Ree Drummond said Mauricio was diagnosed with Alpha-Gal syndrome after a week of repeated stomach pain that followed burger, steak tacos and brisket. The family learned about it last night, and Alex put the update on Instagram this morning.
On last Wednesday, Mauricio had a burger for lunch at work and later that day his stomach was really hurting. He was fine on Thursday, then had steak tacos on Friday and the same pain returned that night. By Saturday, after brisket at Alex’s baby sprinkle, the pattern had repeated again.
Alpha-Gal in Oklahoma
Ree said one of Alex’s friends suggested red meat looked like the culprit, and Alex remembered hearing about Alpha-Gal syndrome. Ree described it as an increasingly common allergy that can develop after a tick bite, which fits a state where she said ticks are part of summer life and the guys are on tick watch over the summer.
That timeline matters because the meals point to a food-trigger pattern instead of a one-off stomach bug. The condition now changes what Mauricio can order without having to second-guess every plate that shows up at the table.
Hidden ingredients Ahead
Ree said the good news is that Alpha-Gal is manageable if a person knows which foods to avoid. The bad news is sharper: Mauricio will have to be careful about dining out and watch for hidden ingredients, and the foods he has to avoid are the ones he loves most in the world.
For someone in Oklahoma, where tick exposure is already part of daily summer caution, the practical shift is immediate. Red meat is no longer just off the menu for a few meals; it becomes something Mauricio has to screen for every time he eats out or accepts food from someone else.
Last night to this morning
Ree said the family text was full of love for Mauricio when they found out last night. Her own view was blunt: this is manageable, but only if the diagnosis is treated as a standing rule rather than a temporary setback.
The question that still hangs over the family is when the tick bite happened. Until that part of the timeline surfaces, the useful part for Mauricio is already clear: the red-meat reactions were not random, and his next meals now require a closer read than before.
