Question
Can I take supplements when I’m HIV positive?
4 August 2010. Related: All topics, Supplements and herbs.
Since I have been taking my HIV regimen the only time I took a vitamin tablet was during my latent TB diagnosis in 2008 (Vitamin B12). I hope vitamin and supplements are not the same?
This supplement came out in Thailand with good results and people were recommending it so much. The supplement was made from rice and called Vital Star.
Why I’m asking is because I don’t want to harm my body with supplements and I don’t know if it is possible for a HIV positive person to take supplements or not.
Please I need your advice but I bought it already.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
It is fine for HIV positive people to take vitamins and supplements. However, you should always check with your doctor first as there are some supplements such as St John’s Wart which interact with certain HIV medications.
For a comprehensive guide to which vitamins and supplements are good for people with HIV please follow this link
Hi Stu, thanks. I am sorry but there isn’t enough information in the abstract to be able to comment on this study and the full text is behind a paywall. If you want to send me a PDF of the paper I will read in more detail but i-Base don’t have subscription access. I am cautious that they dont include any details in the abstract about the size of any CD4 effect. Although they is said to be statistically significant, it might not have any clinical relevance. We’d also need to look at the baseline levels and see how these were adjusted for. This research seems more focussed on cancer than HIV.
Hi Christina
Thanks for getting back to me. Here is the study citation for the increase in cd 4 count :)
George A, Suzuki N, Abas AB, Mohri K, Utsuyama M, Hirokawa K, Takara T. Immunomodulation in Middle-Aged Humans Via the Ingestion of Physta® Standardized Root Water Extract of Eurycoma longifolia Jack–A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel Study. Phytother Res. 2016 Apr;30(4):627-35. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5571. Epub 2016 Jan 27. PMID: 26816234.
I was more interested in some of tongkat Ali’s other properties that you mentioned….but the possible cd4 increase interested me further. I am a pharmacist ;).
Hello Stu and thanks for getting in touch.
As a general rule we don’t advise here in HIV i-base people to take supplements for many reasons.
First, supplements are not regulated like medication which means their quality and strength, effectiveness and adverse reactions might differ from batch to batch.
Then, if your doctor thought you needed a supplement they would be prescribing it, checking for interactions at the same time, ensuring the safety of the supplement for you.
Moreover, I can only see online that this supplement is metabolised in the liver.
That usually means it can affect other medication that are also metabolised in the liver.
As I cannot find any specific interaction with Biktarvy you need to make sure this is not interacting with any other medication you might be on too. Please check with a pharmacist before taking it.
Finally, there is no evidence this supplement helps with CD4 counts.
It seems to have been used previously for many reasons including erectile dysfunction and other metabolic conditions, however, again there is no evidence it is helpful.
Your CD4 count will increase slowly and will get to a normal range, as long as you continue taking ARVs.
Biktarvy is an excellent drug that will help you bounce back very fast, without the need to use supplements.
If you are facing other problems, please make sure you discuss them with your doctor and they can offer you appropriate testing and treatment, and the follow up you need.
Hi
Is it safe to take tongkat Ali? I’m on Biktarvy…..tongkat ali is primarily metabolised In the liver, as are many of the antivirals. I’ve seen a paper that has shown this supplement to increase cd4 count? Any info would be aweaome.
Hello Queen and thanks for getting in touch.
Yes collagen is safe.
However if your collagen contains metals (iron, zinc, magnesium, etc) you need to space it from TLD by 6 hours (either way).
Hello Is it safe to take collagen when you are on TLD hiv treatment