Eating well nourishes your body and helps keep you well. Good nutrition can improve your energy levels, boost your immune system, help you maintain a healthy body weight and decrease your risk of infections. Patients with HIV may experience weight loss, infections, vomiting, diarrhea and metabolic changes, making nutrition good nutrition particularly important. HIV patients also have increased nutritional needs. HIV weakens the immune system, so your body has to work harder and burn more energy to fight infections.
Balanced Diet
There aren't any specific foods that will cure HIV, but eating a balanced diet can help keep your body strong enough to fight infections. Eat a balanced diet that includes a variety of foods each day. A healthy diet is composed of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. Should you experience any side effects from HIV or your medications such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, you may need to modify your diet until symptoms resolve. A registered dietitian can give you individualized instructions on how to modify your diet to help manage symptoms, while ensuring you still get the nutrition you require.
Protein
Your body uses the protein to build and maintain muscles, tissues, organs, and components of your immune system. If you do not consume enough protein in your diet, your body will break down your muscle mass to gain access to protein molecules. Loss of muscle mass can weaken your immune system and your body. Healthy adults should consume between 0.4 to 0.5 g of protein per pound of body weight per day. HIV patients may require more protein to prevent the break down of lean body mass, but additional research is needed for conclusive recommendations. Dietary protein should account for 15 to 20 percent of the total daily calories. Good sources of dietary protein include meats, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, soy and quinoa.
Multivitamin Supplementation
A study published in July 2004 in the "New England Journal of Medicine" indicated that taking a daily multivitamin can slow the progression of HIV and the onset of AIDS. Additionally, the study indicated that HIV-positive individuals taking a daily multivitamin experienced a lower viral count, as well as fewer complications such as mouth sores, diarrhea and fatigue. A daily multivitamin can be a low-cost way to keep your body healthy. Always discuss vitamin or mineral supplements with your doctor before taking them.
Food Safety
Because HIV weakens the immune system, it is important to keep your foods safe to eat to avoid any foodborne illness. Always wash your hands before handling foods and keep your food preparation area clean and sanitary. Wash raw fruits and vegetables before eating them. Cook meats, fish, poultry and eggs until they are well done, and avoid sushi, undercooked eggs and unpasteurized dairy products and juices. Thoroughly wash any cutting boards and knives that are used for raw meat, and use a separate cutting board for raw fruits and vegetables. Immediately refrigerate any leftover foods, and reheat leftovers completely before eating them.
References
- Tufts University: Why is Good Nutrition Important in HIV?
- AIDS.gov: Nutrition and Food Safety
- The AIDS Infonet: Nutrition; June 2010
- "World Health Organization"; Nutrient Requirements for People Living With HIV/AIDS; 2003
- "New England Journal of Medicine"; A Randomized Trial of Multivitamin Supplements and HIV Disease Progression and Mortality; WW Fwazi, et al.; July 2004
- Tufts University: Food and Water Safety
