Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has revealed she has been living with two autoimmune diseases.
The 39-year-old said she had been diagnosed with the conditions after feeling ‘quite sick and unwell’ over the past two years.
The BBC star did not specify the autoimmune disease but said she would speak out at a later date when she has a ‘better handle’ on them.
On Instagram, Nadiya said her diagnosis has made her realise the importance of ‘taking care of yourself’ and urged her followers to do the same.
She explained: ‘Over the course of two years, I’ve been quite unwell. I’ve just been getting quite sick.
‘And over the course of the two years, I’ve been diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases, which I’m not going to go into now.
‘I will go into in the future when I know more about it and when I have a better handle on it and when I understand it a little bit better.
‘But till then I cannot express the importance of listening to your body, of taking care of yourself.’
Nadiya admitted she was the ‘worst’ at self-care because when she makes time for herself she feels ‘guilty’.
Explaining she burns the candle at both ends, she said she only puts her needs first when he body is ‘in shutdown.’
‘And that’s not good for you. We need to take more care of ourselves,’ she warned.
Nadiya continued: ‘It’s been a really tough year because of all the tests and trying to work stuff out and getting my head around things.
‘But I feel like it’s really important to come out the other side and be grateful for and feel blessed that although, it’d be great not to be sick, I’m here.
‘And that’s really what matters is that I’m here and I need to do all the things that I can to positively impact myself mentally and physically. And that’s all I can really do.’
According to John Hopkins Medicine, autoimmune disease happens when the body’s natural defense system can’t tell the difference between your own cells and foreign cells, causing the body to mistakenly attack normal cells.
There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases that affect a wide range of body parts, the leading health system and academic institution added.
Nadiya soared to fame after winning the sixth season of GBBO in 2015, before going on to host shows including The Chronicles of Nadiya and Nadiya’s British Food Adventure.
She has also appeared on The One Show and Loose Women and released several cookbooks.
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