May 2002
Food For Thought:

This article will focus on nutritional ways to possibly help control various conditions that HIV positive individuals can often experience. One is Lipodystropy, which can be expressed by fat redistribution, high blood cholesterol, high triglycerides and insulin resistance. The other is fatigue, which can be related to low energy, nausea and diarrhea. These nutritional suggestions can be for both preventative and therapeutic use. All of these problems can be caused by an imbalance or toxicity in your system that interferes with how your cells work, produce energy and repairs itself.

The easiest way to help minimize or avoid the problems associated with Lipodystrophy is to avoid large amounts of refined carbohydrates like white flour and sugar. Eating smaller portions more often of healthy carbohydrates like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds can help keep your blood sugar and insulin from rising to rapidly. This gives the body a better chance of regulating itself correctly. Having the correct balance of healthy fats is also necessary. Cutting out saturated fats and increasing the Omega-3 fats in our body is also very important. The good and necessary fats are found in fish, nuts, olive and canola oil, seeds and avocados. Omega-3 fats decrease insulin resistance and are anti-inflammatory. These healing fats are known to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and many kinds of cancer. They also boost our levels of “good” HDL cholesterol in our bodies. Eating enough protein is essential for people with HIV. We need to chose low-fat proteins sources like lean meats, skinless chicken, eggs (4 per week), low-fat dairy, beans, nuts, seeds and soy-based foods like tofu. We also need to spread out our protein intake to several times a day.

It is especially important to start off your morning with a combination of healthy carbohydrates. There is research that shows that the HIV virus can cause a progressive decline of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in our body. Positive folks need to pay extra attention to replacing and supplementing these nutrients. If we keep our nutrients high it can improve your fatigue level, insulin resistance and overall immunity. The most important vitamins are the Bs (B-6 and B-12 particularly). Of the minerals we need Selenium, Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc need to be supplemented the most. When you choose a vitamin/mineral supplement check to see if it has Glutamine. Glutamine is the bodies’ most important antioxidant to detoxify medications.

Our emotions also affect the hormones we produce. The emotions caused by stress makes us produce Cortisol. Cortisol really tears up your whole system. It reduces the ability of our bodies to correctly metabolize our food. This is important to think about when considering mind-body practices, like meditation or relaxation skills to minimize the stress in our lives. Almost everyone with HIV will probably experience some gastrointestinal problems at some time. Most of the problems can be greatly improved with aggressive nutritional intervention (dietary change, supplementation and stress reduction).

I have a lot of natural nutritional strategies for repairing and maintaining a healthy digestive track. Which in turn could help an immune system stay strong ultimately keeping your whole body working in better order. If you are interested in fact sheets or more information let me know and I will put an information packet together for you. We are at the BABES Network 206-720-5566

Take care of yourselves my friends. - Erica

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