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Nutrition and HIV
Nutrition and HIV Good Nutrition is key for people with HIV to maintain a healthy life. Optimal nutrition can help boost immune function, maximize the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy, reduce the risk of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and contribute to a better overall quality of life. A nutrition and HIV healthy diet can help HIV positive people live longer thanks to effective treatment. Good nutrition can also help prevent problems. But there is no single, optimal eating regimen appropriate for every person living with HIV/AIDS. Instead, HIV positive people should adopt a sensible balanced diet and consult an experienced nutrition specialist for individualized recommendations. Food for Life Food is essential for life, providing the fuel the body needs to function and the building blocks that make up cells, tissues, and organs. The energy provided by food is expressed in terms of calories. The body requires a certain number of calories simply to carry out its basic metabolic functions such as respiration and maintenance of body temperature. Additional calories are needed to support physical activity, fight infection, and rebuild damaged tissues.
If a person does not take in enough calories, fat is broken down to provide fuel. Once the fat is consumed -- or if an individual's metabolism is disrupted due to illness -- lean body mass (muscles and organs) is then used for fuel and raw materials. Conversely, if a person takes in more calories than needed, the extra energy will be stored as fat. The average person needs about 10-20 calories per pound (depending on physical activity level and other factors) to maintain a stable body weight; this requirement is likely to be higher for people with HIV. But all food is not equal. While all contain calories, different foods vary widely in the nutrients they provide. A balanced diet is comprised of the following components. It is especially important for nutrition and hiv. Vitamins and minerals: Along with the "macronutrients" described above, a balanced diet also contains many "micronutrients," organic and inorganic substances necessary for proper biological functioning for nutrition and hiv. Water-soluble vitamins (B and C) are excreted in the urine and must be consumed more often; fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are stored in the liver and can reach toxic levels if taken in large doses. IM- MAX DOES NOT contain doses of any vitamin large enough to be toxic. Minerals (including the electrolytes chloride, potassium, and sodium) are inorganic substances found in the environment. The body needs several trace elements in tiny amounts, including boron, chromium, cobalt, copper, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. Cooking and processing can destroy some vitamins and minerals. Antioxidants: Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that contain unpaired electrons. This allows them to set off damaging chain reactions when they bind with and "steal" electrons from other molecules in the body -- a process known as oxidative stress. Antioxidants scavenge and neutralize free radicals. By disrupting the oxidation process, antioxidants help protect cells from damage. Antioxidants include vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, the minerals selenium and zinc, and glutathione. How HIV Impacts Nutrition and HIV In the early years of the epidemic, healthcare providers soon learned that people with AIDS commonly experienced both overt protein/calorie malnutrition and deficiencies of specific nutrients. But nutrient depletion may also begin to occur earlier in the course of HIV disease, even among individuals with relatively intact immune systems. Several factors can contribute to nutritional problems in people with HIV/AIDS. Malabsorption: HIV or associated infections can damage the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, which can interfere with absorption of nutrients. Some HIV positive people experience specific problems, such as fat malabsorption, which can impair absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Opportunistic infections: Various bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections can interfere with proper nutrition and HIV. Malignancies (cancers) and mycobacterial illnesses such as tuberculosis are often characterized by wasting. Several OIs cause vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to poor absorption or loss of nutrients. Other infections -- such as thrush (oral candidiasis), gingivitis (gum inflammation), and cytomegalovirus esophagitis (throat inflammation) -- can make eating painful. Medications: Antiretrovirals, OI drugs, and other medications can contribute to nutrient deficiencies and imbalances, either due to direct drug-nutrient interactions or drug side effects. Vomiting and diarrhea can lead to dehydration and depletion of nutrients. Loss of appetite (anorexia), fatigue, and taste alterations can make it difficult to eat enough. Antibiotics may interfere with nutrition by killing off beneficial bacteria in the gut. Food requirements -- the need to take medications either on a full or an empty stomach or with specific types of food -- can disrupt normal eating patterns. Finally, some antiretroviral medications are associated with metabolic changes such as blood lipid and glucose abnormalities. Inadequate intake: Ill people often experience anorexia. OI symptoms and medication side effects -- nausea, diarrhea, sore mouth or throat, altered sense of taste or smell -- can further reduce the desire or ability to eat. This may be compounded by lack of money, depression, or feeling too fatigued to shop and prepare food. Altered nutritional requirements: Nutrition and hiv, by altering metabolism (how the body processes and uses nutrients), acute or chronic illness -- including HIV disease and OIs -- and the resulting immune response can increase the body's energy needs. People with HIV/AIDS may require more calories, macronutrients, and specific vitamins and minerals. Chronic illness may also alter hormone and cytokine levels, which may have nutritional implications. Conversely, nutritional deficiencies can impair immune function, potentially worsening HIV disease progression. Research has shown that depletion of vitamins A, C, and E, the B-complex vitamins, and the minerals selenium and zinc can interfere with cell-mediated immunity (CD4 cell, natural killer cell, and neutrophil proliferation and activation), antibody production, and normal cytokine signaling. Studies show the prevalence of nutritional deficiencies in people with HIV/AIDS. Nutrition and hiv, depletion of nutrients (e.g., vitamins A and E, and minerals including magnesium, selenium, and zinc) appears to be common, especially among individuals with advanced disease. In particular, having HIV seems to decrease the body's store of antioxidants, as they are needed to offset increased oxidative stress. Researchers have uncovered evidence of subtle nutritional deficiencies among people who appear to be eating an adequate diet and are not suffering from frank protein/calorie malnutrition. What About Supplements? As a rule, it's usually best to obtain nutrients from food. Swallowing handfuls of pills will not make up for a poor diet. But even HIV positive people who eat well can have low levels of various important nutrients -- at a time when their nutritional needs may be increased -- and thus may benefit from supplementation. The U.S. government's Daily Values (formerly known as Recommended Dietary Allowances) for nutrients do not necessarily reflect the amount required for optimal health, just the minimum needed to stave off deficiency symptoms in the average healthy person.
Strength Training and Nutrition
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