Paula Deen, the infamous hostess of the Food Network’s “Paula’s Best Dishes,” has been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Although the news was shocking to the public when it was released, Paula’s diagnosis was not a recent one. In fact, her condition was discovered three years ago. Unfortunately, she chose to hide this condition while continuing to promote decadent dishes like her “Chocolate Cheese Fudge.” After her diagnosis, Paula made a public statement saying, “It’s not like a death sentence. I don’t plan to change how I cook but I will make some lifestyle changes.” What has outraged the public was her decision to partner with a diabetes drug maker called Novo Nordisk to promote their product Victoza rather than make healthy lifestyle changes.
What are your thoughts on Paula's diagnosis and her decision to partner with Novo Nordisk?
Chronic disease is an enormous problem in this country. More than 25.8 million Americans have diabetes, 7 million of which probably don’t even know it yet. Having Type 2 Diabetes can lead to a variety of complications that includes heart attack, stroke, nerve damage, kidney damage, blindness, or limb amputation.
When people are trying to eat healthy and exercise in this day and age, it is very disappointing when a popular T.V. icon chooses to rely solely on medication rather than changing their diet. For many diabetics, medication is a necessity, but conditions like diabetes calls for drastic changes in eating habits as well.
Wouldn’t it have been commendable if she decided to demonstrate and educate her fans as to how to cook healthy food? I believe the public would have sympathized with and embraced Paula a little more if she slowly started to make the necessary changes in her cooking to reflect a more healthful approach.
More and more companies, like Ovation, are offering programs that reduce chronic disease risk and even reverse these chronic conditions. The first step in this program is learning to eat right. You cannot just eat fats, carbohydrates and sugars; a diet that is rich with such foods is very dangerous not only to Type 2 diabetics, but to the general population as well. Fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes are a much better choice! We here at Ovation have lots of proof that reversing chronic disease can be done. Just ask us!
