Nutrition and HIV

Good nutrition is key to a healthy lifestyle, regardless of whether one is living with HIV/AIDS. 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.

In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, many people with HIV were dealing with wasting and opportunistic infections (OIs) linked to unsafe food or water. While these problems are less common today in developed countries with widespread access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), many HIV positive people have traded these concerns for worries about body shape changes, elevated blood lipids, and other metabolic complications associated with antiretroviral therapy.

Fortunately, maintaining a healthy diet can help address these problems. As HIV positive people live longer thanks to effective treatment, good nutrition can also help prevent problems (such as bone loss) associated with normal aging. 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, especially those with advanced disease.

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.

Protein: Protein provides the building blocks of lean body mass. When a protein-rich food is consumed, it is broken down into amino acids, which are reassembled to create enzymes, hormones, and bodily tissues. Most nutrition experts recommend that protein should contribute about 15-20% of the total calories in a person's diet. Good sources include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, tofu, nuts, and legumes (e.g., dried beans, lentils).

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates, which are converted to glucose in the body, are a primary source of energy. Carbohydrates are classified as simple or complex; complex carbohydrates take more time to break down, and thus provide fuel over a longer period of time. Despite the recent popularity of "low carb" diets, most nutrition experts recommend that carbohydrates -- primarily complex ones -- should make up at least 50% of one's total daily calorie intake. Simple carbohydrates are found in processed sugar, honey, fruit and juice, and lactose (milk sugar). Complex carbohydrates are found in grain products such as bread, pasta, and rice; legumes; and starchy foods such as corn, potatoes, winter squash, and root vegetables.

Fats: Fat in food is a source of energy and has a high concentration of calories. Excess energy from any source -- not just fatty food -- is converted to fat in the body and stored for later use. Cholesterol (found in animal products like meat and eggs) and triglycerides are present in food, but are also produced when the body metabolizes sugar and saturated fat. Everyone needs some dietary fat, but getting too little is rarely a problem. More important is the type of fat. Saturated fats promote elevated blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) "bad" cholesterol, which can clog arteries and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Saturated fat is found in meat, butter, tropical oils (e.g., coconut, palm), and "trans" fats or hydrogenated oils (which are chemically altered to make them solid at room temperature). Polyunsaturated fats (found in safflower, sunflower, corn, and soybean oils) are generally considered more healthful, and monounsaturated fats (found in olive and canola oils, nuts, seeds, and avocados) can help raise levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) "good" cholesterol, which protects against heart disease. A balanced diet also contains essentially fatty acids, including omega-3 (found in flax and cold-water fish). Most experts say fats should make up no more than 25-30% of total calorie intake, with less than 10% being saturated fat.

Fiber: Also known as "roughage," fiber is indigestible plant matter such as cellulose. Insoluble fiber plays an important role in digestion, helping food move smoothly through the colon (large intestine); this type of fiber is found in the skin and pulp of many fruits and vegetables, whole grains, popcorn, and seeds. Soluble fiber helps stabilize blood sugar and may reduce LDL cholesterol levels; this type of fiber is found in oatmeal and oat bran, legumes, nuts, and fruits such as apples, oranges, pears, and grapes.

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. 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. Most vitamins must be obtained from food, although the body manufactures vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunlight and others are produced by bacteria in the gut. 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. For information on the function and food sources of specific vitamins and minerals, see the chart below.

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.

Phytochemicals: Among the advant