I am always amazed how people don’t understand their own disorder

 I am always amazed by the number of people who don’t understand their own disorder.  For example, three of my daughters has a rare genetic disorder called Phenylketonuria (PKU for short).  Anyhow, with this disorder they need to limit the amount of protein in their diet to reduce the risks of lifelong complications.  We have been doing this for 31 yrs now!

 Anyhow, today in a group online someone asked a question about whether something was allowed in the diet because even though it would fit in the allowed amount of protein it had cream in it.  I responded that grams of protein for something with cream or something without cream would be calculated the same.  The protein content is the same, and some moron told me that 2 grams of protein from meat is very different than 2 grams of protein from tomatoes.  Ummmm, sorry but you are wrong.  Two grams of protein is two grams of protein. The protein content doesn’t miraculously change because something has cream in it.  The body doesn’t say “oh that cream I am going to process it differently.”  

Now the amount (or size) of a piece of meat with two grams of protein would look very small compared to the amount of tomatoes one could eat with two grams of protein, but two grams is still two grams.  

It just amazes me how people can live their entire lives with this disorder and still not comprehend how it works.  

Another thing I see a lot with this is in foods with gelatin in it.  People see the word gelatin and they freak out saying it can’t be consumed in the diet since it is an animal byproduct.  Again not true….instead it is a matter of does it fit into the diet and the number calculation for that individual person since everyone is different.  

Or when kids are sick and parents freak out because there is aspartame in the medication.  Yes, aspartame is not good for individuals with PKU, but that being said many medications actually have the calculation on them so just reading the label would tell you how much to count.  In most cases it is such a small amount it is okay.  Not to mention if your child is sick the doctors will tell you to treat the illness first especially since being sick will raise blood levels anyhow.