Tarek El Moussa Opens Up About Diet Changes Following Celiac Disease Diagnosis: 'Really, Really Difficult'

The HGTV star revealed that due to his cancer history he has frequent bloodwork, which led to the detection of celiac disease

Tarek El Moussa has been feeling a lot better after making major changes to his diet following his celiac disease diagnosis.

El Moussa explained in a recent interview with Today that he was experiencing "a lot of pain in my fingers and hands, and because of that my doctor just did a whole bunch of testing."

"After my cancer history, we're always checking on my bloodwork and my health and staying on top of things," he added. El Moussa is already a two-time cancer survivor, having endured battles with both testicular cancer and thyroid cancer.

Tarek El Moussa walks the red carpet at the JBL True Summer event.
Kevin Mazur/Getty

In a PEOPLE exclusive sneak peek of Flipping 101 in September, the HGTV star, 40, was with his fiancée Heather Rae Young when he received the celiac disease diagnosis.

"No idea what that is," El Moussa admitted. Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Ellen Song explained he has a gluten allergy.

He then adopted a gluten-free diet.

"At the beginning, it was really, really difficult, because I didn't know what I could and could not eat," El Moussa told Today. "But like anything in life, time went on. By week three, I pretty much understood it."

Because most gluten-based foods have alternatives, he said, "I guess I still get to eat all the same foods that I've always loved, I just have to buy from certain brands. Pizza is (one of) my favorite things in the world, but I started ordering gluten-free pizza, and it turns out that actually tastes better than regular pizza, so I'm pretty happy about that."

"It's amazing what just a little work can do to the body," he added. "It just shows you that you can come back from anything. A couple years ago, I was 60 lbs. overweight, fighting two cancers, and you know, today I'm healthy."

El Moussa also talked about his fiancée Young, 34, for getting him to eat "organic, clean foods" over "fast food and junk food." The Selling Sunset star has been vocal about her vegan diet.

Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa
HGTV

"Before I met Heather, I had high blood pressure, high heart rate, I had high cholesterol and just a whole bunch of problems. I just decided to really work on my health and I focused on hot yoga ... As well as cleaning up my diet. Now my blood work is completely different," he said.

Last November, El Moussa opened up to Daryn Carp on an episode of PEOPLE TV's Reality Check about how Young, to whom he proposed to in July 2020, has been a positive influence on his health throughout their relationship.

"Heather has made a lot of changes in my life. She feeds me, cooks for me, she tells me what to eat, she makes sure I'm taking my vitamins. She's all over it," he said at the time.

Tarek El Moussa visits Build to discuss the show "Flipping 101 w / Tarek El Moussa" at Build Studio on March 02, 2020 in New York City.
Michael Loccisano/Getty

"I've never eaten so clean, I've never taken so many vitamins, I've never gotten so much exercise. So I'm just taking care of my health. I want to live. I want to live for my kids. I want to live for my grandkids," he said. "You only get one life. You only have one body."

El Moussa shares daughter Taylor, 11, and son Brayden, 6, with ex-wife Christina Haack.

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