like to mention two websites that can help. First of all, a very handy resource for its searchable collection of articles and its informative treatment forums is the website for The Body. You can check into their “Ask the Experts” forums on topics such as “Fatigue and Anemia,” “Hepatitis/HIV Coinfection,” “Lipodystrophy and Wasting,” “Managing Side Effects of HIV,” and “Nutrition and Exercise.” These ongoing forums present replies to individual treatment questions provided by doctors and other experts. Another example of The Body’s information-sharing strategy is the feature “What Supplements I Take and Why.” In this category, for instance, you can read about the supplement regimen followed by Nelson Vergel, a treatment advocate with a special interest in “HIV-related wasting, lipodystrophy, and wellness in HIV disease” and a contributor to The Body’s forums.