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Bizarre Foods’ Andrew Zimmern Opens Up About Past Drug, Alcohol Addiction: I Was “Homeless for 11 Months”

Bizarre Foods fans can often find host Andrew Zimmern noshing on bull testicles, pig brains, and agonizingly spicy dishes, but there’s one item he’ll never indulge in again — alcohol. The Travel Channel star explained why during HuffPost Live on Tuesday, April 23.

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“January, 28, 1992 I had my last drink. I was a mess for a very, very long time — active drug addict, alcoholic, homeless for 11 months on the streets of New York,” Zimmern, 53, said. “I got sober, stayed sober, and my life changed. It’s a miracle. There’s not a day that goes by that doesn’t start with me being grateful for that.”

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrity foodies

He added: “If you ever see me drinking run to the far side of the country because it’s not going to end well.”

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrity chef scandals

Andrew Zimmern
Andrew Zimmern

Zimmern didn’t hold back during the interview, and hasn’t before. He previously opened up about his addiction in 2010.

“I learned a lot of lessons in the first 10 years of my sobriety about what’s important in life and about not practicing contempt prior to investigation,” he said on HuffPost Live. “And opening my mind up to new ideas in a sense really saved my life. So I really wanted to apply that same thing to a television program.”

To find out more about Zimmern’s dark past, and how far he’s come, watch the video above.

Have a question you’d like to ask a celebrity? Check out who will be appearing on HuffPost Live and submit your question to be asked live on-air!

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