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Health Food Store in Gurnee Still Going Strong After 4 Years

Posted on: Tuesday, 1 March 2005, 21:00 CST

Cathy Fanella has been a runner since junior high and a healthy diet is a key part of her lifestyle. Her husband, John, cycles outdoors in the summer and trains inside when it's cold.

It seems natural they own a health food store.

For the past four years, the couple has operated Earthly Goods Health Foods in Gurnee. The store, on Grand Avenue in the Gurnee Town Centre near Borders bookstore, specializes in vitamins, herbs, homeopathic remedies, teas, organic and natural groceries, natural beauty products and foods for the allergy sensitive. A juice bar is another attraction.

A family illness prompted the Mundelein couple to start the business.

Cathy, a Buffalo Grove native, was pregnant with their daughter 11 years ago when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She went through chemotherapy while carrying the baby.

"My daughter and I made it through," she said.

But the treatments left Cathy and Alexandra's immune systems weak. Simple colds turned into bronchitis or pneumonia.

That's when Cathy started looking to alternatives. She took classes to learn all she could about vitamins, supplements and healthy eating habits.

"It turned into a lifestyle for us," John said. They lean toward natural, organic foods that aren't highly processed.

The couple enjoys helping others with health-related needs. They sell the majority of their products on their Web site as well.

"It was a dream of mine," Cathy said of the store that features a juice bar with a variety of natural juices as well as wheatgrass shots. She said a shot of wheatgrass that sells for $2.50 is equivalent to two pounds of fresh vegetables.

Nutritionists say the wheatgrass contains toxin-neutralizing properties popular with cancer patients. Other benefits are said to include blood and liver cleansing, aiding weight loss, improving digestion and reducing high blood pressure.

Many customers at the Gurnee store suffer with cancer or have had it in the past.

People with arthritis have also been coming in looking for natural alternatives to Celebrex and Vioxx, Cathy said.

John, who left his career in the freight industry about two years ago to join the business full-time, handles most of the grocery aspects.

He said his customers tell him the shop carries one of the largest selections of gluten-free foods for people who suffer with celiac disease or wheat intolerance.

The Arlington Heights native, who has adapted a low gluten diet, said his mother and aunt suffer with celiac disease.

He knows gluten-free foods are often more expensive.

To assist customers, every Monday through March, all gluten-free foods that aren't on sale are 10 percent off, he said.

And to celebrate the four-year anniversary of the store on Feb. 2, many sales will take place on supplements, herbal teas and other products.

For more information, call (847) 855-9677 or check out www.myearthlygoods.com.

- Kim Mikus' column appears Tuesdays and Fridays. She welcomes comments at (847) 427-4567 or at Kmikus@@dailyherald.com.

Source: Daily Herald; Arlington Heights, Ill.

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