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Let Them Eat Broccoli

by Mr. R. & Ms. L.

 In early 1987,  when my life partner and I got the first two of the new antibody tests our doctor had ever given, not much was known about HIV AIDS  except that if you tested positive you could assume you'd be dead in a couple of years.  My partner got his results back a week later.  He was told over the phone that  he was HIV negative.  The doctor told me not to worry that my test hadn't come back yet - it was probably delayed in the mail.  I worried anyway.  A very long week later I knew I was HIV positive when the doctor told me over the phone that I should come to her office in person for my results.

 The doctor was as nervous as I was.  She explained that I was her first HIV positive patient, that she had read all the literature she could find on the subject, and that there wasn't any real cure or treatment at that time.  Then she said that there was  something I could do to help myself right now.  A ray of hope shone through the clouds that had covered my soul for the past week.  I was totally focused, eagerly awaiting her advice.  After a pregnant pause, she said: "Eat Broccoli". If this was the best help that modern medicine could offer,  I was not impressed.

I guess my expression betrayed my disappointment, for she quickly explained what she had meant: the best thing I could do for my health while we waited for "The Cure" was to keep myself and my immune system as fit as possible through my life style choices.  She explained that No. 1 on the do-it-yourself preventive action list is avoiding exposure to infectious diseases (see Visions, 6-2000, for the article "Germ Warfare") and No. 2 is basic good nutrition, about which I had some idea, plus the use of preventive nutrients, about which I knew nothing at the time.

She explained that broccoli is full of substances that tend to protect the immune system.  Some of these are  selenium, vitamin C and beta carotene, a form of vitamin A.  The mineral selenium is employed in the body's actual immune mechanisms.  HIV+ folks need extra of this.  Vitamin C and beta carotene are known as "anti-oxidants".  Anti-oxidant substances inactivate a kind of destructive particle called a "free radical" that is produced during the body's process of fighting off infection.  HIV+ folks need lots of anti-oxidants.  So, during a period when one U.S. public figure was scarfing down  jelly beans and another was turning up his presidential nose at broccoli, I crowned myself king of good eating and regaled myself with the green stuff - and with lots of other delicious and healthful eatables as well.

A lot has changed since 1987.  AIDS has been presidentially acknowledged.   "The Cure" has not come, but there is effective viral suppressive therapy and I have been taking it faithfully since 1997.  With it have come further challenges to my pleasure and nutrition, as the meds have altered my taste buds.  But I have come to love preparing nutritionally sound, thoughtful, and beautiful things to eat and continuing to inform myself about the role of food in preventive medicine.  I have learned a great deal.   I hope to go on to school now, become credentialed in nutrition, and provide specialized dietary consults to people who are HIV+ or have AIDS.  In the meantime, I invite you to feast on "Broccoli the Simple Way":  

Take a crown of broccoli and wash. Cut into "florets", peel the tender part of the stem and cut diagonally into smaller pieces.  Use the leaves too. (You can also drink the leftover cooking liquid or use in soup, omelet, or to cook another vegetable in.  It contains good stuff!) If you have a steamer, use it.  If not, put about 1/4 as much water as broccoli ( that is, for one cup broccoli, use 1/4 cup water) in a saucepan, bring to a boil, salt, add stem pieces, cover and turn down to simmer.  After 1 or 2 minutes, add florets, cover, and cook until bright green and just past crunchy in texture, anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes depending on the freshness of the broccoli and your stove.  Check it with a fork and for color.  Frozen broccoli is very good, too. Just don't overcook. Dress with a little melted butter or olive oil, sautéed garlic, or grated parmesan cheese or lemon juice or cheese sauce ( made from a can of condensed cheese soup works fine).  And enjoy. 

Till next time.