People with HIV should avoid foods that contain high amounts of sodium — like chips,

bread, and pizza. Too much sugar can raise your chances of heart disease — this can be
especially harmful to people living with HIV. If you're living with HIV, you should aim
to get less than 10 percent of your calories from food or drinks containing added sugar.
You should also be wary of consuming more than 2,399 milligrams of sodium per day. 

Avoid trans and saturated fats — which are often present in processed food. While
healthy fats can provide you with energy, they should be consumed in moderation.

Some healthy fats you might try are nuts, avocado, or vegetable oils. Consuming too
much alcohol weakens your immune system — making it more difficult to fight off
infections or side effects from medications.

Adopting healthy eating practices can help your immune system fight off infections. If
you or someone you know is living with HIV, maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet
is essential to managing HIV-related symptoms. The best way to do this is by meeting
with your doctor or a registered dietitian who can help you manage the virus and attain a
better quality of life. 

 Complex carbohydrates include whole grains, beans (legumes), starchy vegetables

like corn and potatoes, and brown rice. Because they take longer to digest, complex
carbohydrates do not cause blood sugar to rise as sharply as simple carbohydrates
and are therefore recommended for people with diabetes.

 important to try to eat at least three servings of protein every day. A good estimate
of a 'serving' is the amount of food the size of your fist. Foods high in protein include:

 Lean meats, including beef, chicken, and pork

 Fish
 Cottage cheese and yogurt
 Eggs
 Beans, chickpeas, soybeans, and nuts
Some animal sources of protein can be high in saturated fats and should be used in
moderation—especially if you have elevated cholesterol or are at risk for heart
disease.

Fiber, Water, Fruits, and Vegetables for Gut Health

Your body needs a healthy gut to get the nutrients it needs from foods, supplements,
and medications. Foods high in fiber can help keep your bowel movements regular
and support gut health. These include:

 Oats
 Whole grain bread
 Lentils
 Chickpeas
 Beans
 Fruits and vegetables
 Prunes and apricots
 good news is that several foods can help to reduce inflammation. These include:

 Green leafy vegetables like chard, collards, kale, and spinach

 Bok choy (Chinese cabbage)
 Broccoli
 Beets
 Celery
 Certain fish, like mackerel, salmon, sardines, and tuna
 Certain fruits, like blueberries, cherries, pineapple, and strawberries
 Certain nuts, like almonds and walnuts
 Certain oils, like olive oil and coconut oil
 Certain seeds, like chia seeds and flax seeds
 Certain spices, like turmeric and ginger
 Tomatoes

Supplements
People living with HIV need more vitamins to build and r

A good diet will consist of a balance of the

following types of food:
 Starchy foods
 Fruit and vegetables
 Dairy products or alternatives
 Beans, pulses, nuts, fish, eggs and meat
 Unsaturated oils and spread
tarchy foods include
bread, cassava, cereals, green
banana, millet, maize meal, potatoes, pasta,
couscous, rice and yam. Starchy foods should form
the basis of your diet – about a third of your food
intake each day. They provide carbohydrates for
energy, fibre, calcium, iron and B vitamins.
If you have a gluten allergy or coeliac disease and
need to exclude gluten from your diet, there are
many gluten-free versions of foods available
including pastas and breads.
Try to choose wholegrain versions over refined
carbohydrates where possible. Wholegrain
versions of rice, pasta, couscous, cereals and
bread contain more fibre and often more vitamins
and minerals as well. Leaving skins on potatoes
can also help to increase your fibre intake.
A diet high in fibre helps digestion and may reduce
the risk of developing heart disease, type 2
diabetes and bowel cancer.
Fruit and vegetables provide
vitamins, minerals and fibre.
Like starchy foods, they should make up a third of
your daily food intake. Try to eat five or more
 portions of fruit or vegetables each day. A portion
is 80g, or roughly equal to:
 one medium-sized piece of fruit (such as an apple, pear or orange).
 two small pieces of fruit (such as a satsuma or plum).
 a large slice of a larger fruit such as pineapple.
 three heaped tablespoons of vegetables (these can be fresh, tinned or frozen).
Vegetables such as potatoes and yams do not count towards your five-a-day
target as they are counted as starchy foods.
 three heaped tablespoons of beans or pulses (these only count towards one of
your five-a-day target, no matter how many portions you eat).
 a handful of dried fruit (30g) or a small glass of fresh fruit juice or a smoothie.
Like beans and pulses, juices and smoothies only count as one of your five-a-day
target even if you drink more than a glass. Fruit juice is very high in natural sugar
as juicing or blending fruit releases the sugar so it becomes ‘free sugar’.
Fruit and vegetables can help protect against
certain cancers and heart disease. They are low in
fat, so increasing the proportion of your diet made
up of them is helpful if you are trying to lose weight.
It is also a good idea to eat a variety of fruit and
vegetables as different types provide different
vitamins and nutrients.
Glossary
protein
cancer
diabetes
cholesterol
diarrhoea
Dairy products,
such as milk, cheese and yoghurt,
provide vitamins, minerals and particularly
calcium. You should include some dairy, or dairy
alternatives, in your diet. Some dairy foods are
high in saturated fats, so should only be eaten in
small quantities, or you could choose lower-fat
versions of milk, cheese and yoghurt.
If you avoid dairy products, then these can be
replaced with fortified soya, nut, rice, oat or
coconut alternatives. Check the nutrition labels as
not all of these alternatives are fortified with
calcium, and organic products rarely are.
It is a good idea to try and get your calcium from a
range of sources rather than just rely on dairy
products. Dark green leafy vegetables like kale,
Chinese greens (e.g. bok choy), broccoli, dried
fruits, nuts, beans such as soy and baked beans,
tofu and bread are all very good sources of calcium
and also iron.
Fish that contain bones that you eat (e.g. sardines,
pilchards and whitebait) are also good sources of
calcium.
Beans, pulses, nuts, fish, eggs and meat provide
protein,
minerals and vitamins (particularly iron and B12
from meat). You should eat some of these protein-
rich foods as part of your diet.
Other non-animal based protein options include
quinoa, soya, tofu, Quorn products and vegetable
protein. Pulses (beans, lentils and peas) are a
great source of cheap and low-fat protein.
You could benefit from eating two portions of fish a week, including at
least one portion of oily fish. Oily fish contains
omega-3 which has anti-inflammatory properties
and can also help prevent some heart problems.
The Department of Health has advised that people
should eat no more than 70g of red or processed meat a day,  due to
the risk of bowel cancer. Both processed and red
meat have been linked with other cancers too – red
meat with pancreatic and prostate cancer and
processed meat with stomach cancer. Some meats
that are high in fat can also raise cholesterol.
Therefore it’s a good idea to eat a variety of
protein-rich foods rather than just rely on red or
processed meats.
Fats from cooking oils, margarine and spreads
provide energy, essential fatty acids, such as
omega-3, and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K). Try
to eat ‘unsaturated’ fats, such as those found in
nuts and seeds, avocados, olive oils and vegetable
oils and oily fish. The ‘saturated’ fats, found in
meat, cheese and butter can raise cholesterol.
Other foods high in saturated fats include cakes,
biscuits and pies. These should only be eaten in
small amounts.
"Eating the right foods can make you feel better, have more
energy and can keep your heart and bones healthy as you
get older."
Food and drinks high in fat or sugar should only be a small part of your
diet. They can contain empty calories and provide
little or no nutrients. Too much of most sorts of
food – but especially fats and sugars – can lead to
unhealthy weight gain. Sugary foods can also lead
to tooth decay.
Salt and salty foods can lead to high blood pressure, if eaten in
large amounts, and this can increase the possibility
of having a stroke or developing heart disease or
kidney problems. Adults and children over eleven
should eat no more than 6g of salt a day, and
younger children less.
Some foods are high in salt (e.g. bacon, cheese,
crisps, anchovies, gravy granules and stock cubes,
ham, prawns, salami, salted and dry-roasted nuts,
smoked meat and fish, salt fish, olives, soy sauce
and yeast extract). Try to eat these less often or in
smaller amounts and choose reduced-salt or ‘no
added salt’ varieties of food where possible.
Bread and breakfast cereals can
add a lot of salt to your
diet, especially if you eat them frequently.
Breakfast cereals can also contain a large amount
of sugar. Where possible, also check the labels of
foods such as sauces and dressings, crisps and
tinned foods and choose varieties with lower levels
of salt and sugar.
Reduce the amount of salt you use in cooking. You
could use more spices, herbs, garlic and lemon to
add flavour, for example.
Ready-made meals and other convenience foods
are often high in salt, sugar and fat. Eating these
too often can make it hard to have a healthy and
balanced diet.
It is important to stay properly hydrated to
ensure that the body
has enough fluid (liquid) to function properly. It is
recommended that people drink 6 to 8 glasses a
day of fluids. Water, lower-fat milks, and sugar-free
drinks, including tea and coffee, all count. Fruit
juice also counts but should be limited to 150ml a
day.
If you have a fever, or have diarrhoea, then it is
important to drink extra fluids. Similarly, if you are
exercising, you should increase your water or other
fluid intake.
You can find out more about eating a balanced diet
on the NHS Choices website.