Question
Which foods increase CD4 count?
18 January 2016. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Starting treatment.
I want to increase my CD4 count. Which foods should i eat to do this?
Answer
Hi,
A healthy balanced diet is important for everyone, especially people with HIV.
However HIV treatment is the only thing that will reliably increase your CD4 count. This will slowly start to happen after you start treatment, if you have not already.
You can have a look at this online guide for information about HIV and nutrition.
And our online guide with information about HIV treatment.
Hi yesterday I checked reports and I shocked I am hiv positive then after my doctor give me atrustiva tablet and after 2 tablet I have all my body ehiching and rashs my cd4 245 so please advise vme who can I increased my cd4
Hi Denise,
A CD4 of 176 is low, however with ARVs this will rise. It’s not possible to say how quickly your CD4 will rise, but it will. As you’ve just been diagnosed, please see here: https://i-base.info/guides/starting and https://i-base.info/guides/side
Hello. I was just diagnosed with hiv in January. My cd4 count is 176. I do believe that is considered AIDS. How can i get my number up to a reasonable amount? How many cd4 cells have I lost a month?
Hi Gladys,
Are you confused by your test result or by the fact that your partner tested negative?
I just discovered about 2days ago that am positive and still confused! My problem is that when i the second test repeat test second line was nt clear and my partner tested negative. Am starting to feel weak i hv not started treatment since am waitng for my results frm lad
Hi Priya,
A CD4 count of 900 is strong. What HIV meds are you taking? And is viral load undetectable?
But you can talk to your doctor if you’ve lost a lot of weight. Here’s the guide to a balanced diet and your health. There’s lots of tips in this that can help you get the most out of your diet.
My cd4 is 900 but I am losing weight
Hi Rose,
I’m sorry to hear about you recent diagnosis. But the good news is that, yes, people who are HIV positive can recover from low CD4 count.
It looks like your doctor has given you many meds. Including meds for bacterial and fungal infection, and meds for heartburn or reflux.
However, your HIV meds should include 3 or more drugs and not just tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. HIV treatment often has 3 or more drugs in a single pill. Please see the label on the meds to check this.
It’s important to talk to your doctor about any side effects when starting HIV treatment (ART). Especially if you have a low CD4 count when starting.
HIV meds work quickly when we start to take them. Please see this page from ART in Pictures. It shows how ART can give your CD4 count the chance to recover.
But please talk to your doctor about your symptoms to check that this treatment is okay for you. And please let us know how you get on.
Hi,
I came to know 2 days back that i’m diagnosed with AIDS.
My Absolute CD4+Lymphocyte count is 31.66.
CD4/CD8 ratio is 0.11
Medicines given by my doctor are:
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate,
Trimethoprim and sulphamethoxazole,
Fuconazole,
Alerid,
Pan-D,
Multivitamins, lysine and zinc syrup(betonin).
Yesterday i started my medication and i developed motions and vomitings today.
Are there any complications?
Can i recover from this low count of CD4?
Please help.
Thankyou.
Hi Gladys,
Thank you for your comment. And yes, many countries around the world have started charities to help put food on the table for people who are HIV positive.
What country do you live in? You could ask your doctor if there are any organisations in your area that are doing this.
Are you on HIV treatment? What meds are you taking? And if you have access to your CD4 count and viral load results, please let us know what they are.