Nadiya Hussain has revealed in an emotional Instagram video that she’s been diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases.
The 39-year-old Great British Bake Off star, who won the show in 2015, shared the news after spending two years in and out of hospital.
Though she didn’t provide specific details, the BBC star urged fans to listen to their bodies and advocate for a diagnosis if they suspect something is wrong.
Autoimmune diseases occur when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues and organs.
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.
“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.”
She added: “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 cookbook author 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 continued: “And like I said, 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.
In her closing remarks, Hussain acknowledged that it had been a "tough year" filled with hospital tests, but emphasised that she "feels blessed" to be alive.
She stated: “But I feel like it's really important to come out the other side and like really be grateful for and feel blessed that although, you know, 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.
“But I just think it's really important that my takeaway from all of this, I always have, is listen to your body”.
After winning the baking show in 2015, Hussain hosted and appeared in various TV programmes, including the documentary The Chronicles Of Nadiya, as well as the cooking series Nadiya’s British Food Adventure and Nadiya’s Family Favourites.
Last month, she shared that she hasn’t watched Bake Off since 2019 due to the numerous changes the show has undergone, such as the departures of presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, along with judge Mary Berry in 2016, after the show moved from BBC to Channel 4.
She told Heat magazine: “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.”
