SPEAK OUT

HIV
Maintaining body weight
Question: I am a 33 year old student and I am HIV+. My problem is this, my body is getting thinner and thinner since I was diagnosed last year. I tried supplements to boost my immune system but they doen’t help. What can I use to boost my immune system and maintain my body weight? Also how long can I use supplements for?

Answer: You can and should always use supplements. However, stick to the prescribed dose, many supplements are either expelled from your body if you use too much – and that wastes money, or they can cause complications, and some can even become slightly poisonous, so stick to as many tablets or drops as the bottle tells you. Weight loss is typical of HIV infection, but it is may be due to an associated infection such as tuberculosis, diarrhoea, pneumocystic carinii, lymphoma (a form of cancer), or the HIV infection itself. You sound as though you are fairly healthy, but go to your doctor or clinic and get a thorough medical check up.

However, to maintain your weight, or slow weight loss, eat often and ensure it is high energy foods like meilie meal, potato, rice or pasta. Eat plenty of high protein foods like beans, lentils, full cream milk, eggs, cheese, meat or fish. High energy products like Complan, Ensure and PVM help, and many protein enriched porridges such as Pro-Nutro and others on the market. However, never eat junk food, stay away from too many fried foods, sugar or fizzy drinks and don’t drink alcohol.

Personal hygiene is also really important to prevent infection, wash your hands well every time you go to the toilet, keep your living environment dust free and clean.

Nano O, Pretoria: I would like to find more books to read on HIV, and how do I get the metal HIV pins?

CS: The Department of Health in Pretoria – and at its regional offices, gives free posters, booklets and metal AIDS ribbons if you write and ask. Department of Health, Pretoria 0001, or contact the regional office closest to you.

Two excellent new books on HIV/AIDS are HIV/AIDS Care and Counselling by Alta van Dyk published by Pearson Education South Africa. If you can’t find a copy write to the publishers at Forest Drive, Pinelands, Cape Town 8001. An excellent book for those who are involved in community work, or just for individuals is HIV: Health and Your Community, A Guide for Action by Reuben Granich and Jonathan Mermin published by the Hesperian Foundation, 1919 Addison street, Suite 304, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA.

Zakhele J, Sundumbili: I am married and 32 years old, my wife is 27. We were diagnosed as having retroviral disease in 1999. We look healthy and are gaining weight. We are not on anti-retroviral drugs but we take tablets to boost the immune system – spirulina, moducare, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, garlic and parsley, sometimes we take African potato. We avoid drinks from the refrigerator and we only drink pure fruit juices or tap water. We include vegetables although not plenty in our diet, fruit, eggs, meat, milk, chicken. We practise safe sex and have started to exercise. We are not planning more children because we know my immunity will be decreased. We have not told anyone of our status. Can you tell us if we are doing the right things?

CS: You are almost a textbook case of how to live positively with HIV. However, I would suggest that you consider joining a support group, it’s easier if you can talk freely, but too you will learn more about healthy living from others just like you. I would suggest that eating raw garlic and fresh parsley at least four times a week may be cheaper than buying the pills. If you are on Moducare you do not need to get African potato too, and vice versa. Consider stopping Spirulina and using Barley Green, eat many more vegetables and beans and lentils. And definitely add selenium to your vitamin cabinet. Every now again add magnesium and zinc to your tablets, but you do not need to stay on these all the time, just as a boost every few months.