HIV & Nutrition: Commercial Diets

Commercial Diets

There are special products on the market to help you get good nutrition and gain weight when it is difficult to eat enough food. They are like canned baby formulas but made for adults. You can drink them with your meals or between your meals.

Here are some tips on shopping for these:

Before spending the money, try making yourself milkshakes, egg nog and other high calorie beverages first. They are far less expensive and very much the same thing.

Try "Carnation Instant Breakfast". It is very similar to the more expensive canned formulas, but lower in cost.

Try "Polycose," It is a powder on the market that can be added to foods to make them higher in calories. lt. has no flavor at all and so can be sprinkled on anything before you eat it. Look for it in drug stores.

Canned nutritional supplements can be very convenient but they are quite expensive. Compare prices at drug stores and large grocery stores. There can really be a difference.

Try different brands of canned nutritional supplements until you find one that tastes good to you and you can digest well. Some brands to try might be "Ensure", "Jevity", "Sustacal", and "Isocal" ("Isocal" has no lactose). Your doctor, dietitian or pharmacist can advise you about others.

You may need to improve the flavor of the supplement you buy. Experiment with temperature. Some taste better at room temperature. Some are better over ice. Try adding tasty ingredients to make these fancy flavors:

Cafe Au Lait. Dissolve 2 spoonfuls of instant coffee in a little boiling water. Add to a pan of vanilla liquid supplement. Stir well.

Chocolate Shake. Blend a can of vanilla liquid supplement with a scoop of chocolate ice cream till smooth.

Strawberry Shake. In a blender, mix one can of liquid supplement, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a scoop of fresh or frozen strawberries.

Fruit Nectar. Blend a small cup of canned peach or apricot nectar with a can of liquid supplement.

Other Recipes. The makers of liquid supplements have recipe booklets they will send to you. Look for their address on, the label and write to them.

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