POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Nutrition & HIV => Topic started by: texaninnyc87 on November 27, 2012, 12:44:34 pm
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Hey guys. I'm a newly diagnosed guy who's trying to figure all this stuff out. I'm in the process of getting all my numbers and getting setup with ADAP and all that other time consuming stuff thats necessary for me to start getting healthy. i guess i'm just wondering if there are any other vegetarians out there who can give me some tips or advice on issues they've faced dealing with their diets and HIV. I've been a vegetarian for 13 years (im 25) and dont plan on ever eating meat again if i can help it! Any advice, tips or anecdotes would be much appreciated!
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Hey guys. I'm a newly diagnosed guy who's trying to figure all this stuff out. I'm in the process of getting all my numbers and getting setup with ADAP and all that other time consuming stuff thats necessary for me to start getting healthy. i guess i'm just wondering if there are any other vegetarians out there who can give me some tips or advice on issues they've faced dealing with their diets and HIV. I've been a vegetarian for 13 years (im 25) and dont plan on ever eating meat again if i can help it! Any advice, tips or anecdotes would be much appreciated!
I'm not aware of any recommendation to consume meat just because one is HIV positive. I'll be curious to see what other vegetarian respondents have to say (and for the record I am not vegetarian), to see if there are any concerns / issues linking HIV and vegetarianism. I can't think of any, but then as I said, I'm not a vegetarian.
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There are some dietary concerns, but none that apply specifically to having HIV. I'm assuming you're not on a complete vegan diet as that diet has its own issues.
My lab results are pretty complete and show any deficiencies in my diet. My doctor is also a vegetarian so it makes it easy to discuss issues with him. I don't know if my doctor does these labs because of my diet, but you might discuss this with you doctor to see if he has any specific concerns.
I finally folded to my doctor's wishes and started multi-vitamins yesterday.
Best Wishes.
Wolfie
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I was a lacto-vegetarian* before diagnosis and for about seven years after diagnosis. (*lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products but no eggs, fish or chicken, which some people claiming to be vegetarians do eat.)
I have to admit I got lazy in making sure I was getting enough protein - and a protein-rich diet is important when you're poz. After a while, I started craving eggs and chicken and when I finally gave in and started eating them again, I found I had a lot more energy than before.
To this day I only eat meat or eggs once or twice a week, but at least I know I'm getting the protein I need. I still eat a lot of cheese and lentils. Beans - not so much since I started meds. Truvada gives me the farts enough as it is. ;D
The bottom line is - yes, you can continue to be a vegetarian provided you make sure you don't get lazy like I did and keep a close eye on your protein intake.
It wouldn't hurt to make sure you're taking a good multivitamin supplement. It also wouldn't hurt to ask your doctor if he or she can recommend a good nutritionist who has hiv knowledge, so you can go over your diet with them to make sure you're doing it right and getting all the nutrients you need, particularly that important protein.
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Thanks for the advice! I've been taking muiltivitamins for years now. I'm thinking about maybe starting protein shakes or something for breakfast, especially if I am on a medication that requires you take it with food. i know some pills have a certain calorie content requirement so i think most protein shakes would be an easy way to meet this+helping me guarantee im getting enough protein. i'll be sure to talk with my doctors about it. this whole process has been so daunting to me; i'm just trying to be as knowledgeable and prepared as possible.
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tex, if you are seriously committed to vegetarianism, you should carefully read the ingredient labels on any protein shakes you consider buying as they sometimes include animal-derived byproducts. You don't mention if you eat eggs or not, but if you don't, be aware that egg byproducts are sometimes an ingredient. I found that the type that comes as a powder often will state clearly on the label if it is vegetarian friendly and whether or not it contains egg byproducts.
I went the protein shake route for a while (that's how I know about the labeling) and found it helped a bit - but it was also part of me being lazy and looking for an easy-out for my protein intake. I had very little appetite at the time (something starting hiv meds has helped) - and that was a big part of my lapse into laziness. I'm actually considering going veggie again now that my appetite is better.
By the way, learning to be poz is daunting at first, but it does get better. You'll see. Hang in there!
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I'm a recently clinically diagnosed guy who's trying to determine all this things out. I'm in the procedure of getting all my figures and getting installation with ADAP and all that other difficult things thats necessary for me to begin getting healthier. i think i'm just thinking if there are any other vegans out there who can provide me some guidelines or guidance on problems they've experienced working with their diet plans and HIV. I've been a veggie for 13 decades (im 25) and don't strategy on ever consuming beef again if i can help it! Any guidance, guidelines or stories would be much appreciated...
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Hey, buddy. I was vegetarian "before", and since I don't like milk except in coffee, I was almost vegan by accident. Everyone told me that I had new protein needs and that it would be difficult on a vegetarian diet to get enough. Of course, they say that about people without HIV. ;)
I don't know if it's true, but I still don't really eat meat. I just never get around to it. I'm tracking other nutrition metrics for one of those open classes online. With a couple of exceptions (which have little to do with meat), I'm hitting the targets, but I just this second realized I should update my settings for HIV. It'll also give me something to write about in the analysis we have to turn in, and I think I just found my end-of-class project. So, uh, thanks!
I'm gonna start here, but I'll let you know if anything pops out:
http://www.tufts.edu/med/nutrition-infection/hiv/health_high_quality_diet.html
http://www.thewellproject.org/en_US/Living_Well/Health/Vitamins_and_Supplements.jsp
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hey oksi!
yeah my doctors monitor all my levels and im taking multivitamins and additional Vitamin D and B12 vitamins. No one has every mentioned anything about additional protein needs being positive. i should probably be more aware of my protein consumption especially since ive been working out so much.
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Hi Tex
I saw a nutritionist right after my diagnosis and she also pointed out that HIV + ppl need to be conscious of getting enough protein.
Seems to be a pretty consistent message from health professionals dealing with HIV folks.
lincoln.
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My doctors said it was totally fine as long as I am mindful of my diet they actually said all of my numbers were better than average most likely because of my vegetarianism. Vegetarians live on average 10 years longer than people who eat meat, fyi.