Nutrition and exercise

The UN encourages all its employees to take care of their health, but this is especially important for people who are HIV-positive. If you are living with HIV, you should take care to eat more and focus on consuming healthy foods. Proteins, such as meat, fish, beans, nuts and seeds, help build and maintain muscle. Energy is supplied by carbohydrates, which come from grains, cereals, vegetablesand fruits. You should consume a modest amount of fat, with emphasis on the 'monosaturated' fats found in nuts, seeds, certain vegetable oils, and fish. Avoid as much as possible the harmful fats found in butter and animal products.

Those of us who are HIV-positive should take extra care in the preparation of foods. Wash your hands before making meals, and carefully wash all fruits and vegetables. Avoid raw or undercooked eggs or meat, refrigerate leftovers and eat them within three days, and do not purchase or prepare food beyond its expiry date.

If you are HIV-positive, you should also drink plenty of liquids. Minimize your intake of tea, coffee, colas, chocolate or alcohol, as these fluids can actually cause you to lose body fluid. If you are not sure that your public water supply is completely pure, you should boil your water or drink bottled water.

You should also exercise regularly, try to sleep at least eight hours a night, rest when you are tired, and try to minimize stress and anxiety. Having a social support network often helps, so you should reach out to trusted family and friends for support. Joining a support group for people living with HIV is often a good way to make friends, reduce feelings of isolation, and obtain useful ideas for coping with your infection.

If you smoke, you should stop smoking if you test HIV-positive. Smoking damages the lungs and other parts of the body and increases the body's vulnerability to infections.

It is a good idea to avoid unnecessary medicines. They can have unpleasant side-effects and can interfere with good nutrition. If you are on other medications not related to HIV, you should discuss this with your physician.

Although these suggestions are particularly important for people living with HIV, they are actually good guidelines for all of us to follow, regardless of our HIV status.

Here’s a short list of health precautions to take:

• Adopt a healthy diet
• Exercise regularly
• Avoid alcohol and tobacco, or certainly minimise their consumption
• Reduce stress
• Avoid all forms of infection (when possible) because they may compromise your health and further weaken one’s immune system
• Don’t use drugs other than those prescribed by your doctor
• Visit your doctor regularly

(Note: Links will open in a new browser window)

• Living Well with HIV/AIDS
  Providing nutritional care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS is an important part of caring at all stages of the disease. This on-line manual produced by FAO and WHO provides practical recommendations for a healthy and well balanced diet for people living with HIV/AIDS. It deals with common complications that people living with HIV/AIDS are experiencing at different stages of infection and helps provide local solutions that emphasize using local food resources and home-based care and support.
• Nutrition Guide for People with HIV/AIDS
  This booklet provides practical information on composing healthy diets in general. As people with HIV/AIDS often have special food requirements, it provides some specific recommendations for them. The booklet contains sections about the most common health problems facing those living with HIV/AIDS. These problems include diarrhoea, weight loss, lack of appetite, mouth and skin sores, coughs, flu. Some background information is provided about these symptoms in relation to the disease, as well as food-related guidelines on how to cope with these situations.
• Weight Maintenance and Nutrition
  This website covers issues about nutrition, vitamin supplements, food preparation and a special section for women living with HIV. It also includes information in Spanish.
• Exercise and HIV
  This link includes articles and links to other sites about the benefits and challenges of exercise for people living with HIV.
• Nutrition and Exercise when you have HIV
  This site gives some very practical suggestions about how to stay healthy through good nutrition and exercise.