About PKU
PKU is the commonly used abbreviation for Phenylketonuria and it is a disorder that causes difficulty for the body to break down certain types of food. Foods are made up of many chemicals that the body processes and uses to build tissue and to produce energy. People with PKU can't break down a common food chemical called phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is an amino acid, one of the building blocks of protein. Unless kids with PKU avoid food rich in protein, more and more phenylalanine collects in their blood. This can cause serious health and learning problems. Luckily, these problems can be prevented by following a special diet low in phenylalanine and high in other amino acids from an early age. Most kids, teens, and adults with PKU who have followed the diet are healthy people.
You can't grow out of PKU. Though it is most important to follow a low phenylalanine diet as a child, it is now known that people with PKU who follow the diet for their whole lives are healthier and have fewer health problems.
In the United States, one baby out of every 10,000-15,000 is born with PKU.
