What Most People Don’t Know About HIV

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The 10almonds Team

What To Know About HIV This World AIDS Day

Yesterday, we asked 10almonds readers to engage in a hypothetical thought experiment with us, and putting aside for a moment any reason you might feel the scenario wouldn’t apply for you, asked:

❝You have unprotected sex with someone who, afterwards, conversationally mentions their HIV+ status. Do you…❞

…and got the above-depicted, below-described, set of responses. Of those who responded…

  • Just over 60% said “rush to hospital; maybe a treatment is available”
  • Just under 20% said “ask them what meds they’re taking (and perhaps whether they’d like a snack)”
  • Just over 10% said “despair; life is over”
  • Two people said “do the most rigorous washing down there you’ve ever done in your life”

So, what does science say about it?

First, a quick note on terms

  • HIV is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It does what it says on the tin; it gives humans immunodeficiency. Like many viruses that have become epidemic in humans, it started off in animals (called SIV, because there was no “H” involved yet), which were then eaten by humans, passing the virus to us when it one day mutated to allow that.
    • It’s technically two viruses, but that’s beyond the scope of today’s article; for our purposes they are the same. HIV-1 is more virulent and infectious than HIV-2, and is the kind more commonly found in most of the world.
  • AIDS is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, and again, is what it sounds like. When a person is infected with HIV, then without treatment, they will often develop AIDS.
    • Technically AIDS itself doesn’t kill people; it just renders people near-defenseless to opportunistic infections (and immune-related diseases such as cancer), since one no longer has a properly working immune system. Common causes of death in AIDS patients include cancer, influenza, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.

People who contract HIV will usually develop AIDS if untreated. Untreated life expectancy is about 11 years.

HIV/AIDS are only a problem for gay people: True or False?

False, unequivocally. Anyone can get HIV and develop AIDS.

The reason it’s more associated with gay men, aside from homophobia, is that since penetrative sex is more likely to pass it on, then if we go with the statistically most likely arrangements here:

  • If a man penetrates a woman and passes on HIV, that woman will probably not go on to penetrate someone else
  • If a man penetrates a man and passes on HIV, that man could go on to penetrate someone else—and so on
  • This means that without any difference in safety practices or promiscuity, it’s going to spread more between men on average, by simple mathematics.
  • This is why “men who have sex with men” is the generally-designated higher-risk category.

There is medication to cure HIV/AIDS: True or False?

False so far (though there have been individual case studies of gene treatments that may have cured people—time will tell).

But! There are medications that can prevent HIV from being a life-threatening problem:

  • PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a medication that one can take in advance of potential exposure to HIV, to guard against it.
    • This is a common choice for people aren’t sure about their partners’ statuses, or people working in risky environments.
  • PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a medication that one can take after potential exposure to HIV, to “nip it in the bud”.
    • Those of you who were rushing to hospital in our poll, this is what you’re rushing there for.
  • ARVs (Anti-RetroVirals) are a class of medications (there are different options; we don’t have room to distinguish them) that reduce an HIV+ person’s viral load to undetectable levels.
    • Those of you who were asking what meds your partner was taking, these will be those meds. Also, most of them are to be taken in the morning with food, so that’s what the snack was for.

If someone is HIV+, the risk of transmission in unprotected sex is high: True or False?

True or False, with false being the far more likely. It depends on their medications, and this is why you were asking. If someone is on ARVs and their viral load is undetectable (as is usual once someone has been on ARVs for 6 months), they cannot transmit HIV to you.

U=U is not a fancy new emoticon, it means “undetectable = untransmittable”, which is a mathematically true statement in the case of HIV viral loads.

See: NIH | HIV Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U)

If you’re thinking “still sounds risky to me”, then consider this:

You are safer having unprotected sex with someone who is HIV+ and on ARVs with an undetectable viral load, than you are with someone you are merely assuming is HIV- (perhaps you assume it because “surely this polite blushing young virgin of a straight man won’t give me cooties” etc)

Note that even your monogamous partner of many decades could accidentally contract HIV due to blood contamination in a hospital or an accident at work etc, so it’s good practice to also get tested after things that involve getting stabbed with needles, cut in a risky environment, etc.

If you’re concerned about potential stigma associated with HIV testing, you can get kits online:

CDC | How do I find an HIV self-test?

(these are usually fingerprick blood tests, and you can either see the results yourself at home immediately, or send it in for analysis, depending on the kit)

If I get HIV, I will get AIDS and die: True or False?

False, assuming you get treatment promptly and keep taking it. So those of you who were at “despair; life is over” can breathe a sigh of relief now.

However, if you get HIV, it does currently mean you will have to take those meds every day for the rest of your (no reason it shouldn’t be long and happy) life.

So, HIV is definitely still something to avoid, because it’s not great to have to take a life-saving medication every day. For a little insight as to what that might be like:

HIV.gov | Taking HIV Medication Every Day: Tips & Challenges

(as you’ll see there, there are also longer-lasting injections available instead of daily pulls, but those are much less widely available)

Summary

Some quick take-away notes-in-a-nutshell:

  • Getting HIV may have been a death sentence in the 1980s, but nowadays it’s been relegated to the level of “serious inconvenience”.
  • Happily, it is very preventable, with PrEP, PEP, and viral loads so low that they can’t transmit HIV, thanks to ARVs.
  • Washing will not help, by the way. Safe sex will, though!
    • As will celibacy and/or sexual exclusivity in seroconcordant relationships, e.g. you have the same (known! That means actually tested recently! Not just assumed!) HIV status as each other.
  • If you do get it, it is very manageable with ARVs, but prevention is better than treatment
  • There is no certain cure—yet. Some people (small number of case studies) may have been cured already with gene therapy, but we can’t know for sure yet.

Want to know more? Check out:

CDC | Let’s Stop HIV Together

Take care!

Don’t Forget…

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  • Eat To Beat Cancer

    The 10almonds Team

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Controlling What We Can, To Avoid Cancer

    Every time a cell in our body is replaced, there’s a chance it will be cancerous. Exactly what that chance is depends on very many factors. Some of them we can’t control; others, we can.

    Diet is a critical, modifiable factor

    We can’t choose, for example, our genes. We can, for the most part, choose our diet. Why “for the most part”?

    • Some people live in a food desert (the Arctic Circle is a good example where food choices are limited by supply)
    • Some people have dietary restrictions (whether by health condition e.g. allergy, intolerance, etc or by personal-but-unwavering choice, e.g. vegetarian, vegan, kosher, halal, etc)

    But for most of us, most of the time, we have a good control over our diet, and so that’s an area we can and should focus on.

    Choose your animal protein wisely

    If you are vegan, you can skip this section. If you are not, then the short version is:

    • Fish: almost certainly fine
    • Poultry: the jury is out; data is leaning towards fine, though
    • Red meat: significantly increased cancer risk
    • Processed meat: significantly increased cancer risk

    For more details (and a run-down on the science behind the above super-summarized version):

    Skip The Ultra-Processed Foods

    Ok, so this one’s probably not a shocker in its simplest form:

    ❝Studies are showing us is that not only do the ultraprocessed foods increase the risk of cancer, but that after a cancer diagnosis such foods increase the risk of dying❞

    Source: Is there a connection between ultraprocessed food and cancer?

    There’s an unfortunate implication here! If you took the previous advice to heart and cut out [at least some] meat, and/but then replaced that with ultra-processed synthetic meat, then this was not a great improvement in cancer risk terms.

    Ultra-processed meat is worse than unprocessed, regardless of whether it was from an animal or was synthetic.

    In other words: if you buy textured soy pieces (a common synthetic meat), it pays to look at the ingredients, because there’s a difference between:

    • INGREDIENTS: SOY
    • INGREDIENTS: Rehydrated Textured SOY Protein (52%), Water, Rapeseed Oil, SOY Protein Concentrate, Seasoning (SULPHITES) (Dextrose, Flavourings, Salt, Onion Powder, Food Starch Modified, Yeast Extract, Colour: Red Iron Oxide), SOY Leghemoglobin, Fortified WHEAT Flour (WHEAT Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Bamboo Fibre, Methylcellulose, Tomato Purée, Salt, Raising Agent: Ammonium Carbonates

    Now, most of those original base ingredients are/were harmless per se (as are/were the grapes in wine—before processing into alcohol), but it has clearly been processed to Hell and back to do all that.

    Choose the one that just says “soy”. Or eat soybeans. Or other beans. Or lentils. Really there are a lot of options.

    About soy, by the way…

    There is (mostly in the US, mostly funded by the animal agriculture industry) a lot of fearmongering about soy. Which is ironic, given the amount of soy that is fed to livestock to be fed to humans, but it does bear addressing:

    ❝Soy foods are safe for all cancer patients and are an excellent source of plant protein. Studies show soy may improve survival after breast cancer❞

    Source: Food risks and cancer: What to avoid

    (obviously, if you have a soy allergy then you should not consume soy—for most people, the above advice stands, though)

    Advanced Glycation End-Products

    These (which are Very Bad™ for very many things, including cancer) occur specifically as a result of processing animal proteins and fats.

    Note: not even necessarily ultra-processing, just processing can do it. But ultra-processing is worse. What’s the difference, you wonder?

    The difference between “ultra-processed” and just “processed”:
    • Your average hotdog has been ultra-processed. It’s not only usually been changed with many artificial additives, it’s also been through a series of processes (physical and chemical) and ends up bearing little relation to the creature it came from.
    • Your bacon (that you bought fresh from your local butcher, not a supermarket brand of unknown provenance, and definitely not the kind that might come on the top of frozen supermarket pizza) has been processed. It’s undergone a couple of simple processes on its journey “from farm to table”. Remember also that when you cook it, that too is one more process (and one that results in a lot of AGEs).

    Read more: What’s so bad about AGEs?

    Note if you really don’t want to cut out certain foods, changing the way you cook them (i.e., the last process your food undergoes before you eat it) can also reduce AGES:

    Advanced Glycation End Products in Foods and a Practical Guide to Their Reduction in the Diet

    Get More Fiber

    ❝The American Institute for Cancer Research shows that for every 10-gram increase in fiber in the diet, you improve survival after cancer diagnosis by 13%❞

    Source: Plant-based diet is encouraged for patients with cancer

    Yes, that’s post-diagnosis, but as a general rule of thumb, what is good/bad for cancer when you have it is good/bad for cancer beforehand, too.

    If you’re thinking that increasing your fiber intake means having to add bran to everything, happily there are better ways:

    Level-Up Your Fiber Intake! (Without Difficulty Or Discomfort)

    Enjoy!

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  • Plant-Based Healthy Cream Cheese

    The 10almonds Team

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Cream cheese is a delicious food, and having a plant-based diet isn’t a reason to miss out. Here we have a protein-forward nuts-based cream cheese that we’re sure you’ll love (unless you’re allergic to nuts, in which case, maybe skip this one).

    You will need

    • 1½ cups raw cashews, soaked in warm water and then drained
    • ½ cup water
    • ½ cup coconut cream
    • Juice of ½ lemon
    • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • ½ tsp onion powder
    • ½ tsp garlic powder
    • ½ tsp black pepper
    • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
    • ¼ tsp MSG, or ½ tsp low-sodium salt
    • Optional: ⅓ cup fresh basil

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Blend all of the ingredients until creamy.

    2) Optional: leave on the countertop, covered, for 1–2 hours, if you want a more fermented (effectively: cheesy) taste.

    3) Refrigerate, ideally overnight, before serving. Serving on bagels is a classic, but you can also enjoy with the Healthy Homemade Flatbreads we made yesterday

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

    Share This Post

  • Build Strong Feet: Exercises To Strengthen Your Foot & Ankle

    The 10almonds Team

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    A lot depends on the health of our feet, especially when it comes to their strength and stability. But they often get quite neglected, when it comes to maintenance. Here’s how to help your feet keep the rest of your body in good condition:

    On a good footing

    The foot-specific exercises recommended here include:

    1. Active toe flexion/extension: curl and extend your toes
    2. Active toe adduction/abduction: use a towel for feedback this time as you spread your toes
    3. “Short foot” exercise: create an arch by bringing the base of your big toe towards your heel
    4. Resisted big toe flexion: use resistance bands; flex your big toe while controlling the others.
    5. Standing big toe flexion (isometric): press your big toe against an inclined surface as forcefully as you can
    6. Foot bridge exercise: hold your position with the front part of your feet on an elevated surface, to strengthen the arch.
    7. Heel raises: which can be progressed from basic to more advanced variations, increasing difficulty
    8. Ankle movements: dorsiflexion, inversion, etc, to increase mobility

    It’s important to also look after your general lower body strength and stability, including (for example) single-leg deadlifts, step-downs, and lunges

    Balance and proprioceptive exercises are good too, such as a static or dynamic one-leg balances, progressing to doing them with your eyes closed and/or on unstable surfaces (be careful, of course, and progress to this only when confident).

    For more on all of these, an explanation of the anatomy, some other exercises too, and visual demonstrations, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Steps For Keeping Your Feet A Healthy Foundation

    Take care!

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    The 10almonds Team

    Questions and Answers at 10almonds

    Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!

    This newsletter has been growing a lot lately, and so have the questions/requests, and we love that! In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

    As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

    So, no question/request too big or small

    I have a question: what are the pros and cons of older people (60+) taking creatine every day?

    It depends what else you’re doing, as creatine mostly helps the muscles recover after exercise. So:

    • iff you’re doing resistance training (such as weights or bodyweight training), or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), then creatine monohydrate may help you keep at that and keep doing well.
    • if you’re just doing light-to-moderate exercises, you might not get much benefit from creatine!

    The topic merits diving deeper though, so we’ll queue that for one of our “Research Review Monday” days!

    I wanted to ask if you think marine collagen is decent to take. I’ve heard a lot of bad press about it

    We don’t know what you’ve heard, but generally speaking it’s been found to be very beneficial to bones, joints, and skin! We wrote about it quite recently on a “Research Review Monday”:

    See: We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of

    Natural alternatives to medication for depression?

    Great question! We did a mean feature a while back, but we definitely have much more to say! We’ll do another main feature soon, but in the meantime, here’s what we previously wrote:

    See: The Mental Health First-Aid That You’ll Hopefully Never Need

    ^This covers not just the obvious, but also why the most common advice is not helpful, and practical tips to actually make manageable steps back to wellness, on days when “literally just survive the day” is one’s default goal.

    I am now in the “aging” population. A great concern for me is Alzheimers. My father had it and I am so worried. What is the latest research on prevention?

    One good thing to note is that while Alzheimer’s has a genetic component, it doesn’t appear to be hereditary per se. Still, good to be on top of these things, and it’s never too early to start with preventive measures!

    You might like a main feature we did on this recently:

    See: How To Reduce Your Alzheimer’s Risk

    Side effects of statins, are they worth it? Depression, are antidepressants worth it?

    About statins, that depends a lot on you, your circumstances, and—as it happens—your gender. We covered this in a main feature recently, but a short answer is: for most people, they may not be the best first choice, and could even make things worse. For some people, however, they really are just what’s needed.

    • Factors that make them more likely better for you: being a man, or having atherosclerosis
    • Factors that make them more likely worse for you: being a woman in general

    Check out the main feature we did: Statins: His & Hers?

    As for antidepressants? That depends a lot on you, your physiology, your depression, your circumstances, and more. We’ll definitely do a main feature on that sometime soon, as there’s a lot that most people don’t know!

    I am interested in the following: Aging, Exercise, Diet, Relationships, Purpose, Lowering Stress

    You’re going to love our Psychology Sunday editions of 10almonds!

    You may particularly like some of these:

    (This coming Psychology Sunday will have a feature specifically on stress, so do make sure to read that when it comes out!)

    Hair growth strategies for men combing caffeine and minoxidil?

    Well, the strategy for that is to use caffeine and minoxidil! Some more specific tips, though:

    • Both of those things need to be massaged (gently!) into your scalp especially around your hairline.
      • In the case of caffeine, that boosts hair growth. No extra thought or care needed for that one.
      • In the case of minoxidil, it reboots the hair growth cycle, so if you’ve only recently started, don’t be surprised (or worried) if you see more shedding in the first three months. It’s jettisoning your old hairs because new ones were just prompted (by the minoxidil) to start growing behind them. So: it will get briefly worse before it gets better, but then it’ll stay better… provided you keep using it.
    • If you’d like other options besides minoxidil, finasteride is a commonly prescribed oral drug that blocks the conversion of testosterone to DHT, which latter is what tells your hairline to recede.
    • If you’d like other options besides prescription drugs, saw palmetto performs comparably to finasteride (and works the same way).
      • You may also want to consider biotin supplementation if you don’t already enjoy that
    • Consider also using a dermaroller on your scalp. If you’re unfamiliar, this is a device that looks like a tiny lawn aerator, with many tiny needles, and you roll it gently across your skin.
      • It can be used for promoting hair growth, as well as for reducing wrinkles and (more slowly) healing scars.
      • It works by breaking up the sebum that may be blocking new hair growth, and also makes the skin healthier by stimulating production of collagen and elastin (in response to the thousands of microscopic wounds that the needles make).
      • Sounds drastic, but it doesn’t hurt and doesn’t leave any visible marks—the needles are that tiny. Still, practise good sterilization and ensure your skin is clean when using it.

    See: How To Use A Dermaroller ← also explains more of the science of it

    PS: this question was asked in the context of men, but the information goes the same for women suffering from androgenic alepoceia—which is a lot more common than most people think!

    How to get to sleep at night as fast and as naturally as possible? Thank you!

    We’ll definitely write more on that! You might like these articles we wrote already, meanwhile:

    Q: How to be your best self after 60: Self motivation / Avoiding or limiting salt, sugar & alcohol: Alternatives / Ways to sneak in more movements/exercise

    …and, from a different subscriber…

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    Here are some of our greatest hits on those topics:

    Also, while we’ve recommended a couple of books on stopping (or reducing) drinking, we’ve not done a main feature on that, so we definitely will one of these days!

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  • How To Regrow Receding Gums

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    The 10almonds Team

    One of the problems with the human form is that our teeth evolved to last us for the whole of our life, with plenty of room to spare before our eventual death at the ripe old age of about 35 on average. Dr. Ellie Phillips advises those of us who might be a bit older than that, on how we can avoid becoming “too long in the tooth”—in other words, how to keep our gums, and thus our teeth, in place and healthy.

    Getting to the root of the problem

    The single biggest cause of gum recession is an acidic environment in the mouth, which harms teeth and gums alike. This acidic environment is produced not merely by consuming acid foods or drinks, but also (and much more often, and more problematically) by sugary foods and drinks, which are not necessarily themselves acidic, but they feed bacteria that release acids as a by-product of their metabolism. If we consume an acidic food or drink, it’s there for a moment, but if we then salivate and/or take a drink of water, it’s pretty much gone in a few seconds. But those bacteria when we feed them sugar? They are there to stay unless we do something more about them than just drink some water.

    Other contributing factors to gum recession include teeth grinding, and (ironically) certain oral care products, especially many artificial teeth whiteners.

    In case you were wondering: no, brushing will not* generally cause or even worsen gum recession, but flossing can exacerbate it if it’s already underway.

    *unless, of course, you are using one of the whiteners we mentioned above

    What to do about it: Dr. Phillips recommends:

    • use a moderately firm toothbrush to massage gums and promote blood flow
    • avoid acidic oral products and homemade remedies even if they’re not acidic but can be caustic, such as baking soda
    • rebuild your gums’ and teeth’s protective biofilm (yes, there are “good bacteria” that are supposed to be there) with proper brushing
    • avoid cleanings that are more intensive than brushing—skip flossing until your gums have recovered, too
    • adjust your diet to avoid acids and (especially) sugars

    10almonds note: she also recommends the use of xylitol to promote a healthy oral environment; we don’t recommend that, as while it may be great for the teeth, studies have found it to be bad for the heart.

    For more on all of her advices and a bit more of the science of it, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

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    Take care!

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  • Cooling Bulgarian Tarator

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    The 10almonds Team

    The “Bulgarian” qualifier is important here because the name “tarator” is used to refer to several different dishes from nearby-ish countries, and they aren’t the same. Today’s dish (a very healthy and deliciously cooling cucumber soup) isn’t well-known outside of Bulgaria, but it should be, and with your help we can share it around the world. It’s super-easy and takes only about 10 minutes to prepare:

    You will need

    • 1 large cucumber, cut into small (¼” x ¼”) cubes or small (1″ x ⅛”) batons (the size is important; any smaller and we lose texture; any larger and we lose the balance of the soup, and also make it very different to eat with a spoon)
    • 2 cups plain unsweetened yogurt (your preference what kind; live-cultured of some kind is best, and yes, vegan is fine too)
    • 1½ cup water, chilled but not icy (fridge-temperature is great)
    • ½ cup chopped walnuts (substitutions are not advised; omit if allergic)
    • ½ bulb garlic, minced
    • 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
    • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
    • ½ tsp MSG* or 1 tsp low-sodium salt

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Mix the cucumber, garlic, 2 tbsp of the dill, oil, MSG-or-salt and pepper in a big bowl

    2) Add the yogurt and mix it in too

    3) Add the cold water slowly and stir thoroughly; it may take a minute to achieve smooth consistency of the liquid—it should be creamy but thin, and definitely shouldn’t stand up by itself

    4) Top with the chopped nuts, and the other tbsp of dill as a garnish

    5) Serve immediately, or chill in the fridge until ready to serve. It’s perfect as a breakfast or a light lunch, by the way.

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

    Learn to Age Gracefully

    Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails: