Can Spirulina Help People Who Are HIV-Positive?

This double-blind, placebo-controlled study gave either 5 grams of spirulina or a placebo each day for three months to 58 HIV-positive women from Cameroon who were not receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). . . .

Antioxidant status increased significantly in the spirulina group but got worse in the placebo group. Perhaps most importantly, the women who got the spirulina suffered less of the illnesses that commonly accompany HIV. In the placebo group, 70% of the women developed opportunistic infections,diarrhoea, headache, fatigue or respiratory or gastrointestinal problems, while only 43% of the women in the spirulina group did.

This study suggests that spirulina may help support the overall health of women with HIV.

Nutrients 2014;6:2973-86