The Virgin stars and Jane share Hashimoto’s disease battle

HASHIMOTO’S disease is a common cause of Hypothyroidism(unactive thyriod0). Its aautoimmune condition- immune system cells attack the thyroid gland,and the resulting inflammation and destruction of thyroid tissues reduces the thyroid ability to make hormones

Jane The Virgin star Andrea Navedo shares the same health issues as her TV daughter Gina Rodriguez – both suffer from Hashimoto’s disease.

The two actresses have to watch what they eat more carefully than most because they struggle with thyroid issues.

Andrea tackles the issue when she’s working by eating a “real meal” for breakfast and then cutting out the carbohydrates.

“I have Hashimoto’s so I have to be gluten-free,” she tells Latina magazine.

Gina was 19 when she was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, which causes metabolism issues, and she reveals it has made it difficult for her to keep weight off.

“As an actress, I was like, ‘Seriously? In a world that’s so vain, I have to deal with the disease that makes you not keep weight off?’” she told Health.com, “but it actually became a blessing, because then I got to represent not only women and Latinas, but also women who are dealing with this disease.”

Like her TV mum, Gina sticks to a gluten-free diet to help control the symptoms of her disease, but she has a hard time fighting her urges to snack on bread.

“I love bread,” she says. “I definitely eat gluten-free bread every day.

“It’s mind over matter because they put out doughnuts every morning (on set), and they smell divine. I have to look at gluten like, ‘Yeah, I want to eat that. Of course I do, but it doesn’t make me feel good. And I want to feel good’.”

Gina has also discovered exercise is “extremely helpful for my thyroid gland”, adding, “Running, boxing, jump rope, and hitting the heavy bag are my workout constants… And I’ll do squats. I’ll drop a squat any day of the week, even mid-scene.”

The Jane the Virgin co-stars aren’t the only celebrities battling Hashimoto’s disease – model Gigi Hadid and actresses Zoe Saldana, Victoria Justice, and Natasha Henstridge also struggle with the condition.