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Harold D. Foster PhD is a Medical Geographer and tenured professor in the Department of Geography, University of Victoria. He has authored or edited some 235 publications, the majority of which focus on reducing disaster losses or identifying the causes of chronic disease. His numerous books include Disaster Planning: the preservation of life and property (1980), Reducing Cancer Mortality: a geographical perspective (1986), and Health, Disease and the Environment (1992).

He has served as a consultant to numerous organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the governments of Canada, Ontario, and British Columbia. He is a member of The New York Academy of Sciences, The Royal Geographical Society and The Royal Society of Literature. He is also a member of the Science Advisory Panel for the Healthy Water Association, and a member of the boards of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine and the Canadian Schizophrenia Foundation. On 1 May 2004, he was presented the Orthomolecular Doctor of the Year Award by The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine.

Complete versions of What Really Causes AIDS are available in two formats:

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213 pages

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WHAT REALLY CAUSES AIDS: AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The AIDS pandemic is likely to become the greatest catastrophe in human history. Unless a safe, effective vaccine is quickly developed, or the preventive strategies outlined in this book are widely applied, by 2015 one sixth of the world’s population will be infected by HIV-1 and some 250 million people will have died from AIDS. Its associated losses by then will be more than those of the Black Death and World War II combined, the equivalent of eight World War Is.¹

This pandemic is only one of several ongoing catastrophes involving viruses that encode the selenoenzyme glutathione peroxidase.² Indeed, the world is experiencing simultaneous pandemics caused by Hepatitis B and C viruses, Coxsackie B virus and HIV-1 and HIV-2. As these viruses replicate, because their genetic codes include a gene that is virtually identical to that of the human enzyme glutathione peroxidase, they rob their hosts of selenium. Paradoxically, however, they diffuse most easily in populations that are very selenium deficient,³ possibly because their members have depressed immune systems. It is no coincidence that such viruses are causing havoc at the beginning of the 21st century. The last 50 years have seen enormous expansions in the use of fossil fuels and deforestation by fire. The resulting pollutants have greatly increased the acidity of global precipitation, reducing selenium’s ability to enter the food chain. This situation is being made worse by the widespread use of commercial fertilizers since their sulphates, nitrogen, and phosphorus all depress the uptake of selenium by crops. Deficiencies in this essential trace element are being felt most acutely in areas, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where soil selenium levels are naturally very low. Acid rain is making a bad situation worse, so increasing vulnerability to those viruses that encode glutathione peroxidase. Many populations are also being exposed to a thinning ozone layer, heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium, pesticides, and drug, tobacco, and alcohol abuse, all of which depress the human immune system, increasing vulnerability to viruses, including HIV-1 and HIV-2.

In July 2000, physicians and scientists from around the world met in Durban, South Africa for the XIII International AIDS Conference. In a declaration, named after the city, 5,018 of them proclaimed that “HIV is the sole cause of AIDS.”⁴ There are, however, at least seven anomalies that strongly suggest that this conventional wisdom is incorrect and that belief in it is blocking progress in the development of new treatments for AIDS and of novel ways of preventing its spread. To illustrate, despite widespread unprotected promiscuous sexual activity in Senegal, HIV- 1 is diffusing very slowly, if at all, amongst the Senegalese.⁵ It is very apparent that in Africa, differences in soil selenium levels are greatly influencing who becomes infected with HIV-1 and who does not. Indeed, the recently published Selenium World Atlas used the incidence of HIV-1 as a surrogate measure of soil selenium levels because actual levels are, as yet, poorly established in sub-Saharan Africa. A similar relationship has been documented in the United States⁶ where there has been an inverse relationship, especially in the Black population, between mortality from AIDS and local soil selenium levels. It is well established that individuals who are HIV-positive gradually become more and more selenium deficient.⁷ This decline, which is known to undermine immune functions, is not unique to HIV-infection but is seen in almost all infectious pathogens.⁸ However, under normal circumstances, where death does not occur, selenium levels rebound soon after recovery. HIV-1, however, can effectively elude the defense mechanisms of the immune system, and can continue to replicate indefinitely, endlessly depressing serum selenium. As a result, the immune system is compromised, allowing infection by other pathogens that continue to deplete the host of selenium, allowing HIV-1 to replicate more easily, further undermining immunity. Therefore, this relationship between selenium and the immune system is one of positive feedback, in which a decline in either of these two variables causes further depression in the other. Termed the “selenium- CD4 T cell tailspin” by the author,⁹ it is the reason that serum selenium levels are a better predictor of AIDS mortality than CD4 T cell counts. Like other positive feedback systems, such as avalanches and forest fires, it is extremely difficult to control and gains momentum as it progresses.

HIV-1, however, encodes the entire selenoenzyme, glutathione peroxidase. As it replicates, therefore, it depletes its host not only of selenium but also of the other three components of this enzyme: namely, cysteine, glutamine, and tryptophan.¹⁰ AIDS, therefore, is a nutritional deficiency illness caused by a virus. Its victims suffer from extreme deficiencies of all four of these nutrients which are responsible for such symptoms as depressed CD4T lymphocyte count, vulnerability to cancers (including Kaposi’s sarcoma), depression, psoriasis, diarrhea, muscle wasting, and dementia. Associated infections cause their own unique symptoms and increased risk of death.

HIV-1 alone, therefore, does not cause AIDS. It involves a multiplicity of co-factors, specifically anything that either depletes serum selenium levels or depresses the immune system enough to permit viral replication. Manipulating the “selenium-CD4T cell tailspin” by adding this trace element to fertilizers and food stuffs opens new avenues for both prevention and treatment. This strategy has been shown to work on other viruses that encode glutathione peroxidase, such as Hepatitis B and C and the Coxsackievirus. The logical treatment of AIDS patients involves supplementation with selenium, cysteine, glutamine, and tryptophan, at least to levels at which deficiency symptoms associated with a lack of these nutrients disappear. While this can be most easily achieved by supplements, certain foods contain elevated levels of those four nutrients. Strangely enough, one of the ideal meals for anyone who is HIV-seropositive would include a cheeseburger to which Brazilnut flour had been added to the bun.

Brazil nuts contain the highest levels of selenium found in any human food.

REFERENCES

1. Foster, H.D. (1976). Assessing disaster magnitude: A social science approach.
   The Professional Geographer, xxviii(3), 241-247.
2. Taylor, E.W. (1997). Selenium and viral diseases: Facts and hypotheses.
   Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 12 (4), 227-239.
3. Ibid.
4. The Durban Declaration (2000). Nature, 406, 15-16.
5. UNAIDS/WHO Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections: Senegal. 2000 update (revised).
6. Cowgill, U.M. (1997). The distribution of selenium and mortality owing to acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the continental United States.
   Biological Trace Element Research, 56, 43-61.
7. Baum, M.K., Shor-Posner, G., Lai, S., Zhang, G., Lai, H., Fletcher, M.A., Sauberlich, H., and Page, J.B. (1997). High risk of HIV-related mortality is associated with selenium deficiency.
   Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology, 15(5), 370-374.
8. Sammalkorpi, K., Valtonen, V., Alfthan, G., Aro, A., and Huttunen, J. (1988). Serum selenium in acute infections.
   Infection, 16(4), 222- 224.
9. Foster, H.D. (2000). Aids and the "selenium-CD4T cell tailspin": The geography of a pandemic. Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, 209, 94-99.
10. Mariorino, M., Aumann, K.D., Brigelius-Flohe, R., and Doria, D., van den Heuvel, J., McCarthy, J.E.G., Roveri, A., Ursini, F., and Flohé, L. (1998). Probing the presumed catalytic triad of a seleniumcontaining peroxidase by mutational analysis.
    Z. Ernahrungswiss, 37(Supplement 1), 118-121.

Source:
Victoria Times Colonist
© Times Colonist
(Victoria) 2004

AIDS theory gives nutrients key role: Supplements can help treat disease, says UVic professor

By Grania Litwin
Times Colonist
10 December 2004

A professor at the University of Victoria believes that while AIDS is caused by a virus, it is actually a nutritional disease that can be avoided or alleviated by eating four easily available nutrients.

Medical geographer Harold Foster is so certain of his thesis, and passionate about stemming the tide of death caused by AIDS, that he is paying for supplements to be used in nine open trials around the world. Updates of his work will also soon be published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine and the Doctoryourself.com newsletter. Just as scurvy results from a lack of vitamin C, or rickets develops in those deprived of calcium and vitamin D, Foster argues AIDS' symptoms stem from a deficiency caused by HIV.

"The virus competes with its host for four key nutrients -- selenium, cysteine, tryptophan and glutamine. When the body becomes depleted of these, it develops AIDS," says Foster, 61. Virologist Dr. Mark Wainberg, a Queens University professor and national authority on AIDS, says the theory is ridiculous.

"The use of supplements on their own is truly nonsense," he said from London, while between flights on his way back to Montreal from a conference in Paris. "None are substitutes for antiretroviral drugs, and advocating their use is not a good idea because it gives people false hope. In some cases supplements might also cause negative interactions with drugs."

UVic Social Sciences Dean Dr. Peter Keller believes Foster has made some "really significant findings. We should be investigating his ideas, because there is no smoke without fire. "I have known him for two decades and what he does is take very, very large data bases, and look for correlations which he tries to link to health outcomes. He has dedicated his life to this." Why are his theories not being studied? "That's a very loaded question," says the dean, noting mainstream pharmaceutical companies are certainly not giving them the attention they should. "I hope the story comes out."

Foster believes the trials he's funding will prove his case: "I am convinced that AIDS can be prevented by getting rid of this extreme deficiency, by simply giving patients one trace element and three amino acids "I've written a book about it and posted it on my Web site ( www.hdfoster.com ) so people can read it for free, and learn what foods to eat," says Foster, who is an expert on reducing disaster losses and identifying the causes of chronic disease...

Trained at the University of London, England, Foster has taught at UVic since 1968. He has been a consultant to the United Nations, NATO and the governments of Canada, Ontario, and British Columbia, and last May won the Orthomolecular Doctor of the Year Award, from The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine.

His AIDS theory is so simple it sounds like wishful thinking, but Foster recounts numerous scientific breakthroughs that were just as simple - and controversial.

In the mid 1800s a Hungarian physician suggested surgeons wash their hands after performing autopsies, and before delivering babies. His colleagues vilified him for suggesting it led to the death of patients and the man died in a mental asylum. His theories were later proven with the discovery of bacteria.

Foster recently set up HD Foster Research Inc. to produce a capsule containing the four supplements. He is giving them to hospices, hospitals and clinics in South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, the Philippines, England and Canada. In one Ugandan hospital, 77 per cent of patients taking it have reported a "noticeable improvement in their health." Significant, he says, considering many also have tuberculosis and syphilis.

Foster developed his theory recently. "I've looked at spatial distribution of 80-plus diseases over the years, written 100 articles and dozens of books on mostly degenerative diseases like MS, but in 2001 my students wanted to learn about AIDS. So I started looking into it." One of the first things he noticed was that HIV is rampant everywhere in south Africa except Senegal, where the level of HIV and cancer are also very low. Knowing that cancer mortality is higher in the U.S., where there were low levels of selenium, low calcium, high mercury and high exposure to road salt -- he started looking for an African country with the opposite profile. Guess where he found it? Senegal.

He decided there must be a link, and theorized that by treating the deficiency he could treat the disease. "I also asked myself: Why is AIDS pandemic now? We know it jumped species from monkeys to humans, but those monkeys have been infected for thousands of years. So why now?" He believes the answer lies in environmental change, acid rain, and the use of fertilizers - which limit selenium's passage into the food chain. "We've created the ideal environment for things like HIV, cancer and also Hepatitis B and C. "Humanity is paying for the damage it has done to the environment, to soil chemistry."

Ten years ago, experts estimated there would be 50 million cases of AIDS by 2000 and one billion by 2015. They were wrong: By 2000 the figure was 57 million and no one knows how many will be suffering in another decade. Foster warns: "If a billion people's immunities collapse, we will have an enormous reservoir to stimulate new strains of viruses that may well be more dangerous." The more people with damaged immune systems, the easier the mutation process becomes. "We are already seeing the threat in things like super bugs and SARS, and Avian flu, which is why I believe our species is on the verge of extinction, why I'm giving my book away and running my own trials."

Source:
Victoria Times Colonist
© Times Colonist
(Victoria) 2004

Disease theory more innovative, says MD
By Grania Litwin
Times Colonist
10 December 2004

An American specialist who has treated AIDS patients for two decades believes the controversial theory advanced by UVic professor Dr. Harold Foster has merit.

"I think the combination of nutrients he has come up with addresses the Achilles heel of the immune system, when it is infected with HIV," says Dr. Brad Parks, a medical doctor and neurologist who treats AIDS patients in the Seattle area and specialized in immunity disorders.

"I used to get 40 or 50 active AIDS patients coming to see me each year, but I haven't for the last couple of years." Parks says he's not getting the calls because he directs patients to Foster's Web site, where they can print out his book for free and use the information in it to buy their own supplements or nutrient-rich foods.

"I say, call me if you have any questions, but they don't. Clinically, these people get well," Parks said.

Parks adds the theory about these supplements is not complex or controversial, "it's just innovative," and word of it is spreading through the AIDS community.

"No one else is promoting it because there is no patent substance here, no exorbitant mark-up, no payoff in millions, Harry has put everything out there, without any hook, because he is tremendously generous."

Victoria respirologist Dr. Jim Sparling, who has been to Africa a dozen times and is well aware of the AIDS pandemic, is also investigating Foster's theory.

The director of Victoria's TB Clinic at the Jubilee Hospital, is involved in a small trial at a hospital in Kampala, Uganda, where three UBC students are tracking 40 patients taking the supplements.

"So far the information is anecdotal, but patients do feel better and some have gained weight."

As a mainstream doctor, what does he think of the theory?

"Either Harry Foster is totally off-the-wall crazy, or brilliant, I do know he is very interesting, enthusiastic and passionate."

Sparling adds the fact that AIDS patients in Africa and everywhere have increasingly low levels of selenium is important and has never been properly studies, "though it has been known for 15 years."

"Hepatitis B is also associated with a selenium dependent enzyme system, and 350 million people are infected with it in Asia.

"These are opportunistic infections, and I am very concerned both as a doctor and a human."

There have been 11,510 reported cases of HIV in B.C. during the past 20 years and 3,730 cases of AIDS., according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.