Nutrition, the Cycle of Diseases and Sickness

Nutrition, the Cycle of Diseases and Sickness.

There is a cyclic relationship between the attacking of opportunistic diseases, general health and nutrition. So an individual with poor nutritional status has a weakened immune system and thus decreased ability to fight any infection (including HIV) which then makes them more vulnerable to infections. These infections in turn result in an increase in nutritional needs, but at the same time the person often has a reduced appetite and decreased food intake as well as an increased loss of nutrients due to the disease processes – and so the nutritional status of the person is reduced even more – and so the cycle continues. The following diagram :

		Poor Nutrition
Increased nutritional needs, reduced food intake and increased loss of nutrients		POOR HEALTH		Poor ability to fight infections and diseases
		Increased vulnerability to infections, poor health, earlier and faster progression to end-stage of AIDS