Effects of Dietary Fat Intake on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome During Antiretroviral Therapy

Many effects of certain amounts of dietary fat intake are well known, and it is possible that it can play a major role in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS is the final stage of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, which causes extreme damage to the immune system. There is no cure for HIV/AIDS, and the most common and most effective form of treatment is known as active antiretroviral therapy (ART). This therapy combines two or three different drugs and aims to reduce the viral load by lowering the number of active viruses. Specifically, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is the most common treatment because it combines more types of drugs for a better approach. Although this treatment can be very effective, it can have some side effects such as dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and altered fat distribution. Dyslipidemia, which tends to be the worst problem, is characterized by an abnormal amount of lipids in blood. Hyperlipidemia, or an elevation of lipids in blood, is the usual side effect of HAART. Diet can help reduce the lipid levels in people with HAART-related hyperlipidemia and can help make HAART more effective and thus increase the chance that the patient will be cured of HIV/AIDS.