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Eating
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VITAMINS AND MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS Vitamins and minerals are substances that your body cannot make but needs in small amounts to survive. They are also known as micronutrients. Vitamins and minerals are involved in specific reactions in your body and need to be taken with food because they must interact with protein, fat and carbohydrates in order to be effective Healthy people who eat a variety of food every day usually do not need to take a multivitamin and mineral supplement because they meet their requirements from the food they eat. If you are HIV positive or have AIDS, you need more than what food provides, especially if you have a poor appetite and skip meals, if your body is fighting off infections r if you have chronic diarrhea.
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Specific
vitamin and mineral deficiencies can add to the immune suppression
brought on by not eating enough calories and protein. These include
vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, zinc, selenium, iron and copper.
If you are HIV positive and asymptomatic, you would benefit from
taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement daily that is at lea
t 100% of the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowances (USRDA). The USRDA
is a nutritional standard set by the government for levels people
need in order to prevent deficiencies and to maintain health. A
good brand name choice of a multivitamin and mineral supplement
is Centrum or Theragran-M. You can ask your physician to write a
prescription for a multivitamin and mineral supplement that can
be covered by Medicaid or ADAP. If you want extra protection, you
may choose to take a multivitamin and mineral supplement that has
higher levels of vitamins and minerals t an what the USRDA provides.
You will need to buy higher dosages yourself because currently they
are not reimbursable Check the contents to make sure that you do
not take very high dosages that can cause side-effects. Pay special
attention to your dosage of vitamin A (retinol), vitamin D, vitamin
B6, zinc, selenium, iron and copper.