Paula Deen, the famous 64-year-old television queen of decadent southern cooking, revealed on the Today Show yesterday that she has type 2 diabetes after years of rumor and speculation. She has had diabetes for three years and made the announcement the same day her diabetes website was announced. This is a website sponsored by a pharmaceutical company (Novo Nordisk) that is paying her to be a spokesperson to peddle a diabetes drug (Victoza). Her two sons are also being reimbursed for their endorsements and one son has started a new cooking show on the Cooking Network featuring lighter versions of his mom's recipes.
Today Deen is facing a backlash. She has now announced she is in a position where a percentage of the endorsement money can go to the American Diabetes Association. She did not reveal the percentage and at the time the ADA said it was not aware of the offer. She has also announced she will participate in select ADA health expos and will not receive any money for that.
The outcries and criticism are from those who feel she should have revealed the truth sooner given what she is famous for, should not have continued to promote unhealthy eating, and is a horrible example. They accuse her of being like a person who owns a windshield repair service as well as a service that throws rocks off overpasses. They also feel she could have used her celebrity to help people make lifestyle changes rather than turn to a drug and perhaps could have given some of her time selflessly to her fans who may need the help.
My Personal Opinion?
- Her example: I don't think Deen eats deep fried stuffing on a stick daily. She has said she practices moderation, and I believe her. I know firsthand how diabetes can transform your body into a very efficient, streamlined, fat-making and fat-retaining machine. Eating that way 24/7 would be much more obvious on her frame. However, I think her example should have been better before offering to help others. We have seen other celebrities go public with a diabetes diagnosis and they don't try to influence or help others until they have made some obvious lifestyle changes and have improved their health. We have seen the transformations of Delta Burke, Drew Carey, and Sherri Shepherd. They can talk the talk because they have walked the walk. They have earned their respect and credibility. They inspire us. They are also very honest and frank about their weight, weight loss, weight gain, diabetes control, and regimen. Paula Deen says she wants to help others with her story. If so, it would be nice if she shared the details, especially when she says of her website, "I'm going to be there for you and help you manage every day of your life with this because it can be done." She would be more credible if she could prove she has climbed that mountain before offering to be our guide.
- Her food: I do not have issue with her continuing to share recipes with questionable nutritional value and applaud her for offering healthier versions. Many people successfully manage diabetes eating what they want while practicing portion control. It's a matter of personal choice and what works best for you. If you choose to have a meal that consists of a 1.5" x 1.5 " serving (and can stop at that), that is your choice.
- Her support of moderation: Deen has said, "You can have diabetes and have a piece of cake. You cannot have diabetes and eat a whole cake." It needs to be said however, that your diabetes management should be good and that a piece of cake be worked into your diet plan. By the way, according to the ADA exchange lists, a serving of cake is three inches square with no icing.
- Her drug endorsement: What makes this situation sticky is that her position puts her into a win-win situation. She wins ethically if she can show people how to manage their diabetes successfully. However, she also wins double monetarily if they choose to practice moderation using her recipes by using more diabetes drugs such as Victoza to control their blood sugar levels.
What Paula is Doing Right for Her Health
- No more sweet tea. Given how much sweet tea she claims she drank daily, this alone has probably cut down a lot of carbs from her regular diet.
- Walking a mile or more on her treadmill daily. Exercise is powerful. Hopefully she is getting the equivalent of 10,000 steps a day or approximately 5 miles on average.
- Moderation. If done properly, someone with diabetes can eat anything, even sugar, if it is worked into their diet plan.
- Getting treatment. Unfortunately many with diabetes do not get or follow treatment, and she may inspire others to become more conscientious and proactive.
What Paula Could do Better for Her Health
- Make more dietary changes. She claims she hasn't made many other changes in her cooking or diet. Of course, we don't know exactly what her regular cooking or diet is. However, if she made more changes in her diet, perhaps she may not need the pharmaceutical drug or as much.
- Weight loss. She could have very powerful results with weight loss. A study has found that people over 60 can reduce their diabetes risk much more dramatically after just a 5-7% weight loss than their younger counterparts. While diabetes drugs help to alleviate the symptom of high blood sugar, increased weight and poor diet choices still increase risk for diabetes-related conditions such as heart disease and stroke.
- Get Educated. In her interviews, she seems to downplay the importance of diet, exercise, and lifestyle in diabetes development and management and does not seem well versed in diabetes management.
What You Need to Know About Her Website
Deen will offer healthy recipes and information through her website called Diabetes in a New Light. The website is sponsored by Novo Nordisk and they compensate Deen to promote their diabetes drug called Victoza, a once-daily non-insulin injection.
The website is pretty basic and appears to be aimed at newly diagnosed diabetics. The look and feel is very familiar to me. It looks similar to websites I've seen from non-profit companies that use celebrities for awareness campaigns. On their Diabetes Basics page, there is very brief and casual information on diet, exercise, weight loss, and stress. The only medical treatment mentioned is linked to a page that claims to have more information about a naturally-occurring bodily substance called GLP-1 that can help control blood sugar levels. When you click the link, you go to the drug page for Victoza, a synthetic version of GLP-1. The site states "Victoza is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes" but it is the only medical treatment listed on this page. Victoza has been in the news due to safety issues.
What I Would Like to See From Paula
I would like to see Paula lead the way with more lifestyle changes and more openess before offering herself as an example. I think it would be interesting and helpful if Paula were to continue to offer her decadent traditional and novel recipes full of carbohydrates and fats, but illustrate what a diabetes-friendly serving looks like to truly help give an idea of what moderation should mean. This might be educational (and maybe surprising) to both Paula and her viewers.
It would be nice if a generous portion of the endorsement proceeds go to diabetes organizations that offer help and search for a cure. It would also be nice if she committed to more than "select ADA health expos" out of the goodness of her heart.
Deen is in a unique position where she can learn a lot more about successful diabetes management, it would be nice to follow her along that journey with her trademark humor.
Image: Dave Kotinsky / Getty Images Entertainment
