I am Luke and I have coeliac disease.  For several years before my diagnosis, I had been feeling tired, angry, lethargic, and had absolutely no energy. I had no idea that I should get tested for coeliac disease because I thought that was normal. However, when I was 10, my mum got diagnosed with coeliac disease and we decided that me and both my brothers should all get tested too. The results were phenomenal.

The results showed that I had severe coeliac disease, but both my brothers were unaffected. Soon after, I had a biopsy, and this confirmed it; my villi were flattened. So began my coeliac journey. At first, I was very annoyed and sad. I loved eating gluten! But just a few weeks into being fully gluten-free, I felt so much better. I wasn’t tired and had so much more energy.

Quickly though, I realised that eating at other places was risky, cross-contamination was just too easy. Now I usually take my own plate when I go to a birthday party or a non-gluten-free household. Sometimes it's annoying having to eat separate things, but not always! Quite often, my food is better than the normal gluten-containing food, and other people envy me!

Nowadays, in my lunch box I have crackers with cheese, fruit, and Griffin's cookies (my favourite is the crispy coconut cookie). One thing I personally really struggle with is breakfast because I can't eat oats, and oats are in so many breakfast cereals! Another annoying thing is energy bars. I use these energy bars for sports like running and mountain biking. Lastly, my one tip for beginners in their gluten-free life is to always read labels because everything you think is gluten free might not be.