Celiac Series: Product #2: Gluten-Free eCourse (Discount Below!)

Kelly Okun interviews Coral Ward, founder of ServingCeliacs.

We are back for Week 2 of the Celiac Series! Please meet Coral Ward, founder of ServingCeliacs and creator of a Celiac Disease eCourse. You may recognize ServingCeliacs from all of her wonderful Celiac printouts you can download and share with family members and restaurants.

Coral likes to say she is “unofficially officially diagnosed with Celiac Disease.” While she suspected she should go gluten-free for a while (CD runs in the family), she didn’t take the leap until one of her daughters was diagnosed with Celiac at 3 years old. Again, doctors tested everything but CD until Coral finally convinced them to do so. This is why raising awareness for Celiac Disease is so important – the more the disease and its symptoms become common knowledge, the faster people will be diagnosed and, ultimately, healthy again. Coral, and her daughters, “live such a better life being gluten-free.”

Coral began ServingCeliacs for two reasons – to help others and for the free food (who can blame her?). She says, “ServingCeliacs is a safe, positive platform where I am able to share with the world my experiences, my trials, and my errors. I’m very raw, and when I realize that something has gluten in it, and I want to tell the world, ‘Hello, don’t eat this, this isn’t safe for you!’” She also learned that Instagram accounts with a big following are usually offered free products. She laughs, “You know how expensive gluten-free foods is!” What Coral started as a hobby soon became a way to make a difference.

If you haven’t checked out her eCourse yet, you are missing out! Coral “created it because [she wishes she] had a resource to turn to when [her] daughter was diagnosed that wasn’t so negative and controversial.” Sure, she wanted the facts, but she also wanted to find hope and encouragement and a guide after reading about Celiac Disease, which we all know is intimidating post-diagnosis. Her eCourse is targeted toward not only newly diagnosed Celiacs, but also family members to help them understand the severity of cross-contamination as well as how to support the Celiacs in their family. Even though I have been Celiac for 7 years, I still learned from her eCourse. The best part? She has a mental coaching section in each module that cheers you on through your gluten-free transition! She created exactly what she wanted – the facts and how to deal with them positively.

One of Coral’s biggest goals is having her eCourse become the go-to resource for gastroenterologists to give their patients.  Coral says, “I think the number one thing for doctors is that they need their patients to feel supported and heard, but they don’t have the time to do that.” Like Coral said before, I also wish I had this resource when I was first diagnosed and would have loved being referred to her site.

The eCourse “raises awareness because, once you raise the confidence in those who are diagnosed with Celiac Disease, it is so much easier for them to go out and share and talk about it in a positive way. So many people can be like hermits post-diagnosis and think they can never go out or eat anything again. I want to change that.” Coral truly raises the quality of awareness every time someone follows her or enrolls in her eCourse. Anyone who has seen her stories knows she is an authentic, vibrant figure in the Celiac community, and I can’t wait to see what she does next. She hopes to expand her public speaking events while maintaining her values and original vision. Coral still believes that “even if only one person does [her] course, she has made the world a better place.” Fortunately, she has helped hundreds of people with her eCourse, and I’m sure it will soon be thousands.

Business Advice from Coral Ward:

“It is true that whatever you’re doing, you always think it’s simpler than it really is. There are always things that I am learning and things I am trying to be better at and understand. It is so fun! But the main lesson I have learned is that it is thrilling just to help even one person because that makes a difference. I just love that and am so grateful.”
To access Coral's eCourse, please click here and use code Kellyokun20 for 20% off.