Nadia Sawalha has revealed that she is addicted to eating, describing food as her "drug". In an interview with Best magazine, the Loose Women panellist spoke about her complicated relationship with food and confided that she is an emotional eater. "Some people turn to gin, I turn to food," Nadia, 52, said, according to the Mirror. "It's what I call emotional eating. You can be addicted to anything, but people don't seem to agree that you can be addicted to food. I am happy now, but every day I meditate and exercise – I have things in place to help me stay on track."
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Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha described food as her "favourite drug"
The star – who is a mother to two daughters, Maddie, 14, and Kiki, ten – said she would use food as an emotional crutch. "It's my favourite drug," she admitted. "If I was sad, lonely, nervous, I'd turn to food. It wasn't until I went to Overeaters Anonymous that I realised it was a 'thing'. It doesn't mean I never binge, but it doesn't get a grip on me like it used to, because I recognise it. If you're stressed and reaching for biscuits, the worst thing you can do is give in."
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It comes two months after Nadia spoke about her husband Mark's battle with addiction. During a special Loose Women episode focused on the show's Lighten The Load Awards, Nadia hailed Mark as her 'hero'. She said: "My hero is my lovely husband Mark who allows me to talk often about his sobriety, his 13 years sober and alcoholism. He's been so brave talking online as well about his depression. Mark has been my absolutely rock. There's a whole lot of stuff that goes on with me as well, and my mental health. I just couldn't function without his support or all the stuff he has taught me. He's my hero."