He also receives a special formula from the state, a formula with a peculiar taste that no amount of flavoring can conceal. Existing on the popsicles and the formula, he's hungry all the time, but his family doesn't dare let him eat anything else. There are special breads and cereals, but they cost seven times as much as regular food and the family can't afford them. If treatment begins shortly after birth, these effects can be avoided. As a result of state-mandated newborn screening and early treatment, people with PKU now attend college and graduate school.
Treatment consists of a strict diet that is low in phenylalanine.
Generally, this means a diet low in protein, so low that a person without PKU would either die or go blind. These also contain phenylalanine. People with PKU vary in their ability to process phenylalanine. For others, however, four lettuce leaves or an ear of corn is an entire day's quota of phenylalanine. The formula is sufficient to keep people with PKU alive, but they're always hungry.