It is essential to provide your child with a healthy balanced diet, which includes enough energy to grow and be active and enough nutrients to stay healthy and well. Eating family meals together will encourage them to enjoy a variety of foods. A suggested healthy routine is to offer children 3 meals and 2 or 3 nutritious snacks a day to achieve their energy and nutrient requirements. This should prevent them grazing on food and encourage an appetite for meals.
Children with PKU should eat roughly the same amounts as a child of the same age without PKU. Throughout their childhood, many things will change in your child’s life including their appetite.
Even in children of the same age, there can be a big difference in their food intake;
- Smaller children will generally need less food than taller children.
- Less active children will generally need less food than more active children.
If the amount your child eat reduces significantly, or you are worried about your child’s weight, contact their dietitian for advice.
When a child has PKU, their diet will have extra considerations, for example some foods;
- will need to be avoided entirely such as meat and fish.
- can only be eaten in measured quantities (phe exchanges), these include bread and cereal.
- must be swapped for specially manufactured low protein alternatives, such as milk and pasta.
Your child’s specialist metabolic team will continue to see your child regularly. You can use these appointments as an opportunity to ask any questions you might have about your child’s individual diet.
Read less