While there may have been a few surprised individuals when Paula Deen recently announced the she was diabetic, I doubt there were many. I certainly was not one of them, although I am writing this article to say that I am angry and more than a little sad about the whole situation. Before I say anything else, I want to state that I do not know Paula, and have never been any semblance of a fan. I do not truly know her motives for keeping her diabetes a closely guarded secret for 3 years, nor do I know why she decided to go public now. There was plenty of conjecture and media discussion during the brief period of time this announcement was considered newsworthy, and I certainly have my opinions. In the interest of full disclosure, most of what I write will be my opinions as it is pretty hard to fact check much of the story. As I have written about before, the South continues to lead the nation in rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and childhood obesity. Tennessee continues to be in the top 5 worst states for most of these conditions. Not surprisingly we also are one of the states with highest prescription medication use. When you look at the reasons why the South is so unhealthy, many reasons stand out beyond the frequently mentioned southern cooking. Socioeconomic status, lack of safe roads/sidewalks/neighborhoods where children can play and adults can exercise, “food deserts” where the only place to buy food is a convenience store, and many others that are more local factors have all contributed to making us as unhealthy as we are. All this being said, there is no doubt that traditional southern cooking has also played a role. Southern style cooking usually incorporates copious amounts of unhealthy fats (either in the food or used to cook the food) along with a frequent, powerful focus on comfort foods, fried foods, and daily consumption of potato and corn products. Sweet tea is the default beverage, and ordering unsweet tea is often considered a blasphemy. In the South, food is love, and comfort foods are the vehicle of choice to deliver the love. My main issue with the Paula Deen situation is her status as a celebrity. According to the reports, she has been diagnosed with diabetes for about 3 years. This means that she was insulin resistant (sometimes called pre-diabetic) for at least a few more years and possibly as many as 10 or more years. It is possible that she may not have known about the insulin resistance for all of those years, but any routine set of blood work should have had the warning signs if she had regular checkups with her doctor. What this tells me is that she deliberately ignored the warning signs and the diagnosis of diabetes to continue pushing her style of cooking and all the other business/merchandise deals she had going (a visit to her website states that she has 17 different business ventures at the current time). While she was promoting her cooking style and reassuring all her fans that it was ok to eat like she does, she was already well aware of the long term consequences. Hypocrisy seems to be quite common with politicians, religious leaders and celebrities, and honestly I am not surprised to count her among them, but I am angry. While only Paula knows for sure, there is a suspicion that one of the primary reasons for her acknowledging she has diabetes was to take advantage of the deal with the drugmaker Novo Nordisk to promote the drug Victoza®. Of course, this angered me even further. There is no scientific doubt that most cases of diabetes can be prevented with a proper focus on diet and exercise, and if caught early enough most cases of diabetes can be controlled with diet and exercise. Paula herself states that she is the first in her family to have the disease...all the more evidence that her diabetes is a product of what she promotes to others. Rather than make a clear and highly promoted change in her approach to cooking and food, she chooses to continue promoting the food that got her in trouble in the first place and sign on with a drug company. What I found even more disconcerting was her statement that what she prepares at home is not often like what she prepares on her cooking shows. She stated she has made some changes in what she eats, including cutting out sweet tea and eating her signature foods in moderation. She states she is also walking a mile or more each day on the treadmill. She has even lost a little weight per her interview, yet she states she will continue to do her shows and cook just as she always has. For her to do this to herself is certainly her business, but when she commands the media attention (and the influence it brings) of hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of people I personally find that irresponsible. My only hope is that most people will see this for what it is. I believe she has put profit and her business empire before the health of those she influences. Since I have worked with many individuals who have also used Victoza®, I have some practical experience with how it works. I know that it will improve blood sugar levels, improve satiety causing less food to be eaten, and actually help an individual lose some weight. I also know that in approximately 6-9 months the beneficial effects will start to wear off as the body “gets used to” (my terminology) the medication. What this means is the individual has 6-9 months to get their lifestyle in order and make beneficial changes, after that the progression of harmful changes that are the hallmarks of diabetes will continue towards the inevitable result. I predict that her diabetes will continue to worsen and she will be on multiple insulin injections per day within a year or two unless she gets a change of heart and truly embraces a healthy diet and regular exercise. Here is a link to a well written blog from the website Mind the Science Gap where graduate students learn to write about science topics for the lay public: http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2012/01/20/paula-deen-recipes-victoza-for-a-healthy-life/ and of course here is the link to Paula Deen’s website http://www.pauladeen.com/ and a USA Today story regarding the recent announcement
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