Food dismissed as AIDS treatment

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Researchers in South African say there is no evidence healthier eating is an effective treatment for AIDS or tuberculosis.

A panel appointed by the Academy of Science in South African said no food, no component made from food, and no food supplement has been identified in any credible study as an effective alternative to appropriate medication.

''Neither poverty nor malnutrition is the cause of HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis," nutritionist Este Voster said Wednesday in a news release. ''South Africans need to eat a healthy diet with a variety of daily fruit and vegetables. But if you've been tested for HIV/AIDS and you know your status, you need to also know that supplements cannot compensate for eating healthily."

An estimated 12 percent of South Africa's population is infected with HIV, the Mail & Guardian newspaper said.

South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has horrified AIDS activists with her advocacy of garlic, lemon and African potatoes over conventional drugs, the newspaper said.