Oh yes! There’s an enormous lift in finally knowing your own story. My entire life I suffered from mysterious medical maladies, exhaustion and mild depression. My spirit was always strong—laughing and optimistic—but I had to fight pretty hard to find it in there.

After I was diagnosed with Celiac, everything changed. I felt well for the first time in my life. That’s impossible to describe to someone who has not experienced it. Everything feels lighter when you go through life feeling fine. I had more energy than ever in my life. And whatever anxiety and depression I suffered simply disappeared after I stopped eating gluten. I’ve read many times that 95 percent of all the serotonin our bodies produce is made in the intestines. If something is wrong there, then everything else suffers too. Heal your intestines, and you heal your mind.

I really had to ponder this one. I can’t think of any worst moments. There have been moments of slight annoyance, when I have been with friends who eat gluten products and I miss the comradeship with them of sharing that meal. But that fades, quickly. And besides, I feel so well now!

But I suppose the lowest moment was in the Atlanta airport. My husband and I were coming back from our honeymoon in Italy, where I ate like a queen for eleven days. Eating gluten-free in Italy is gloriously easy, because the Italians revere food, and they have a clear awareness of Celiac. But in the Atlanta airport, I was starving. The American airline I was on lost my gluten-free meal, so there was nothing to eat for 11 hours. And as we walked around the airport, I could not find anything to eat. I finally broke down and ordered a hamburger without a bun, and I got sick. It was a burger filled with something other than beef, cheap filler. And it had gluten in it. I was sick for our first three days home.

Every single moment I have been well.

Oh, I suppose it was the beautiful, entirely gluten-free meal that my husband-to-be made for me, the one that prompted him to propose to me!

Gosh, I rarely think that way! I could tell you much more about braising greens, lamb meatballs, chocolate custards and artichoke risottos.

There are some great products on the market, and sometimes I still buy something out of a package. I’m thrilled that Trader Joe’s has started to bring out gluten-free products. Their brownie mix is like the Duncan Hines of gluten-free: add an egg and water. But it’s dark rich chocolate. Fabulous!

I think that many people who hear ‘I can’t eat gluten’ think that we are picky, or making a fuss. Nonsense! We’re just protecting our health.

Also, many people feel sorry for me at first when they hear that I can’t have gluten. They think I have to eat a ’special diet.’ But when they hear how I eat, especially with being in a relationship with a chef, no one feels sorry for me anymore! We are not relegated to a pale, bland life with Celiac. We can live vital, hilariously full lives.

If you have Celiac and don’t know it, you can suffer from miscarriages and infertility and not know why. Tragically, there are many women out there suffering for no reason. If only they knew that if they cut out gluten, they could have a baby!

Luckily, once you stop eating gluten for six months to one year, your intestines heal fully. It’s food that heals us. And then, once you are pregnant, you are just like any other woman, with the same risks and glories.

The doctor says that I’m having a textbook pregnancy! You couldn’t have told me five years ago that any of this would be happening, much less that I would be enjoying this so much.

I want everyone to be diagnosed! The medical community estimates that 1 out of 133 Americans (and possibly as few as one out of 80!) suffer from Celiac. But only 3 percent have been officially diagnosed. I hope that any time my book is mentioned, or people stumble on my blog, or a magazine article discusses the symptoms of Celiac, someone out there recognizes herself or himself. I’m committed to helping that happen

Besides that, I’d really like to continue to remind people that it’s food that heals us. Falling in love with food really liberates us.

It used to be thought that Celiac was rare, but today the medical community estimates that between two and three million people in the US have the disorder. Most amazing is that only about 3 percent of those millions who have it actually know that they do. The predisposition to the disease is genetic, and it is more common in women than in men.

If uncontrolled, the disease can cause many problems including, among others, infertility, osteoporosis, anemia, diarrhea, a high risk of developing gastrointestinal cancers and weight loss or gain. Because of its many faces, Celiac is often overlooked the possible cause of the underlying problems. But with books like Gluten-Free Girl, and growing awareness within the medical community, more people are being diagnosed and, thus, can begin their own journeys towards health.

To read more about Shauna, visit her blog.