Paula Deen is endorsing drugs, but not healthy eating
(Photo: Jezebel.com)
If you haven’t heard by now, Paula Deen, the queen of Southern fried cooking (with a side of butter), announced on the Today Show on Tuesday morning that she has Type 2 Diabetes. (Refresher: Type 1 is the kind you’re born with, Type 2 is usually lifestyle-induced.)
Which is just so ripe for tsk-tsking, you feel bad (or cliched) even addressing it.
The thing that we definitely will call her out on, however, is her decision to act as a spokesperson for a drug that treats the condition (chef-TV host Anthony Bourdain did the same on Twitter this morning), while not taking the opportunity to talk about changing her unhealthy eating habits.
Anthony Bourdain wags a digital finger at Paula Deen's decision to profit from a diabetes drug endorsement with his "crutches" Tweet today
Deen told Today she had “always eaten in moderation,” rather than admitting she could have substituted a kale salad for Doughnut Burgers or Deep-Fried Stuffing on a Stick once or twice.
To add insult to injury, she said the food that she cooks on TV is just “for entertainment.”
So she didn’t expect anyone to cook it? Right.
But the reality is Deen doesn’t need to admit to the irony of her unfortunate diagnosis. It sends a clear, obvious message that really doesn’t need any pointing out.
Though we will.
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It’s sound to me like she is in a stage of denial right now. Like it or not her disease will force her to make some serious dietary changes. If she can’t make these changes, she will face the serious health related consequences of diabetes not kept under control
Didn’t she get the diagnosis two years ago? I find it deplorable that this woman, who has a true opportunity to make Americans healthier, would rather make a fat paycheck touting a drug than suggest people start eating differently. This condition is easy to monitor with lifestyle changes–losing just 7% of a person’s body weight is usually enough to go from diabetic to pre-diabetic or even healthy. She is sending the wrong message, for sure.
[...] his students.” Umm…what’s more interesting than that?Deen’s diabetes. Paula Deen. The Today Show. Diabetes. Drug spokesperson. Angry Anthony Bourdain. Is there anything you haven’t heard yet in this [...]
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[...] and educate the public on the importance of healthy eating. Instead, she insisted she had always practiced moderation and announced she was partnering with drug maker Novo Nordisk to promote a new Type 2 Diabetes drug [...]
[...] and educate the public on the importance of healthy eating. Instead, she insisted she had always practiced moderation and announced she was partnering with drug maker Novo Nordisk to promote a new Type 2 Diabetes drug [...]