Emma McKay was diagnosed with coeliac disease at the age of 16 after years of being told her ill health was down to exam stress
A woman has recalled the moment her life changed after she suffered for years in pain without a diagnosis. Emma McKay was a teenager when she was diagnosed, but the now 26-year-old, received her diagnosis in high school, forcing her to make a dramatic change to her diet.
When she was diagnosed with coeliac diagnosis, the change to a normal diet to a stringent gluten-free diet was hard. “I found out I was coeliac ten years ago, during my fifth year of secondary school. I had been ill for a few years. Every time I went to the doctor, I was told it was stress likely caused by pressure from school and exams. Yet I was losing weight rapidly and was unable to stand without passing out.”
Emma, who hails from Edinburgh, says that connecting with others also suffering was helpful with her setting up a hit blog that resonated with the coeliac community. “My mum eventually came with me to an appointment. The doctor did some blood tests for Crohn’s and coeliac disease. The results showed coeliac antibodies, and an endoscopy confirmed I didn’t have any villi which are tiny hair-like projections that are responsible for absorbing nutrients – and that made me very ill.”
Recalling being diagnosed at a young age, she said that “it was traumatic being diagnosed at 16, especially at such a pivotal time in life. I wasn’t well enough to enjoy things other teenagers were doing. “The only treatment available was a gluten free diet, which completely turned my world upside down. Silly things like seeing my family enjoy ‘normal’ food like biscuits and cakes was really frustrating as I began to navigate my new norm.”
Cross contamination is really important if you have this condition or similar, and allergies. But with some people not taking her needs seriously, she became ill. She recalled: “When I went to university, I lived in halls with new people and didn’t initially take my diagnosis seriously. I felt isolated, and I kept eating gluten, which made me extremely ill. A few months in I realised the severity of the consequences and began being super strict with my diet.”
In 2017, she decided to set up a food blog to document her journey and connect with others going through the same struggles. Her blog, The Student Coeliac, quickly amassed 5,000 followers and had an engaged audience. She took part in brand collaborations and sampling events, finally finding a community who were going through the same thing.
“I wanted to document my transition from eating ‘normally’ to eating gluten-free. During my summer break at University, I started writing up blog posts of all the things I’d learnt since starting my journey – covering topics like cross-contamination in shared living spaces, and easy gluten free swaps on a student budget.”
Her blog even led to her securing an internship at Genius, a gluten-free bakery based in Edinburgh and now she is an Assistant Brand Manager. “I really loved it – being a marketing student, it really opened my eyes to the behind the scenes of the world of FMCG and how brands connect with audiences. I felt even closer to the gluten-free community.
“Being gluten free and living with the symptoms that come with Coeliac Disease is such an isolating experience at times – and being part of such a close-knit and supportive community has really helped me navigate living with it.After completing University and navigating her way through different sectors, Emma joined Genius in 2024 as an Assistant Brand Manager – where she has driven the conversation around being gluten free to both trade and consumer press, whilst also building a thriving influencer platform for the brand.
“On a personal level I would trust a brand more if they can attest to their products being ‘tested by our resident coeliac’, for example. We’re all in it together. I work really closely with our product development teams to sample and advance any new products to get them to the most delicious versions before launch – and adapting existing products to become more delicious.
“That’s something I’m really proud of both professionally and on a personal level, knowing that I’m helping those in the gluten free community by enjoying and having variation when eating a gluten free diet, rather than it being a burden.”
