HIV

Whether you are HIV+ or HIV-, having good eating habits is one of the most important ways to keep yourself healthy. If you are HIV+, good nutrition can be even more necessary for a number of reasons:

If you are sick, symptoms like fevers and diarrhea can reduce your appetite

Some people with HIV have a tendency to lose too much weight

HIV drugs can reduce appetite and affect the ability to absorb food

Poor eating habits can make it more difficult to recover from colds and the flu

Good eating habits can keep you healthier longer

People with HIV Have Greater Nutritional Needs

HIV infection and HIV medication can make you feel less hungry or even change the way food tastes. If you have a sore mouth, nausea, or are throwing up, food is often the last thing on your mind! Even depression and being tired can make the simple act of making something to eat seem impossible. For all these reasons, people with HIV tend to have a greater need for good eating habits than people without HIV. If you are experiencing any of these problems, it is important to share this information with your doctor. There are things your doctor can do to help.

Rules for a Healthy Diet

Here are a few rules that can make your diet healthier:

Eat staple foods with every meal—these foods supply energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Examples of staple foods include rice, wheat, bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yucca (cassava), and plantains
Eat legumes every day—when you eat legumes with a staple food, you increase the quality of the protein your body gets from the staple food. Examples of legumes are peas, beans, lentils, peanut butter, and soybeans
Eat animal and milk products every day—these types of foods are good sources of vitamins, protein, and give you extra energy. You should eat these as often as possible. These foods include fish, all forms of meat, poultry, eggs, milk, sour cream, yogurt, and cheese
Eat fruits and vegetables every day—these foods are important to your overall health. They help fight infection and provide vitamins. Yellow, dark red, green, and orange vegetables are great sources of vitamin A. Examples of these vegetables are green leafy vegetables (like spinach, lettuce, and collard greens), green peppers, squash, carrots, yellow peaches, apricots, mangoes, and papaya. Other excellent sources of vitamin C include cabbage, tomatoes, oranges, lemons, guavas, passion fruits, and pineapples
Use fats, oils, sugar, and sugary foods in moderation—these foods are necessary for keeping weight on and gaining any lost weight. Fats and oils include butter, lard, margarine, cooking oil, and mayonnaise. Sugar and sugary foods include honey, jam, table sugar, cakes, and biscuits
Drink plenty of water—you should drink about 8 cups of water per day and even more if you are vomiting, have diarrhea, or have a fever

Following these simple rules can help you live a longer, healthier, positive life!

Guide to Gaining Weight

If you are HIV+, then you know that sometimes your weight goes up and down like a yo-yo. When you suffer from a cold, the flu, or other serious infection, you're probably not as hungry as usual and have trouble eating.

Other times, the side effects of your medication may make eating a small meal seem like climbing a mountain! As you recover from your cold or as the side effects from your medication begin to go away, you are left feeling drained, tired, and looking a bit thinner. If you are HIV+, regaining weight is important, here are a few things that you can do to help regain the weight that you lost:

Eat more staple foods like rice, bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and bananas
Eat more beans, lentils, soybeans, peas, peanut butter, and sunflower and sesame seeds
Eat more meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and milk. If your stomach is upset, minced meat is easier to digest
Eat snacks regularly between meals. Good snacks include yogurt, sunflower seeds, fruit, peanut butter, carrots, and nuts
Slowly increase the amount of fat in your diet. If you have diarrhea, eat very little fat until it goes away, and then slowly increase your fat intake again
Increase the amount of dairy products, like cheese, yogurt, and whole milk
Add sugar and honey to food
If your appetite is poor, gradually increase the amount and size of meals or snacks in a day rather than trying to eat a lot of food in fewer sittings
If you are sick in bed, be sure to keep water and some food within close reach in case you do get hungry or need something to drink
Even if you are not hungry, try to eat something at mealtime to prevent weight loss

These few rules can help you quickly gain back the weight you lost. But keep in mind, if you are HIV+, the best way to deal with being sick is to see a doctor as soon as possible. The sooner you get better, the less weight you will lose.