HIV or human immunodeficiency virus is a virus that attacks the very cells that help your body fight off infection and keep you healthy and able. It is like your body being stripped of its armor and weapons with which it keeps intruders out! There is no way in which your body can destroy and neither is there a cure for HIV that exists today; meaning if you have, you have it for life.
What started in 1981, HIV has consistently been one of humanity’s deadliest and persistent disease epidemics that seems to see no end.
HIV is a disease that has been shunned by society and heavily stigmatized, and the reason for this is the method of transmission which includes unprotected sex with someone infected with HIV, transfer of certain bodily fluids, and sharing of injection drug equipment. People infected with other sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia are also subjected to this stigmatization. When the HIV is left untreated, without the use of Anti-retroviral medication or ART, it causes the HIV to escalate to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) which is the last stage of HIV.
CBD: Fighting Alongside
Natural CBD or cannabidiol has been cemented as one of the exciting phenomena in the pharma sphere. The therapeutic medicinal herb has been well established as a palliative treatment for HIV. This is kudos to the CBD health benefits that ease pain, improving appetite, and soothing anxiety. But apart from these, research has shown fruitful evidence that supports the fact of CBD being able to up-regulate the immune system.
What initially was regarded as an immunosuppressant, that further increases the viral load and effectively worsens the disease, recent evidence has been able to cut down that result and proves the immune-stimulating effects of CBD. This was a 2011 study at Louisiana State University which revealed life-changing results when CBD and THC were given to a group of a monkey infected with SIV (a similar disease to HIV), over 28 days prior to the infection. What the CBD ended up doing is increase the lives of the monkeys, reduce the viral load and provide a protective ‘shielding’ effect.
Further the white blood and the T-cell count actually increased! What was important to note was how CBD was particularly protective against intestinal damage caused by the virus. This is exciting news and it is expected that in the years to come, CBD will be used as an effective medication to help control and reduce the extent of damage by this dreaded disease.