Nutritional Supplements for Cerebral Palsy

Malnutrition is a serious condition that in extreme cases can be fatal. Children who have cerebral palsy (CP), a neurological disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination, are especially vulnerable to malnutrition. Giving nutritional supplements to children with CP helps to prevent malnutrition.

Motor Skills and Eating

• Kids with CP are more vulnerable to malnutrition because of their difficulty with fine motor skills, like holding eating utensils and chewing. These issues can prevent a child with CP from consuming all the nutrients from food that are necessary for good health.

Significance

• For children with CP, nutritional supplements are easier to consume than food, and they allow the child to get the nutrients needed.

Calories

• A person with CP uses three to five times more energy than others when maneuvering around; therefore, he benefits from having a high-calorie diet. Nutritional supplements have high calorie counts, giving people with cerebral palsy sufficient energy to move around and enjoy life.

Types

• Several brands of nutritional supplements are available at grocery stores. However, specialized nutritional supplements are also available, but only through a doctor's prescription. Talk to your doctor about what nutritional supplements would be best for you or your loved one with CP.

Additional Help

• Speech and language therapy is also beneficial in preventing malnutrition. Therapists can help CP patients strengthen their jaws and mouth muscles, which in turn makes eating easier and allows people with CP to get the proper nutrition required to be healthy.