Diet during HIV

HIV is an incurable disease. However, a good diet during HIV can help in preventing excessive loss of weight and weakness. However, the patient can no more eat on his whims and fancies as HIV makes him prone to diarrhea, indigestion and vomiting. Therefore eating healthy and absolutely safe diet during HIV is a must.

Problems due to diet during HIV:

• Any unlikely diet is bound to create digestion problems.
• The patient gets food poisoning from bacteria like, campylobacter, shigella and salmonella, resulting in death
• Patients with weak digestion are fed through tubes, so that essential minerals, which the digestion system cannot resist, are supplemented.
• Patients also need to be supplemented with vitamin and mineral pill.
• The body cannot bear the intake of certain essential minerals like riboflavin, thiamine, Vitamin B 12, Vitamin B 6 and folate.

Diet during HIV should avoid:

• Any shell food
• Any half boiled vegetable
• Any half boiled meat. (meat should be cooked until they are completely tender)
• Half boiled eggs. (Eggs should be boiled till at least seven minutes and poach and omelets should be avoided.)
• Avoid high proteins. They are very heavy for a weak stomach
• Any food that contains raw eggs like hard ice creams, mousse, mayonnaise.
• Avoid too much of sugar, aerated drinks, and too much junk food

Right diet during HIV:

• Keeping the body well hydrated is very necessary, as it washes out the toxins.
• Eat fruits five to six times a day
• Eat low fat dairy food
• Have seeds, nuts, and other cereals in small amount every day.
• Eat all colors of fruits and vegetables as each colour contains a particular type of nutrition
• Eat lean protein food like fish, thin chicken slices etc
• Eat whole grains
• In every meal whether full meal or half, try to take carbohydrates, fat and protein religiously.

Including protein will regularly improve your immunity system, muscles and help in your body growth. Carbohydrates give you energy, while fat stores this energy. A total combination of these nutrients is very essential for a healthy diet during HIV.

The five following major source of nutrients that should be included in every meal are:

• Vegetables
• Meats
• Fruits
• Dairy
• Cereals or whole grains

Tips for diet during HIV:

• If your stomach is weak, eat five to six small meals in a day rather than three meals
• Always eat fresh food or keep it under refrigeration
• Do not eat old meats in your fridge
• Maintain a good hygiene while eating, by washing hands properly with hot water and soap; and utensils with a good soap. Be sure that the soap is properly washed away before eating.

Nutritional problems caused during HIV:

1. Mal-absorption of food
2. Problems during digestion due to harsh medications and side effects of antiretroviral therapies
3. Inadequate intake of food due to loss of appetite and other physical problems

For all these reasons, it is very important to observe a good diet during HIV, so that the malfunctioning of the body is counteracted by supplementing with a good diet.