Often such diagnoses come after years of discomfort, sickness and after a multitude of tests, visits to doctors and hospitals all with their theories of what might be wrong with you or your loved one. This process can be especially distressing when the loved one involved is a child of yours.

The news of the diagnoses often doesn't start to sink in until we do our research and start to understand just how many things contain gluten. One of the most distressing things that I learnt was that wheat, and therefore gluten, was used as a thickener for many things including apple sauce, soups and even on frozen chips to keep them from sticking to one another.

Not to mention being in a lot of chocolate!

We learnt what many of the little numbers meant on the sides of those tins and after much experimentation, started to develop and staple group if recipes that we could have as a family. I was the only one in the family with a gluten intolerance diagnosis but my husband and I decided that it would be best if all of us went gluten free.

Our two boys who were 4 and 3 years old had not been tested but I had four uncles who were celiac so we thought it would be wise to get our boys tested at some stage.

So we began to adjust to our new diet and I felt much better than I had before I went on the diet.

Then the next chapter of our story started. That is, we were invited to the family parties, etc, and started to let others know of my intolerance.