From Publishers Weekly
This book begins with two messages for the reader. The first: the idea that "HIV = AIDS = Death has been so widely disseminated that to challenge it seems heretical. We will doubtless be accused of heresy." The second: "Because the methods described in this book are by definition alternative methods, many of them have not been investigated." This book is no lifesaver, but it does provide an interesting alternative to the conventional beliefs about HIV and AIDS. In part one, the authors suggest that the traditional view of the HIV/AIDS connection is incorrect. To support their hypothesis, they cite some four thousand cases of AIDS worldwide in which there is no trace of HIV, and the many Americans who are HIV-positive yet remain asymptomatic; the authors maintain that we must look beyond the HIV virus to solve AIDS. The second section of the book is devoted to alternative treatments. Among the recommendations are a macrobiotic diet for anyone HIV-positive or ill with an AIDS-like condition, and nutritional supports, hypothermia treatments, oxygen therapy and herbal medicines. There is no question that nutrition is an important factor in the maintenance of a healthy immune system, but the administration of oxygen (orally or rectally) as a way to empower the immune system is still in doubt. (As is the efficacy of several of the other recommended alternative treatments here.) The final third of the book offers anecdotal histories of long-term survivors as proof to those skeptical of alternative remedies. But not even such accounts can erase the mixed message most readers will receive from this book.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Following closely on the heels of Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide (LJ 5/1/94), the Burton Goldberg Group has this time focused on alternative treatments for AIDS. Calling the virus "just a by-product of an already suppressed immune system," the book features an impressive, sometimes startling compilation of convention-challenging statistics to prove its point. The authors recount examples of patients diagnosed with AIDS who are HIV-negative, patients who are asymptomatic HIV-positive, as well as long-term survivors of the disease, some of who have lived with the virus for over 14 years. There are also nearly unbelievable accounts of people who have tested positive for HIV, undergone alternative healing treatments, and then tested negative. The authors, however, do not offer the hope of miracle cures for everyone. Both successes and failures of alternative treatments are discussed, and all the caregivers interviewed stress the importance of both an individualized treatment program and active patient participation. Considering the dismal success rate that conventional medicine has had thus far, a journey out to the fringes of AIDS treatment can be warranted, and this title is a worthy guide. Recommended for most collections.
Jeffery Ingram, Newport P.L., Ore.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Jeffery Ingram, Newport P.L., Ore.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
