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On this morning’s Today show, Paula Deen revealed that she was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes three years ago. She defended herself against accusations that she gave herself (and other Americans) diabetes—and so did my fellow Blisstree writer, Deborah—by downplaying the link between diet and diabetes and emphasizing that she only eats her fattening Southern recipes occasionally. But until now, the Queen of Southern Cuisine has hardly promoted moderation; she’s defended her cooking and recipes by calling critics classist and avoiding the topic of health altogether. I’m sorry, but I don’t find Paula Deen’s sudden change of heart endearing; if she really wants to help her fellow Americans with diabetes, she needs to accept the blame for her diabetes, and possibly yours.
When Al Roker asked her about the cause of her diabetes, she deftly glossed over the link between a fat- and sugar-laden diet and Type 2 Diabetes:
Certainly Al, that is part of the puzzle. But there’s many other things that can lead to diabetes. Certainly genetics, certainly your lifestyle, certainly what you eat, certainly stress, and last but not least is age. There’s a lot of us baby boomers out there and there’s a good chance that that will be one of the issues you have to face.
And when Roker pushed her even further to address her own dietary choices, she said that she’s “always encouraged moderation.” Which is an absolute cop-out, if you ask me. When Anthony Bourdain criticized her for contributing to America’s health problems last year, she responded by making the conversation about class, not health:
You know, not everybody can afford to pay $58 for prime rib or $650 for a bottle of wine. My friends and I cook for regular families who worry about feeding their kids and paying the bills . . . It wasn’t that long ago that I was struggling to feed my family, too.
Where was the big push to get people using her recipes in moderation then?
Al Roker directly asked whether she’s changed the way she eats since her diagnosis, and again, she harped on moderation:
I’ve always eaten in moderation. You know people see me on TV two and three times a day, and they always see me cooking these wonderfully Southern, fattening dishes. That’s only 30 days out of 365, and it’s for entertainment.
She said she’s never eaten like that every day. But in an interview with Parade, she admitted that she’s made some big dietary changes since discovering she has diabetes:
The first thing I did was give up sweet tea because I drank so much. I’d start drinking at lunchtime and wouldn’t set it down until I went to bed. When you calculate how much empty calories and how much sugar I was consuming, it was staggering. So I haven’t had a glass of sweet tea in three years.
That’s certainly a positive change, but it doesn’t seem to me like she’s always been a master of moderation. (And, if diet really didn’t have anything to do with diabetes, I don’t see why she and millions of other diabetics would be so worried about what they eat.)
It’s got to be brutal getting up in front of America and discussing your body, health and weight. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I told someone I had a disease and their response was “it’s your own fault because you’re fat.” But no one’s forcing her to announce her diabetes or discuss her diet and weight on TV. She’s chosen to make a lot of money by teaching people how to cook food that causes obesity, high blood pressure, and, at least indirectly, diabetes. Now, she’s choosing to make a lot of money off of exactly those consequences.
At the end of her interview on Today, she threw in a confusing anecdote:
Like I told Oprah: ‘Honey, I’m your cook, not your doctor.’ You have to be responsible for yourself.
That’s a completely irresponsible attitude to take, especially as a paid spokesperson for diabetes drugs. She owes it to her own health and others’ to be more responsible than that. Instead of pushing pills as the solution to diabetes, we all need to get honest about the fact that food has everything to do with our health, starting with Paula Deen.
Nobody is putting a gun to someone’s head and forcing them to eat her food. Jesus Christ, Briana, get some new material.
Martha Stewart recipes aren’t all healthy, and neither are Silver Palate. Eat…in…moderation…
Southern food is tasty but fat laden, its important for readers to realize genes do a play a role but southern food was okay for slaves, and farm work , in the olden days folks use to do heavy work and farming, slaves would not get enough calories, the high-fat high calorie diets were okay
if you are out in the fields sweating and toiling to plant cotton.
The problem I see is that she should not promote a drug she is causing
, many chef’s do vary their cooking, southern cuisine is quite simple, while other regional cuisines tend to vary ingredients and mix ingredients.
I’ve never seen Paula Dean hold a gun to anybodys head and force them to cook her dishes! I’m an adult and can make my own choices. I typically only eat the stuff like she cooks on rare occasions like holidays. People need to take responsibility for their own health and do some basic research on nutrition and stop blaming Paula Dean and McDonalds for their illness!
I’m sad for Paula, but not all that surprised. Maybe she should look into a healthier diet to treat her diabetes instead of drugs? There’s lots of interesting information available at this noncommercial, science based site (nutritionfacts.org). To quote the good doctor: “It is too bad Paula Deen missed this opportunity” to tell her fans “that type 2 diabetes can be prevented, managed, treated, and even cured”. Read more at http://nutritionfacts.org/blog/2012/01/18/paula-deen-diabetes-drug-spokesperson/
I agree. There are several different contributing factors when it comes to diabetes, but the argument that genetics is a cause of diabetes can only go so far; if you’re aware that diabetes runs in the family, staying away from high-sugar and fatty foods is a good precaution to take. I have several family members on both sides who are diabetic, so I moderate how much sugar and fat I eat in attempt to avoid the same fate.
Paula Deen should take responsibility for promoting an unhealthy diet. Many of her recipes call for Crisco, which is literally, and unnecessarily, adding fat to the recipe. Promoting recipes with lard in them is the furthest thing from promoting “moderation,” and if her defense is trying to save the “average” family money, why not show them how to eat healthy on a budget? That way many families will avoid having obese children who will someday end up like Paula Deen; overweight and diabetic.
Paula Deen has no business being on tv. She is responsible for her own health, as am I. I am disgusted that she has turned this “illness” into a profit making industry. She should be ashamed of herself.
Avoid her and the drugs she will start pushing!
I beg the people here NOT to take diabetes medications as I once did, they take thousands of lives with heart attack every year. A Danish specialized diabetes diet has reversed this illness drug free and it was reported on CNN.
The drug maker tried to hid the fact that all obesity and type 2 diabetes is caused by food chemicals. The drugs are not needed.
Reverse this and being overweight on your own!
just google SPIRIT HAPPY DIET
I don’t know if Paula Deen is to blame for her Diabetes or not.
That said, she has built a professional image based on high fat, high sugar foods such as Krispy Kreme bread pudding, and adding ‘just a little bit of butter’ to everything she cooks.
She is the American face of high fat high calorie high sugar diets, and should no be surprised when people link her diabetes with her profession image.
It’s almost the same as if Gordon Ramsay, famous for bulging blood vessels and high levels of stress, were to have a stroke or a heart attack, and were to deny that he should have worked to control his stress.
I have a lot more sympathy for people who struggle publicly with their weight such as Oprah who try to promote healthy eating techniques than with someone like Paula Deen.
That she will make money from her diagnosis after making money from promoting unhealthy eating makes me a little sick. I’d feel a lot better if she would donate her earnings from the drug promotion to Diabetes prevention research.
Well said, fig. I feel exactly the same way. She’s promoted really warped ideas about food and health in the past, and honestly, I still think she is… And you’re right, there are a lot of people who publicly struggle with their weight and health who are at least trying to promote an open discussion of those things; Deen seems to be spouting out PR messages that fit with the message of a diabetes drug company more than the message of someone who wants to promote healthy living in her fans.