Good nutrition means eating foods each day that will give you the vitamins, minerals, and other things you need to keep your body strong. It means eating foods that give you enough calories to have a healthy body weight. It means getting enough protein to keep your body built up and repair any damage it may have.
Good nutrition means different things at various stages of an HIV infection. This booklet will tell you what you need to know about eating right during each of these different stages:
* Perhaps you are infected with HIV but have no signs of disease. In this case, concentrate on eating a wide variety of healthy foods each day. There is no one type of food that has everything our bodies need. Try to choose all of your foods from the basic groups of foods described below.
* Perhaps you HIV infection is causing minor health problems. Eating may be uncomfortable or your appetite may be poor right now, but it is so important to eat well! Sometimes you’ll find that by avoiding certain foods and eating others or changing the time that you eat or the amount that you eat can make you feel a lot better.
* Perhaps your HIV infection is causing serious health problems, and you may even need assistance in shopping, cooking or eating. Keep in close contact with your doctor and use the suggestions in this book to help you carry out his advice concerning food and eating.
A Healthy “Balanced” Diet
All our lives, it seems, we’ve been told to “eat a balanced diet.” Have you ever found yourself wondering what that means? Very simply, it means making daily meals and snacks of foods contained in the basic food groups. These are the kinds of foods known to make us healthy. All the foods in each group are very similar in their nutritional value.
Fruits and Vegetables
Salads, cooked vegetables, raw or cooked fruits and juices are in this group. They supply many of the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
Eat four servings or more each day.
One serving is considered to be:
* a piece of fruit or raw vegetable
* a half cup of cooked vegetable or fruit. This would be like the size of a scoop of ice cream.
* a small glass of juice.
Protein Foods
Meats, fish, poultry, eggs and cheese are in this group. They give you protein as well as many vitamins and minerals.
Eat three servings or more each day.
One serving is considered to be:
* Two ounces of meat, fish, chicken or turkey. An ounce is the size of a slice of bologna or other cold cut. A typical chicken leg has about two ounces of meat on it. A typical hamburger patty is three ounces.
* two eggs
* two slices of cheese or two 1-inch cubes
* one cup of cooked beans or peas. This would be about the size of two scoops of ice cream.
* two handfuls of nuts
* a thick coating of peanut butter on a typical slice of bread.
Bread and Cereal Group
Bread, grains and cereals are in this group. They have a variety of vitamins, minerals and some protein in them.
Eat four servings or more each day.
One serving is considered to be:
* one slice of bread
* one bowl of breakfast cereal
* one half cup of noodles, macaroni, rice or grits. This would be like the size of a scoop of ice cream. A typical plateful of spaghetti would be two or more servings.
* one pancake, waffle, tortilla or slice of corn bread
* one biscuit
* 5 crackers
Dairy Foods
Milk, cheese and yogurt are in this group. They give you protein, vitamins and a lot of calcium.
Eat two servings or more each day.
One serving is considered to be:
* 8 ounce glass of milk. This is about the size of a coffee mug.
* 8 ounces of yogurt. This is the size of the typical container of yogurt at the store.
* Two slices of cheese, or two 1-inch cubes.
* One bowl of pudding or custard, the size of a cereal bowl.
* One and one half cups of ice cream. This would be the amount in three scoops, or three ice cream bars.
Keep in mind that these are the minimum number of servings to eat each day. Only you know how much you need to eat to keep from losing weight. Because of the effect of HIV on our bodies, you may have to eat much more than usual to keep from losing weight.
What About Junk Food?
Sometimes its very tempting to eat junk food instead of healthy food. A bag of chips, a cola and a candy bar seem so much easier to eat, and taste good too! Some facts about junk food can help you make your own decisions about whether or not to eat it.
First of all, some things that people call “junk food” are really good for you. Pizza, hamburger, tacos, sandwiches, and ice cream are all very nutritious. If you think about it, they are made of cheese, meat, milk, and bread. These are all mentioned in the basic food groups listed previously. You can feel good about eating them.
Some other “junk foods” are not as nutritious. Candy, chips, and soft drinks are mostly made of fat and sugar. They have very little protein, vitamins and minerals. If you eat too much of them, you may find you are not hungry for foods in the basic food groups which give you what your body needs.
Junk food usually has a lot of calories. Eating foods with a lot of calories can make people gain weight. When you are infected with HIV, you may find yourself losing more weight than is good for you. Candy, cookies, and soft drinks may help you gain weight at these times. You can enjoy them along with foods from the basic food groups for extra calories and good nutrition too!
Excerpted from
Nutrition and HIV: Your Choices Make a Difference
A Comprehensive Guide
By Peggy A. Wickwire, MS, RD, LD/N
Tennessee Department of Health AIDS Program