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Eating well with PKU
See what other ideas the PKU community has to offer in the Eating Well section of this site
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PKU is demanding. Every meal reminds you that you have a serious disease. Every day, you have to think about your choices.
Plus, it's not just that you have to watch what you eat at every meal. You may feel like you are always explaining about PKU and your diet to other people. It can be hard to eat out, or at a friend's house, because of all the food you have to avoid.
If that makes you uncomfortable sometimes, you're not alone.
Everybody's watching what they eat
There are millions and millions of people who, like you, always have to think before they eat. People with diabetes and heart disease have to watch their sugars and fats. People with allergies to foods like eggs, nuts or shellfish have to avoid even a few molecules of the proteins that make them react – or can even kill them. Lots of people, like vegetarians or people who are on a Kosher diet, make choices to avoid certain foods on moral grounds. So your low Phe diet isn't as unusual as it may sometimes seem.
Low Phe foods and cooking
There are many resources for low Phe and low protein foods and recipes. You'll find recipes and tips contributed by PKU experts and families for eating well here.
A common problem is making different foods for everyone in the family. You can try various ways to make this easier, such as doing the same dish both ways. For instance, you can make low Phe pasta next to regular pasta at the same time.
