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Nadiya Hussain has revealed she has been diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases.
The television chef, 39, rose to fame after beating Ian Cumming and Tamal Ray to become the winner of the sixth series of The Great British Bake Off in 2015. She has since released several cookbooks, including Cook Once Eat Twice and Nadiya’s Everyday Baking.
Hussain, shared her shock diagnosis with her 896k Instagram followers on Monday (7 October), warning fans to listen to their bodies and take care of their health.
Studies have found that one in 10 people in the UK have autoimmune disorders, such as type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, which occur when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys healthy body tissue by mistake.
Speaking on social media, Hussain said: “I cannot express enough the importance of taking care of yourself. I am the kind of person who burns the candle at both ends, takes care of everyone else’s needs but my own.”
She continued: “I don’t take time out for myself. I don’t really know what that means or what that feels like. Not really. And when I do take time for myself, I feel incredibly guilty.
“But recently, mostly this year, but 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.”
The Bake Off champion said that having a diagnosis would help her manage her illness better in the future, warning her fans of the importance of “listening to your body” and “taking care of yourself”.
She admitted: “I’m the worst at that. I’m not very good at it at all. I will only ever take care of myself when my body’s in shutdown. And that’s not good for you. We need to take more care of ourselves.”
Signing off, Hussain added it had been a “tough year” of hospital tests but that she “feels blessed” to be alive. “It’d be great not to be sick, I’m here. And that’s what really matters,” she said.
After winning the baking show in 2015, Hussain went on to host and feature in a range of TV programmes, including the documentary The Chronicles Of Nadiya as well as the cookery series Nadiya’s British Food Adventure and Nadiya’s Family Favourites.
Last month, the presenter revealed she hasn’t watched Bake Off since 2019 as the series has undergone so many changes, including the exit of presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins and judge Mary Berry in 2016, following the show’s move from BBC to Channel 4. .
She told Heat, “I don’t watch Bake Off. I stopped watching it about five years ago as it has changed so much since I was on it. It’s a different show now, but I do love that Alison Hammond is the host.”
