A few weeks ago Paula Deen announced that she has had Type II Diabetes for 3 years. Her announcement caused an uproar in the healthy living and diabetic communities. Why did she wait so long to tell people? Why isn’t she admitting that her diet caused this? She only came forward because she has an endorsement form a drug company and is being paid. And the attacks went on and on and are still going on.
I will be the first to admit that I was angry about how she announced that she had diabetes, her timing seemed suspicious. Paula waited 3 years and then decides to announce her “not shocking” diagnosis at the same time she has secured an endorsement from a drug company and at the same time her son Bobby is advertising his new show, “Not My Mama’s Recipes”, consisting of lightened up versions of Paula’s Southern favorites. Suspicious…..
As I started to sit back think about the whole situation more and more I have come to the conclusion that Paula got the short end of the stick. Who are we to judge her?? Just because she is a celebrity who happens to cook high fat, high sugar, Southern food, does this mean she has to divulge her health issues to the world before she is ready? So she continued to cook this food on TV after being diagnosed with diabetes, so what??? If you watch Paula’s show, which I do, you know her food is not good for you, just because she cooks it doesn’t mean we have to eat it. I have watched her show for years, it is a guilty pleasure, but I can count on one hand how many of her recipes I have actually cooked for my family.
Yes, Paula has partnered with a drug company that helps control blood sugar. Yes, she is getting paid for it. So, what? We should condemn her for this? Paula and this drug company have also developed a website called Diabetes In A New Light which provides diabetics with tips to control their blood sugar, healthy recipes, cooking tips and information on how to work with your doctor to gain better blood glucose control, not such a bad thing in my opinion.
I don’t think Paula should be condemned because she decided to wait to talk about her diabetes or because she is endorsed by a drug company. I think we all need to take a good look at why this makes us so angry because I think the anger is grossly displaced. We all know Paula’s food is not the healthiest. Paula herself knows her food is not the healthiest, she is always preaching about moderation on her show and she never alludes that her food is healthy. Paula is not dishonest about her cooking, if you haven’t realized by now that the amount of butter she uses on her show is bad for your health then you are in denial, not Paula.
What we need to learn from this situation is that we all need to take responsibility for ourselves. We have a choice in the types of food we eat, just because it is on TV does not mean we have to cook and eat it. If you watch the Food Network regularly or have ever watched a cooking show on any channel you know that the majority of the food made on these shows is unhealthy. Paula’s show is not the only show that has indulgent, unhealthy food on it. We need to take the time and reevaluate our choices and stop laying blame where it doesn’t belong, on other people.
The moral of this post is that before we judge others and their decisions we need to take a step back and realize that we have no right to assume that we know what goes on behind closed doors. Paula had her own reasons for not talking about her disease until now and we have no right to judge her or those decisions.
What do you think of Paula Deen’s announcement that she has Diabetes?
I have known a lot of people who have diabetes and some who have died from it. I ran the Boston Marathon for the Diabetes Association for a friend’s mom who a year later passed away from the disease. Diabetes is certainly serious and just like any other disease, people who have it deal with it in their own way. Paula has made her millions cooking up rich decadent dinners and desserts. I make a few of her dessert recipes and if I don’t need a stick of butter and cups of sugar then I’ve done something wrong. I’m sure it was a decision she did not take lightly but perhaps she saw an opportunity to help others. Maybe I’m just naive but I wish her health and I hope she does what she needs to to be healthy.
Diabetes is a terrible disease and I do believe that Paula blew a big opportunity to bring awareness about the disease and the lifestyle factors that can be changed to prevent and not make it all about the drugs, but she made a choice and I think we have to respect that choice.
Excellent post. I’m one of those that was very disappointed in her partnership with the drug company. My unhappiness stemmed from the insinuation that drugs are the way to control her disease. It seems like she has more of a responsibility as a celebrity to acknowledge the importance of diet and exercise and not necessarily drugs to combat her disease.
I do agree that this should all remind us that we are responsible for our own actions. That goes for recipes we cook at home as well as fast food restaurants. Just because the food is out there, it doesn’t mean we need to eat it.
I was also disappointed at first but I just think we all have our reasons for the things we do and maybe she has made lifestyle changes that she didn’t talk about…I do think she should have talked about them. As far as responsibility on her part I just think sometimes we expect too much of celebrities.
The problem with the drug companies is that they control and feed what the Docs teach about how to live with diabetes. If I eat what the Diabetics Association suggests to eat as healthy–I need WAY MORE MEDS. The whole thing is corrupt. I am so angry about it I don’t know what to do.
This is all they teach when you go to the doctor advised clinics to learn how to live. So, Paula could have bought into it, because a LOT of people do.
I agree, I see what my diabetics eat while they are in the hospital and they come home with their blood sugars out of control……then I have to be the one to tell them they can eat like that and control their sugar.
As a health care provider I am so irritated by the hundreds of folks that I see that tell me they have diabetes and it’s fine cause I take ______________ (insert medication du jour). Like the 50 lbs of extra weight they are carrying around doesn’t play a role. Like the jumbo sized soda that they just got at McD is ok. Like the mochachino blah blah blah with 3 tons of whipped cream is not a big deal.
It frustrates me that people are blind to what is really causing their diabetes. And Paula Dean is just another. Let’s fix all the world’s problems with a medication. Let’s not address what started the problem in the first place.
I don’t think she’s using her sponsorship to help anyone but her wallet.
Hi Michelle, I too am a healthcare provider, a homecare nurse to be.exact and you make many valid points. Controlling diabetes is not just about drugs it is about lifestyle.modifications. I have had people in my life with diabetes neglect controlling their sugar through use of both medication and lifestyle changes until.it was too late and.they are.paying the price now. Paula maybe should have.come about in announcing her diabetes in adifferent way advocating for lifestyle changes rather than drugs but she didn’t and I key don’t think she should be condemned for that. She may have made lifestyle changes…we see how she addresses this in the future. With that said I hunk this topic needs to be explored further and I.plan on posting about.diabetes to follow up.with this blog.
Thanks.for.your input.
This is America so
1) If it’s not healthy enough for you, don’t eat it. It’s a TV show and no one is forcing it down your throat.
2) If she can make money legally, she has that right. Helping her son out was good business if you ask me.
I don’t mean to sound harsh, I’m just one of those people who hate how P.C. this country has become. Let’s keep it the land of the free and the home of the brave!
I like your post and understand your position but stand by my original feelings that she should have either partnered with a charity or created her own foundation to help fight this horrible disease. Diabetes has affected me personally and I would not wish it on anyone. Such a horrible, scary and let’s say it–expensive illness to fight. (If you are lucky enough to have insurance which millions do not in the US.)
But here is where I disagree with you, Paula is not a private citizen. She has sought the spotlight for many years and has enjoyed the many niceties of success. There is always a dark side when you want fame. Fame invites scrutiny which is what happened when Paula decided to make a public announcement about her disease and the drug tie-in. She went on the Today show to make her announcement which is technically a news show and therefore news (though I think it is more info-tainment. Anyway…)
No one sneakily looked for her personal medical records or followed her from a doctor’s appointment to expose her. She put it out there; so therefore–it is up for discussion.
That’s my two cents. I just wish she had aligned with a charity is all. She could really affect millions of lives in a positive way by taking that step.
You make some valid points as a public figure Paula could have also aligned herself with a charity and as a celebrity could have brought some real awareness to the disease.
I appreciate your kindness and wisdom concerning Paula. I felt she was judged harshly for being human.
I am diabetic. Three years may seem like a LONG time for you and almost everyone else, but it took quite a while for me to accept that life isn’t fair and that I could NOT eat like my family eats. I was angry. I was in denial. You go through all the stages of grief with this disorder that you would with any major illness or loss. This is life threatening. It takes time to process. No one I have ever know has handled this news perfect. I suspect those who say they did–most likely have deceived themselves.
As for the money–and her show–that is how her family lives. I hold NO bad feelings for her for cooking like she does, or the choices she made to secure her family’s stability. I know I, if blessed to be in her position, would have done all I could to secure the family business.
We are all responsible for our health. Not TV personalities. Great post.
Thanks for sharing! I wish you good health, diabetes is a difficult illness to live with and control.
It hasn’t stopped me from “watching” her show. For the same thing I always have – entertainment value.
It’s all just a tiny slice of a great big problem in this country. From nutrition choices, to exercise choices, to relying on “medications” to cure the problems we create in our own bodies. But a bigger problem, is that on top of all that, we all want someone to blame for our own choices. Paula Deen is simply someone for people to get angry with for a much larger epidemic. Well, that’s my opinion anyway
Thanks for sharing!