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Nutrition does work, says Aids patient

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6 May 2005, 10:44
By Wendy Jasson da Costa

A Pietermaritzburg woman with full-blown Aids has voiced her support for Health Minister Manto
Tshabalala Msimang's controversial lemon and garlic diet.

Nozipho Bhengu, 31, said she had been on the diet for the past three years and "It works, I'm the scientific
proof."

Bhengu's HIV-status became national public knowledge in 2001 when her mother, African National
Congress MP Ruth Bhengu, told the National Assembly about her daughter's HIV status.

Bhengu said at first nutrition did not mean much to her but, she became so sick that her CD4 count had
dropped to 55

and she thought she was going to die. That was when Tshabalala Msimang re-introduced her to Tina van
der Maas an ex-colleague and the person behind the minister's nutrition plan.

At that stage Bhengu had been to several doctors, her liver was inflamed and she had a growth on her
spleen. Bhengu said she had also been on antiretrovirals for a week but her body could not handle the
medication.

She then went onto the diet formulated by Van der Maas and "within three months I could see results".

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Although she was still considered to have full blown Aids because of a CD4 count of 134 "I am
productive" and said she was completely healthy.

"I don't care what people say about the minister, she is a leader and a leader is always ahead. In five years
time they will know what she is talking about" said Bhengu.

On Thursday Tshabalala-Msimang again told the media: "ARVs do not cure and they do have side effects.
I do not know of any side effects of eating proper food."

Last month at the launch of her department's ethical guidelines for Aids research, the minister showed a
documentary video in which Van der Maas showed bedridden Aids patients who had returned to "normal
health" after two to three months on the programme.

Van der Maas, a nurse who has been working with South African HIV and Aids sufferers since 1989
remains confident that the diet is "affordable, available and sustainable" and says she has treated over 40
000 people since 1995.

"With this wellness programme you can reverse the condition of someone with full-blown Aids to an
HIV-positive status," said Van der Maas.

Meanwhile haemotologist and senior lecturer at the Central University of Technology Dr Elmien van der
Heever said on Thursday she was in the process of applying for "ethical clearance" to do extended clinical
trials on a formula known as Africa Solution, also used in Van der Maas's programme.

Trials were previously carried out over three months in 2003 and Van der Heever said "We have a bit of
reliability but we want to expand the programme over a year."

"You can see a definite improvement physically but clinically when you write it down, an ulcer is still an
ulcer so even if it did improve, it's still there."

However, she said all the viral loads of the trial participants had decreased and their CD4 counts had
improved. - Sapa

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