Jeff Hordley has suffered with a debilitating condition since he was a teenager.
Best known for playing Emmerdale's Cain Dingle, Jeff was first diagnosed after suffering stomach pains and tiredness and as a young drama student at university.
He even missed lectures and dropped out of plays due to the severe symptoms he was experiencing.
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Jeff married co-star Zoe Henry, who plays Rhona Goskirk, in 2003.
Throughout their 19 years of marriage, the pair have had to adapt their lives quite dramatically, due to the fact that Jeff suffers with Crohn’s disease - a type of inflammatory bowel disease that can cause abdominal pain and severe diarrhoea, the Express reports.
Whilst appearing on Loose Women a few years ago, Zoe shared the couple has an allotment, and how eating the produce they have grown has positive effects on Jeff’s health as well as proving to be beneficial for her own mental health.
She said: "He was diagnosed when he was about 18, so he was 23 when I met him, and it's sort of changed our lives," Zoë said.
“There's a lot to be said about mental health and having your hands in the soil – that's a big one for me.
"For Jeff, it's the health benefits of eating what we've grown."
"It's great to share with my kids as well. Not that they love it, they hate it. But I'm working on that!"
Speaking about his ordeal with the inflammatory condition, Jeff told the Express: "Even though I tried to avoid foods that upset my digestive system, such as coffee and Chinese takeaways, I was still sick and tired and I kept losing weight."
After consultation, Jeff was advised to completely avoid coffee or anything that contains monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Along with the freshly grown produce from their allotment, Jeff also said that he tends to have short periods of time without wheat, dairy, sugar and alcohol to help keep symptoms to bay.
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