Paula Deen has Type II Diabetes

[sbell111]

Click on "recipes".

I did that and was rewarded with a recipe for reduced fat, reduced carb lasagna. I'm still not finding your angst, however.

 

[Free4Life11]

She's left all of the healthy fats out of the recipe, aka the egg yolk or any olive oil. Very lean meat has more Omega 6's than Omega 3s, and you should be striving to balance things the other way. Most people will not bother with the "low carb" pasta, and will think the whole wheat pasta is fine, because Paula says so. Most of the low fat cheeses etc, have sugar added and are higher in carbs. Anyone eating this recipe will be hungry and craving more carbs within a few hours.

Truly, I am not an expert. But I do think anyone diagnosed with Diabetes 2 should be prescribed a copy of Dr. Bernsteins' book.

It does seem like an odd recipe to lead with as it's basically reduced fat lasagna, which is great for heart health but not entirely sure how it's targeted to diabetics? Maybe it's just the teaser to get her followers to join, then when they get to the "real" recipes they are in for a shock?

 

[Happy Mom2]

I was a huge Paula fan. I loved her on Door Knock Dinners before she had her own show. I have all of her books, have eaten at her restaurant and loved her shows, BUT I think she has really sunk to a new low. She can't even announce her diabetes without making a buck off of it.

I have felt the same for a while. I've always been a big fan of Paula Deen. I have all her cookbooks, and subscribed to her magazine, but it slowly became one big advertisement for all her products with a few recipes thrown in a for good measure. And $10 for her "Collector Issues" is absolutely ridiculous! JMHO

 

[Coconut36]

What did you think was "wrong" with the recipe?

From my perspective, I would have replaced the ground beef with ground chicken or turkey and I would not use reduced fat cheeses. If one could find "no carb" pasta, that would be great but since that's almost impossible, choosing a whole grain, low carb option is better.

In very simplistic/general terms for T2 diabetics, fats are better than carbs.

The key is not to eat too much to maintain cholesterol levels.

That is essentially what my DH was taught. We have never had a lot of luck with the pastas that call themselves "low carb" but instead have used either Barilla Plus (extra protein and fiber) or whole grain ones and as the nutritionist told my DH..he could have pastas and other "carby" type foods as long as he controlled his portion size/amounts and balanced it out. So a big huge slab of lasagna..no no. A smaller serving with some good veggies or a salad on the side..much better. He was taught in terms of "choices". He could have X amount of carbs per meal type thing.

 

[hiwaygal]

Truly, I am not an expert. But I do think anyone diagnosed with Diabetes 2 should be prescribed a copy of Dr. Bernsteins' book.

From what I understand his book is very comprehensive and has a wealth of information.

But, I've also heard that his diet is extremely limiting and restrictive. That's going to turn alot of newly diagnosed patients away and push them even closer toward the medication first route (which, as the disease progresses may not be an option in the future anyway).

Considering only about 15% of T2 diabetics control their disease with diet and exercise, I think it's important to make the right choices easier to make.

Strict regimentation and limitations are going to cause most people to fail at controlling their blood glucose levels.

In my own case, I'm taking baby steps to gain control. Changing what I eat as much as I can and with the help of my endocrinologis and nutritionist. Exercising more, and trying to make better decisions all around.

As I'm sure you know, it's not as easy as flipping a switch.

 

[Dancind]

No, not as easy as flipping a switch. But when you get that diagnosis it's very scary. Scary enough, I think, to make some drastic changes. I agree that Dr. Berstein's diet is very restrictive, but I much preferred it to going on medication which to me was even scarier.

Now that I am symptom free, I eat more carbs, keeping it under 100 grams a day, but still very little wheat or sugar (WDW trips tend to be an exception). I recently read the Primal Blueprint and it makes a lot of sense to me. I feel better than I have since my mid 30s, and I will turn 60 next year.

 

[lucas]

I saw the story on NBC with Brian Williams tonight. Now I am sorry Paula has diabetes and all, but everything seems too calculated for me. She has known for 3 years that she has diabetes, has had time to adjust her recipes (probably for a new cookbook she wants us to buy), her son got his own show (and probably his own cookbook) and she will be a spokesperson for the meds. I dunno, I think I am over her.

 

[NikitaZee]

I saw the story on NBC with Brian Williams tonight. Now I am sorry Paula has diabetes and all, but everything seems too calculated for me. She has known for 3 years that she has diabetes, has had time to adjust her recipes (probably for a new cookbook she wants us to buy), her son got his own show (and probably his own cookbook) and she will be a spokesperson for the meds. I dunno, I think I am over her.

. I agree. I don't see how the drug company sees her as a good candidate to endorse them at all. She's still hefty ... it's not like she looks like a Type 2 diabetes success story. She doesn't owe me a thing, that's for sure - but I'd have a lot more respect for her if she announced she was an unpaid spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association.

 

[lucas]

Yep, it's all about her brand.

From: http://news.yahoo.com/deep-fried-lies-paula-deen-reveals-diabetes-183600325.html

Deep Fried Lies: Paula Deen Reveals Diabetes

"COMMENTARY: I've always enjoyed Paula Deen, even though her recipes with endless sticks of butter and languidly flowing rivers of oil made my stomach churn. Still, her sparkle and her manner draw you in. She takes her good with her bad, including in situations which would mortify most of us - such as the instance where the elastic on her pants broke at an awfully inopportune time - and maintains her trademark grin.

But now we learn that Paula Deen has type-2 diabetes, a disease that is increasing in frequency along with our waistlines. More startling, however, is that Deen, according to the Associated Press, was diagnosed with diabetes three years ago. She has now come forward with this information as a spokesperson paid by a drug company to talk about diabetes.

Deen reportedly said she waited to make her diagnosis public because "I wanted to bring something to the table when I came forward."

Of course, Deen could have brought something to the table years ago when she was diagnosed; she could have told people that consuming the food she makes could harm their health. Instead, she has gone on offering the same greasy, sugary, fatty fare.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, being a celebrity chef is big business. No doubt the revelation that Deen herself was suffering from a disease that is one of obesity's most constant companions would have impacted her ability to appear everywhere over the past three years, peddling her trademark fat and calorie bombs.

The program for which she is the spokesperson even has a lifestyle system, which has recipes and discusses food preparation, according to the Associated Press. I doubt that any of Deen's recipes offered over the last three years will be included. It feels as though she sold this country a lifestyle lie, the lie that her comfort foods were nothing more than that, when she was living with their likely very real consequences.

We need to take a lesson from this revelation. There is no magic shield, and though Deen claims, according to MSNBC, that she's always suggested her foods be consumed in moderation, moderation is not what she models. What she's modeling now is the physical toll of too much fat, too much sugar, and too many calories.

Even if someone appears to have our best interests at heart, it serves us to be skeptical. If Deen cared about the people who admire her, she wouldn't have waited until she had a paid deal to talk about her condition; she would have warned the people who look at her as a fun surrogate sister, surrogate mother, or surrogate aunt.

Rather than do that, it appears that she chose to protect her brand for three years until she was in the position to create a new one. I don't know about you, but I find that anything but comforting."

 

[curious3069]

. I agree. I don't see how the drug company sees her as a good candidate to endorse them at all. She's still hefty ... it's not like she looks like a Type 2 diabetes success story. She doesn't owe me a thing, that's for sure - but I'd have a lot more respect for her if she announced she was an unpaid spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association.

I think that's exactly why they want her...hoping people will see that's she's "just like them". I can totally understand why she kept it under wraps for all this time, it would be a big life adjustment for anyone, being famous would just add to that. The whole drug endorsement leaves a really bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended) however.

 

[tasha99]

My dad eats a high fat, high wine diet with very few sweets since he's allergic to eggs. He's in fabulous shape, despite way overdoing it on fatty foods. It's because he walks everywhere. At 73 he's a spry old man. He says it's a blessing to be allergic to eggs, because other than pie or certain ice creams, dessert is usually out for him.

I love Paula Dean's food, but save her recipes for special occasions and holidays. Hope she gets it under control.

 

[MrsPete]

Personally I think ole Paula is being made a scapgoat.

I think so too. She promotes good cooking -- not nutritional choices. She's never said, "Cook these things, only these things, 3 times a day every single day." That'd be a recipe for disaster (pun intended).

So cook that yummy main dish loaded up with cheese or gravy . . . but eat a small portion of along with a couple healthy fresh-cooked vegetables.

I disagree, Type 2 diabetes is very much a result of heredity and LIFESTYLE.

Yeah, it's a combination. If you're prone to Diabetes, you might avoid it altogether by diet and exercise, or you might just delay the onset. But BOTH genetics and lifestyle choices play into whether you become diabetic.

You could say the same thing about heart disease, high cholesterol, and a whole slew of other diseases.

That is essentially what my DH was taught. We have never had a lot of luck with the pastas that call themselves "low carb" but instead have used either Barilla Plus (extra protein and fiber) or whole grain ones and as the nutritionist told my DH..he could have pastas and other "carby" type foods as long as he controlled his portion size/amounts and balanced it out.

We haven't had luck with the low-carb pasta either. And DO NOT buy that soy pasta from the produce section; I can't even tell you what it tasted like -- I was so busy being disgusted by the texture that I couldn't focus on the taste. It was more "chewy" than calamari. My husband'd rather have a small serving of GOOD lasagna with a big pile of steamed broccoli on the side (can't get him interested in salads, but he does like fresh veggies). Portions are everything in diabetic meal planning.

Another thing that's helped tremendously is individual ramekins or other small serving dishes. My husband HATES for people to think he's counting carbs; I think he sees it as womanly. But if I cook the main-dish item in a pretty individual casserole, he knows that he's taking an appropriate amount without effort.

 

[MrsPete]

I saw the story on NBC with Brian Williams tonight. Now I am sorry Paula has diabetes and all, but everything seems too calculated for me. She has known for 3 years that she has diabetes, has had time to adjust her recipes (probably for a new cookbook she wants us to buy), her son got his own show (and probably his own cookbook) and she will be a spokesperson for the meds. I dunno, I think I am over her.

I disagree. If I were in the limelight like she is, and I suddenly found out I had Diabetes, I wouldn't tell the world right away -- people would start asking questions that I wouldn't know how to answer, and rumors would fly. I'd wait 'til I understood it myself, I'd wait 'til I knew what I should/shouldn't eat, and I'd absolutely start working on adjusting recipes.

Since Diabetes really is a huge problem today, if she can use her "star power" to bring attention to better recipes, more power to her.

 

[lucas]

I disagree. If I were in the limelight like she is, and I suddenly found out I had Diabetes, I wouldn't tell the world right away -- people would start asking questions that I wouldn't know how to answer, and rumors would fly. I'd wait 'til I understood it myself, I'd wait 'til I knew what I should/shouldn't eat, and I'd absolutely start working on adjusting recipes.

Since Diabetes really is a huge problem today, if she can use her "star power" to bring attention to better recipes, more power to her.

As someone else said, she could have been the unpaid spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association.

 

[LisaR]

As someone else said, she could have been the unpaid spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association.

She had multiple roads she could have taken. The road she chose says a lot about her, IMO.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I saw the story on NBC with Brian Williams tonight. Now I am sorry Paula has diabetes and all, but everything seems too calculated for me. She has known for 3 years that she has diabetes, has had time to adjust her recipes (probably for a new cookbook she wants us to buy), her son got his own show (and probably his own cookbook) and she will be a spokesperson for the meds. I dunno, I think I am over her.

Ya know, I have always liked her...the Xtra friendly vibe, the laughter, and watching her "show" though I never bought a book or really used an exact recipe.
But this "announcement" is more like an advertisement ...both for her sons two shows and her Own touting of the drugs she is now allegedly taking...her "wanting to share something useful" line really irked me frankly. It just all sounded DISingenuous!
And if she said one more time that she said she always says in moderation....well only those that faithfully watched her can answer that claim? Did she always say that? Id like to think she is being upfront..the timing though
Regardless, I wish her well!

 

[Sandy321]

The first time I heard her voice on Food Network - I thought, "she sounds just like my great aunts" and she used THEIR recipes! I was hooked!!

Listening to her brings a smile, most of her recipes remind me of a happy time

This taking 3 YEARS? I'm not buying what she's selling... if she hadnt had that deal with the drug company, then I would understand she wants her privacy, she has suffered from agoraphobia, so I can understand that she has been fearful -

Now did you also hear she has taken up smoking? 1 1/2 packs a day! (she thought it would help her stop eating... sad that)

I also wonder about her husband, does he also have diabetes? again, they can have their privacy if they werent hawking so many things! (she also endorses that one ham - hmmm)

 

[lucas]

Ya know, I have always liked her...the Xtra friendly vibe, the laughter, and watching her "show" though I never bought a book or really used an exact recipe.
But this "announcement" is more like an advertisement ...both for her sons two shows and her Own touting of the drugs she is now allegedly taking...her "wanting to share something useful" line really irked me frankly. It just all sounded DISingenuous!
And if she said one more time that she said she always says in moderation....well only those that faithfully watched her can answer that claim? Did she always say that? Id like to think she is being upfront..the timing though
Regardless, I wish her well!

I know! I watched her show every night while I was cooking dinner. I NEVER heard her say that. The only time she might have come close to saying that was when her children's cookbook came out and she was on The View. Barbara Walters challenged her about the kind of recipes she was putting out for kids and Paula might have said something like the moderation thing. I actually thought that on her cooking shows, her sons seemed embarrassed with all the butter etc., that she used but she never had a problem with it.

I wish her well, too.

 

[badblackpug]

Personally, I like Paula, and I am nearly pathological about what I eat.

Now here is my point...

I am tired of people not taking responsibility for their own lives and choices. Every adult on earth (including Paula) knows that Paula's recipes are not the most healthy. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that anything laden with butter, cream cheese, and mayo is not healthy. Paula Deen did not pry open your mouth and force you to pour her food down it. She cooks what she likes and gives you the recipes for it. Whether, or not, you choose to eat it, and in what amounts, is your business as an adult, and you are responsible for the results of that.

As for making money, of course she is in it for the money. Who isn't? She doesn't stand on the TV and cook because she wants to share recipes out of the goodness of her heart, she does it to make money. She didn't give herself diabetes so that she could advertise the medicine and then get her son a show making her food more healthy. She got diabetes, likely, in part due to her diet, the drug manufacturer found out she was taking their medicine, and offered money to advertise their medicine because she is popular. Recently, Paula got a lot of flack from Anthony Bourdain about her food, I'm sure food network saw this as an opportunity to use that to create a new show, considering hers is popular but people want more healthy recipes, thus making them money.

Everybody wants to sound all altruistic, but in all honesty, if a drug manufacturer came to you and said, "I see that you are taking drug X for your medical condition, we would like to give you $2 million to make a commercial saying you are taking it." Would you turn them down? because I, sure as h3ll, wouldn't.

 

[phorsenuf]

I saw her yesterday on The Chew talking about it and getting all teary. She went on to say how it's so hard and how you need to give up things you love. She said she hasn't had any sweet tea in 3 years. sniff sniff.
Then today on GMA she talked about moderation and how she can only have sweet tea in moderation. So which is it? I know that sounds silly and all, but if she is going to be a spokesperson for diabetes, shouldn't she get her story straight?