Cooking for Life: A Guide to Nutrition and Food Safety for the HIV-Positive Community

Delivering soup-to-nuts nutritional education for those who have HIV or AIDS (and those who care for them), this no-nonsense guide offers substance rather than magic or promises of miracles. A comprehensive, comprehensible organization covers subjects ranging from food and water safety (food poisoning can be fatal to those who are immuno-suppressed) to how to gain weight and deal with nausea (ginger is a good bet). Lehman, a former executive chef of a food-delivery program for people with AIDS, consulted with physicians and nutritionists. In addition to the nutrition and food safety chapters, there is a section that explains cooking techniques and provides more than 35 easy-to-follow recipes to help combat wasting and loss of appetite. The book ends with several useful appendices in which one can find AIDS-specific meal programs, phone numbers for hotlines that provide help and referrals, a reprint of ACT UP's Standard of Care as a guideline for health management and a sample of a living will. Thought and care are evident throughout this volume, and it belongs, dog-eared and food-stained, in the kitchens and bookcases of people living with HIV or AIDS and those who care for them. (Jan.)