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p The information presented in this book disputes HIV as the cause of a growing list of familiar diseases that have been officially categorized as or are popularly associated with AIDS. This challenge to the HIV hypothesis should not be interpreted as an excuse to ignore symptoms of illness, or to engage in practices known to compromise well-being.

p As with any other health issue, important decisions regarding treatment options are your responsibility. Most people find that choices become clearer and easier when they are based on a thorough evaluation of facts and a wide spectrum of information.

p Working with health practitioners who will help you address your actual problems, rather than focusing on the notion of HIV as the problem, is essential to real recovery. Seek out those who will regard you as a unique human being in possession of your natural ability to heal; avoid anyone who defines you by your HIV status, who believes that wellness is beyond your capability or views your health crisis through the narrow and distorted lens of HIV

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p Keep in mind that the immune system is not one specific system but is the synergistic interaction of all our functioning systems and involves every organ in the body. When these systems are operating at favorable levels, we enjoy good health. Illnesses arise when one or more of these systems becomes weak, damaged, overburdened, or dysfunctional. Health is a condition of optimal well-being, the soundness of body and mind.

p Although pharmaceutical treatments can be helpful and even lifesaving in certain circumstances, none are able to create or regenerate good health. Pharmaceuticals can kill microbes, quell pain, destroy cells, and suppress, incite, or replace bodily functions. In general, drugs mask the symptoms of disease rather than resolving the root cause. There is no medicine that can create good health, and no chemical or natural compound that can restore immunity. Good health is a process that requires your active participation.

p There are many methods of recover)’ that are based on assisting the body’s natural ability to heal. Some alternatives to the health-compromising drug treatments that are the primary tool of Western medicine are briefly described in Options for Healing and Wellness on page 69. A resource guide for further study on various approaches to health and recovery is also included in this section.

p Be persistent until you find the method(s) that work for you. Be prepared to explore other options should a successful approach to one situation fail to address a recurrent or new problem. Accept the fact that just like every other human being on earth, you have the right to become ill and get better. The World Health Organization asserts that all people should have the opportunity to fulfill their genetic potential in achieving good health—this includes you.

p When dealing with illness and an HIV positive diagnosis, it is necessary to remember these important facts:

p > AIDS is not a disease.

p > All AIDS-defining conditions occur in people who test HIV negative, none appear exclusively in those who test positive, and all existed before the adoption of the name “AIDS.”

p > All the illnesses called AIDS have medically recognized causes and treatments unrelated to HIV

p > The primary evidence offered in support of the hypothesis that HIV causes AIDS is a correlation between HIV and AIDS. Correlation is not proof of causation, and the appearance of a high correlation between HIV and AIDS is simply a result of the HIV-based definition of AIDS. The 29 old diseases that are used to define AIDS only count as AIDS if a person has a positive result on an HIV antibody test. In other words:

p Pneumonia + Positive HIV Test = AIDS Pneumonia + Negative HIV Test = Pneumonia Diarrhea + Positive HIV Test = AIDS Diarrhea + Negative HIV Test - Diarrhea

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p > Healthy people who test HIV positive vastly outnumber HIV positives who become sick and die. This is true in America, as well as in Africa, Haiti and other parts of the world where a large percentage of the population tests HIV positive and has limited access to medical care.^^231^^

p > A careful review of the mainstream scientific literature reveals that HIV positives who remain AlDS-free share one essential feature: by choice or by circumstance, they do not take AIDS cocktails, antivirals or recreational drugs and do not use antibiotics on a continuous, daily basis.^^232^^

p > Information extracted from orthodox AIDS literature confirms three common characteristics among long-term survivors: avoidance of the AIDS chemotherapy drugs AZT, ddl, ddC, d4T and 3TC; cessation of health-compromising practices upon receiving their positive diagnosis (such as recreational drug use and exposure to sexually transmitted microbes); and the introduction of health-enhancing practices such as proper nutrition, adequate rest, and regular exercise.^^233^^

p > A study of chronically malnourished intravenous drug users who tested HIV positive and had used heroin daily for more than five years found that after being treated for malnutrition and rehabilitated from drug use, none had developed symptoms or infections associated with AIDS an average of four years after testing positive.^^234^^

p > People who shun or stop AIDS treatment drugs after testing HIV positive and live in uncompromised good health, and people who quit AIDS drugs and remain alive and well many years after an AIDS diagnosis are not a focus of orthodox AIDS research, are rarely mentioned in mainstream AIDS literature, and are not objectively examined in government-funded AIDS studies.

p > Books and articles by and about healthy HIV positives emphasize the use of nutrition and vitamin therapy and other forms of natural, holistic, and nontoxic treatments that replenish and fortify immune health.^^23^^^

p > Lymphoma, diarrhea, dementia, candidiasis, neuropathy, nausea, wasting, bone marrow destruction, and many other conditions that define or are associated with AIDS are among the effects of the prescription drugs used to treat AIDS.

p > “Early intervention" and prophylaxis are concepts that can bring about lethal consequences. Taking AZT or other chemotherapy as antivirals, or using powerful antibiotics such as Bactrim every day for months to years, is a new and

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68 potentially deadly practice that defies both the manufacturers’ warnings and the recommended usage as outlined in the Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR).

p T cell measures are of questionable value as an indicator of health and immune function. In fact, a decrease in T cell counts is neither necessary nor sufficient for the appearance of AIDSdefinmg illnesses.^^236^^

p A number of studies found in the biomedical literature show that low T cell counts do not correlate with compromised immunity, and that normal ranges for T cells in HIV negative persons can vary from 300 to 2,000.^^237^^-^^238^^

p A study of T cell measures in 2,000 HIV negative subjects demonstrated that counts of 200 and 300 are within the parameters of normal, and that people with T cells in this range did not suffer from health problems related to immune deficiency.^^217^^ A more recent article from the medical literature questions the value of T cell counts as indicators of immune function, noting that the ability to recover from illness does not correlate with high T cells counts.^^239^^

p Other studies that measure T cells in HIV negative subjects reveal that even during acute illness, T cell counts are unpredictable and do not correlate with the severity of illness, or with predicted or actual mortality rates.^^240^^

p As noted previously, viral load tests are not able to confirm the presence of HIV and results do not correlate with illness, health, T cells levels or progression to disease.

p According to CDC treatment guidelines, acute illness (such as bacterial and pneumocystis pneumonia) and immunizations can cause elevated viral load test results for several weeks.^^241^^

Contrary to popular belief, an AIDS diagnosis is not an immutable death sentence. Safe and effective treatments that address specific, individual needs make recovery from even the most serious conditions a reality