Pamela Anderson weight loss tips & tricks: actress credits vegan diet for bikini body, hepatitis C cure

Pamela Anderson has always looked fit and sexy on her photos, but unbeknownst to many, the 48-year-old Canadian-American actress and model has been fighting a battle many have lost and more people are expected to succumb to, as well. She was diagnosed with Hepatitis C almost 13 years ago.

But in a recent turn of events, the actress was able to beat the dreaded disease and come out on top victorious. Anderson, who got her first shot at fame when she co-starred with David Hasselhoff in "Baywatch," the hit TV series back in the '90s, announced that she just recently got a clean bill of health and took to her social media account to let her fans know about the good news.

"I am CURED!!! - I just found out," she wrote on the caption of one of her Instagram posts. "I pray anyone living with Hep C can qualify or afford treatment. It will be more available soon. I know treatment is hard to get still." Anderson also added the hashtags #nomorehepc, #dontlosehope, #itworkedforme and #thereisacure.

Back in August 2015, Anderson decided to first try out the treatment involving the use of a drug for a period of three months. And now, she was relieved to find out that the treatment worked and cured her Hepatitis C, according to The Examiner.

"Sixteen years ago that was as a death sentence," said Anderson. "I think it really worked on my self-esteem. Even though I may have looked confident on the outside, it really was a dark cloud that lingered over me."

Anderson also gave credit to her vegan diet, not only in keeping her body in shape but also in keeping the complications of the disease at bay. "I have Hepatitis C and I feel great, which I think has a lot to do with my diet," she said in 2010. "I feel better. I always feel healthy." She has been a vegetarian ever since her teenage years but has just been into a vegan diet a few years ago. At 48, she currently weighs 115 pounds with her 5-foot, 7-inch frame.

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by a virus, which if left untreated can lead to serious liver damage. The cost of the new three-month drug, which promises to cure the virus in 90 percent of the patients, is between $75,000 and $100,000 per patient.

The virus can be contracted by sharing needles or through sexual intercourse. Anderson earlier claimed that she contracted Hepatitis C from Tommy Lee, her former partner and drummer of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, wrote CBSNews.