Josh Turner Back to Full Strength

Josh Turner on the CMA Awards Red Carpet at "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008, broadcast live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photo courtesy of the Country Music Association.

Jan. 9, 2009 — Josh Turner picked up a CMA awards nomination and had his first acting role in a movie during 2008, but that’s not the best thing that happened to him last year.

"The first thing that comes to my mind is gettin’ well," he told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "I know that’s not a career answer, but I had been sick just off and on for two years to where it really made doin’ my job difficult. My immune system had really gotten deficient. There was a lot of things goin’ on that wasn’t right. I couldn’t seem to find a doctor that could help me until now. I think that’s the one thing that stands out for me about 2008 is that I got healthy, and I learned how to eat better and how to take care of myself and how to do those things my body needs, ‘cause my body’s different than everybody else’s."

Josh has some severe allergy issues, and as a result, he’s been put on a diet that avoids dairy and gluten, a protein that’s associated with wheat and other common grains.

So where will you find Josh on Monday? On "The Martha Stewart Show," making a macaroni and cheese dish that’s admittedly not on his diet.

"But," he says, "man, was it good."

In addition to that TV appearance, Nashvillians can catch Josh signing autographs this weekend at Sound & Speed, a mini-festival that brings together country music and NASCAR. Others on hand for the Saturday signings include Jason Michael Carroll, Richie McDonald, Dierks Bentley, Randy Houser, Charlie Louvin, Connie Smith, Danielle Peck and members of Diamond Rio. Participating drivers include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Petty and Michael Waltrip.

A Friday-night Sound & Speed concert also features Montgomery Gentry, Rodney Atkins and Julianne Hough.