Nutrition and HIV

Table of Contents

• Nutrition and HIV
• How Is Nutrition Measured?
• HIV+ Women and Nutrition
• Ways to Improve Nutritional Status
• Taking Care of Yourself

Nutrition and HIV

Good nutrition is very important for long-term health and survival. Studies have found that people living with HIV (HIV+) who have a healthy diet and good nutritional status can better tolerate HIV drugs, maintain weight and muscle mass more easily, and feel better overall.

Nutrients are things like fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and other important chemicals. You need proper levels of different nutrients in order to build and repair cells, keep hormones regulated, fight infection, and maintain energy levels. For the most part, we can not make nutrients. We get what we need from food and (when that is not possible) dietary supplements.

Good nutrition depends on many things, including:

• What you eat (how much, what type of food, etc.)
• How you digest and absorb nutrients
• How different parts of your body use these nutrients

HIV-related changes in any of these factors can affect your nutritional status. Over time, this can lead to a variety of nutritional problems, including:

• Weight loss
• Muscle wasting (loss of muscle)
• High levels of fats and sugars in the blood
• Not enough vitamins and minerals

Many of these HIV-related problems can be avoided, or partially managed, using nutritional strategies.

How Is Nutrition Measured?

Nutritional status can be assessed in many ways, including:

• Weight and other measurements of body fat and muscle mass
• Hemoglobin or hematocrit counts, which measure iron in the blood
• Other blood tests to check levels of key fats, proteins (such as albumin), vitamins, and minerals

Diet and HIV

A healthy diet is a key part of any HIV treatment plan. A diet is simply any food and drink that you consume regularly. Your diet should give you the nutrients you need to:

• Fight weight and muscle loss
• Keep energy levels high
• Help you get what you need from medications you take
• Minimize the negative impact of HIV drugs

What kind of diet you should follow depends on your weight and your nutritional status (cholesterol, blood sugar, vitamin levels, etc). A nutritionist or registered dietician can help figure out what type of diet makes the most sense for you. AIDS service organizations and health-care clinics sometimes have nutritionists on staff.

HIV+ Women and Nutrition

Nutritional guidelines such as the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) are set by the government to let people know how much of each nutrient they need each day to maintain good health. However, the RDA does not take into account that HIV infection increases these needs. One study showed that HIV+ people needed between 6 and 25 times the RDA of some nutrients.

Due to dieting (restrictive eating), eating unhealthy foods, lack of time, and other pressures, half of all women in the US do not eat what they need to meet even the basic RDA requirements for many nutrients. This puts women, especially HIV+ women, at particular risk for not getting enough nutrients to maintain their health.