ort and nutritional education was administered to the patient. Regrettably, the role of nutrition in the treatment of the patient was delayed. He died ten days later. Still, in the year 2001 nutritional and clinical studies have received little notice in the general literature for the public. ESSENTIAL ROLE OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN MAINTAINING THE BODY’S HEALTHThe immune system is an arrangement within the body that comprises of two significant cell types, namely: the B-cell and the T-cells. The B- cell are accountable for the production of antibodies (or specific proteins that unite to a specific molecular shape) while the T-cells are responsible for assisting the B-cell in the production of antibodies as well as acting as defense mechanisms, consequently attacking any foreign cells that enter the body. Sad to say, that the virus responsible for the condition known as Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus (AIDS) is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and this is accountable for lowering the body’s defenses against all infections. In layman’s terms the immune deficiency diseases are a group of disorders in which the body’s normal defenses against diseases, are impaired. This virus is phrased as a retrovirus, in other words the virus is capable of coping RNA into DNA, which is inserted into the chromosomes within our body cells. Hence, the virus is multiplied in the infected cell, which would infect other adjacent cells within the body. Hence immune competence is destroyed, leaving a deteriorating immune system. EFFECTS OF HIV –AIDS PROGRESSION ON NUTRITIONAL STATUS *In a healthy individual, a person’s health status is dependent on the appropriate nutrient intake, adequate nutrient absorption and normal body metabolism. Once these are impaired for a lengthy period, malnutrition would develop. As a result, these alterations are common in the HIV-AIDS progression. *Furthermore, if a pa...
