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Healthy diet will retard growth of HIV virus
New Delhi, Mar 23: A healthy diet may retard the growth of the deadly HIV virus and help the infected people live a better life by boosting their energy levels and immune system, two UN agencies said.
New Delhi, Mar 23: A healthy diet may retard the growth of the deadly HIV virus and help the infected people live a better life by boosting their energy levels and immune system, two UN agencies said.
By strengthening the immune system and boosting energy levels, balanced nutrition could help the body defend against the ravages of the disease, who and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a joint manual.
Those affected by HIV/Aids need more protein to rebuild muscle tissue, more energy-rich food for weight gain, immune system-boosting vitamins and minerals and water to combat dehydration, the manual said adding that despite blunted appetites and difficulties in eating, people living with HIV/Aids need to eat considerable more food to fight the illness and make up for weight loss.
Recognising the relationship between infection and nutrition, the manual offers simple and practical dietary suggestions for the estimated 42 million people living with HIV/Aids, a US embassy release said.
Developing countries which are home to about 95 per cent of people with HIV/Aids do not have adequate health care resources to fight the disease. So the best way for them to respond to the illness is to maintain as balanced a diet as possible, director of the FAO's food and nutrition division Kraisid Tontisirin said. "The nutritional aspect of HIV/Aids has been ignored for a long time. The attention was always focussed on drugs," Tontisirin said.
Bureau Report
Those affected by HIV/Aids need more protein to rebuild muscle tissue, more energy-rich food for weight gain, immune system-boosting vitamins and minerals and water to combat dehydration, the manual said adding that despite blunted appetites and difficulties in eating, people living with HIV/Aids need to eat considerable more food to fight the illness and make up for weight loss.
Recognising the relationship between infection and nutrition, the manual offers simple and practical dietary suggestions for the estimated 42 million people living with HIV/Aids, a US embassy release said.
Developing countries which are home to about 95 per cent of people with HIV/Aids do not have adequate health care resources to fight the disease. So the best way for them to respond to the illness is to maintain as balanced a diet as possible, director of the FAO's food and nutrition division Kraisid Tontisirin said. "The nutritional aspect of HIV/Aids has been ignored for a long time. The attention was always focussed on drugs," Tontisirin said.
Bureau Report