Hi Cass,

First off big hugs. It might seem scary and daunting right now but trust me this is a good thing - being diagnosed young means he has a really good chance for his body to repair itself and everything to go back to normal.

Coeliac disease is easy to treat fortunately - cut out gluten. My mum was diagnosed about ten years ago and it explained a life time of health problems. Coeliac disease destroys the lining of the digestive system meaning your body can't absorb things properly - like iron, hence his iron deficiency. Mum had that. Mum also had massive calcium malabsorption, which means she now has the bones of an 80yo - brittle as anything. At her age, she can't reverse the damage to her bones. Your son might not even have those sort of issues yet.

Once you adjust his diet, his gut lining will begin to repair itself and things will start to absorb properly. You will be amazed at the changes you'll see in him - we were with my mum.

Dietary changes aren't as difficult as you'd think. Dinners are easiest - you'll need to start cooking from scratch, if you don't already, for things like casseroles and pasta sauces. Packets from the supermarkets often contain hidden gluten in the form of thickeners, starches, additives. Join the Coeliac Society Australia and you will receive a little book that you can stick in your handbag, it contains all the additives/ingredients you'll find on packets and whether or not they contain gluten. Really helpful.

So dinner you can cook your stir fries, casseroles and sauces yourself and control the gluten. If you want to make a gravy or thicken a sauce, gluten-free cornflour, potato flour or arrowroot will work. All gluten free.

Breakfasts are pretty easy as there are heaps of Gf cereals around these days. Eggs are great, with a gf wrap. Unfortunately gf bread is pretty terrible but there are some good ones around. My mum loves buckwheat pancakes.

Beware the toaster - if you cook normal bread in it, the crumbs can contaminate the next piece of bread, if you want to do gf bread next. Same goes with knives in butter. Once his system repairs itself, he will be extremely sensitive to even a crumb of gluten - it'll most likely set off tummy pains, gas, cramps. But you'll get used to working around things like that.

Lunch boxes? There are lots of gf crackers and crisp breads - think corn cakes, corn thins etc. Corn tortillas, as long as they are gf, are good. Normal fruit snacks, dried fruit and nuts, cheeses. That's what I'd do anyway.

Hope that helps. Don't be too daunted - the range of gf products available in the supermarket is huge these days. And it's a smallish sort of change that will have a big impact

Let me know if there's anything I can help with.

ETA: there is heaps of easy gf baking around these days (one of the yummiest birthday cakes I do is gf - go the magic bean cake!) and most cafes/restaurants are aware of gf and will point out what in the menu is gf, or check with the chef if required.