How Emmerdale's Jeff Hordley battles Crohn's disease and why he avoids coffee

It has been nearly two decades since Jeff Hordley first appeared in ITV soap Emmerdale as Cain Dingle and during that time the 49-year-old has battled Crohn’s disease.

A couple of years before his debut in the soap in 2000, Jeff was diagnosed with the lifelong condition, which causes parts of the digestive system to become ‘inflamed’.

The popular actor has spoken previously to the Express about the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, in the hope of raising awareness of the illness.

It all started when Jeff was affected by stomach pain as a 20-year-old but this was originally dismissed as irritable bowel syndrome .

Cain Dingle is played by Jeff Hordley
(Image: ITV)

Cain is the village ‘hard man’
(Image: ITV)

At the time, Jeff was a drama student in Manchester and he said that he would sometimes feel so ill he “had to miss lectures because I was too tired.”

He even had to “drop out of my final year plays,” as the condition hit him hard.

Jeff revealed: “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.”

Jeff Hordley has been in Emmerdale for 19 years
(Image: Andrew Boyce)

With diarrhoea being added to the stomach pain, tiredness and weight loss, Jeff sought the opinion of specialists and it was then that the diagnosis was made.

Other symptoms could include swollen joints, mouth ulcers, inflamed eyes and rashes on the body.

Jeff had to enlist the help of a nutritionist, so that he could ensure he kept up his energy levels while avoiding food that would aggravate the condition.

Jeff at the TV Bafta Awards in 2018
(Image: Getty Images)

He now finds that avoiding wheat, dairy, sugar and alcohol for short periods, have helped to keep the symptoms at bay.

Jeff avoids coffee completely and anything that contains monosodium glutamate (MSG).

This has led to Jeff no longer needing to take medication, as such, but he does take a number of alternatives to ensure he stays on top of the condition.