HIV: Treatment, Eating and Everyday Health Records
Understand HIV treatment and keep useful notes about meals, symptoms and prescribed medicines, with professional advice about tests and interactions.
Living with HIV includes the same ordinary needs as any other life: food you enjoy, routines you can sustain and care that treats you with respect.
Start your food and symptom diary
Understanding HIV infection
HIV is a virus that affects the immune system. Effective treatment allows many people to live long, healthy lives. Symptoms cannot establish or exclude infection; testing is needed. HIV is not spread by sharing food, cups or everyday household contact. [1]
Care and everyday food decisions
Antiretroviral treatment reduces the amount of virus in the body and requires ongoing clinical monitoring. Ask your HIV team about medicine timings, food instructions and any supplements or other medicines. A food diary cannot show viral load or replace treatment. [1]
Keeping a useful personal record
If useful, record appetite, meals, persistent bowel symptoms and medicines taken as prescribed. Keep questions about side effects for your team, rather than skipping doses to test a theory. One Food Forward can organise a personal history, but does not monitor adherence or provide HIV treatment advice.
Can a healthy diet replace antiretroviral treatment?
No. Eating well can support general health, while antiretroviral medicines treat HIV. Your clinical team uses blood tests and review to assess treatment. [1]
Keep the details somewhere you can find them
There is no need to tell the whole story at once. Start with today’s meal, a symptom or a few words about how you felt. Those small entries give you something to return to when it is time to talk about your care.
Sources and further reading
Your healthcare team should guide diagnosis, treatment and changes to your diet or medicines.
Spotted something that needs correcting? Contact One Food Forward support and include this page’s address.