Nutritional Concerns

Dietary guidelines are individualized, based on the child's age, diagnosis, overall health, and level of functioning. Specific nutritional problems, such as swallowing or feeding difficulties, may be a concern in some patients and should be managed by a team of specialists including a speech therapist. Early identification, treatment, and correction of specific feeding problems will improve the health and nutritional status of the child.

A child's self-feeding skills can impact his or her health outcome. One study indicated that 90 percent of children with good to fair motor and feeding skills reached adulthood. In contrast, a lack of self-feeding skills was associated with a six-fold increase in mortality (rate of death).

Maintaining a healthy weight is important to prevent the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), and heart disease.

Tube feedings may be required in some patients with failure to thrive, aspiration pneumonia, difficulty swallowing, or an inability to ingest adequate calories orally to maintain nutritional status or promote growth.

A well-balanced and carefully planned diet will help maintain general good health for children who have suffered a stroke. In general, children should follow the same low-fat, high fiber diet that is recommended for the general population.

In children older than age two, the following low-fat dietary guidelines are recommended:

• Total fat intake should comprise 30 percent or less of total calories consumed per day.
• Calories consumed as saturated fat should equal no more than 8-10 percent of total calories consumed per day.
• Total cholesterol intake should be less than 300 mg/dl per day.

If the child has high blood pressure, the DASH diet is recommended. The "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)" study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), showed that elevated blood pressures were reduced by an eating plan that emphasized fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods and was low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol. The DASH diet includes whole grains, poultry, fish, and nuts. Fats, red meats, sodium, sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages are limited. Sodium should also be reduced to no more than 1,500 milligrams per day.