Diet change may be the answer for common illnesses
Every day at Major Health Food Store, Jo Lynn Majors helps at least one customer who suffers from a gluten allergy.
Together, they browse the store owned by Majors’ mother, looking through gluten-free grains, beans, flax seed and sunflower nuts. These are all intended to supplement more traditional gluten-free foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs and meats.
As those suffering from the gluten reaction already know, off-limits foods include beer, cookies, cake, pasta, cereal and other foods heavy with wheat and grain.
“We’ve seen a huge increase in gluten-free products,” says Majors, who has worked at the store since 1988. “Everything kind of goes in trends.”
This most recent trend started about three years ago. That’s when Majors remembers the first waves of shoppers coming in, telling her they couldn’t eat gluten and working with her as she found them suitable alternatives for their diets. Since then, the numbers have only increased.
This increase in local awareness of gluten allergies mirrors a nationwide trend, Majors says.
Meanwhile, a support group has formed in the Rio Grande Valley for people who suffer allergic reactions to gluten, which is a food component found in wheat, barley and other similar grains.
The group, known as Gluten Free Valley, will meet at 3:30 p.m. on the last Sunday of every month at Major Health Foods, located at 1001 S. 10th St., McAllen. Members will share their stories, ask questions and watch videos aimed at educating those who suffer from the sometimes debilitating food allergy.
Lebby Salinas, who suffers from the disability and also founded the group, says a big reason for Gluten Free Valley is that awareness, in the area and to a lesser extent nationwide, is very low.
“There are so many people suffering and waiting on the doctor trying to figure out what’s wrong,” Salinas says.
She knows this all too well. For years, she suffered from a debilitating illness that left her with stomach pain, gastritis and extreme fatigue. She visited many specialists and doctors who diagnosed her with everything from depression to lupus. She was even forced into a hospital stay in Dallas, where doctors still couldn’t determine what was wrong.
After a barrage of tests, one specialist eventually diagnosed her with a gluten allergy. She quit eating gluten-laden foods, and the improvement was immediate.
“Most doctors just said they couldn’t find anything, it was gastritis and they sent me home,” Salinas says. “They said it was like spicy foods and things like that.”
Now, she recommends that anyone who even suspects they have a gluten allergy try quitting the foods. That’s part of the idea behind the group – that stories of others who stumbled through their condition can save others from doing the same. That by knowing what might be wrong, some will find out what exactly is wrong.
Gluten Free Valley is a young group now, but Salinas eventually hopes to host cooking classes aimed at showing her fellow sufferers how to prepare easy, gluten-free meals.
“We’ll group together and each of us will cook a meal,” Salinas says. “You cook one day but you leave with five different meals for the week.”
Just don’t expect to learn recipes with pasta, wheat and bread.
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Zack Quaintance covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach him at zquaintance@themonitor.com or (956) 683-4447.
