Earlier today, celebrity chef Paula Deen revealed to the NBC Today Show’s Al Roker (and the rest of the world) that she has Type 2 diabetes, a condition in which the body is unable to properly regulate blood sugar levels.
Paula Deen is well known for her high-fat, high-calorie, pour-on-the-sugar cooking style, which she teaches to thousands of viewers every day on her Food Network cooking show, a lifestyle under question after the Paula Deen Type 2 Diabetes reveal.
The Paula Deen Type 2 Diabetes announcement has raised some questions among both the entertainment and health industries, especially in light of the fact that she had apparently been diagnosed with the disease for over three years before making a public announcement.
Is it responsible to repeatedly tell viewers the joys of eating rich foods, such as Deen’s signature bacon/fried egg/donut burgers, while having a disease that directly stems from poor eating habits? And, for that matter, are eating habits alone responsible for Type 2 diabetes, or are there other factors at play?
What Specifically is Diabetes?
Diabetes comes in two forms: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes is generally diagnosed very early in life, while Type 2 diabetes is often diagnosed later as a result of lifestyle choices, genetics and other factors. Roughly 26 million Americans have diabetes, with Type 2 accounting for 90% to 95% of those diagnoses.
In diabetes patients, the body either produces too little insulin or fails to utilize it correctly. The hormone insulin is responsible for transferring sugar (in the form of glucose) to the cells, which convert it to energy. Diabetes causes sugar to accumulate in the blood stream, causing damage to blood vessels and nerves in the process.
“I’ve Always Encouraged Moderation”
In a television interview with Al Roker, Deen said she has “always encouraged moderation” when it comes to preparing and consuming her notoriously fattening recipes. She went on to describe her cooking show as “entertainment,” and said that “people have to be responsible” for their own diets.
To some, including Linda Siminerio of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Diabetes Institute, The Paula Deen Type 2 diabetes reveal represents an ideal opportunity for the cooking star to make some changes to her show, such as the inclusion of healthier recipes and suggestions for making her typically-rich recipes leaner, lighter and more nutritious.
As of now, Deen hasn’t made any announcements regarding the future direction of her show, other than saying that she’ll work harder to stress the importance of eating her recipes in moderation. However, she has announced a multi-million dollar endorsement deal with Novo Nordisk, a large pharmaceutical company that manufactures the diabetes medication Victoza, a drug designed to regulate blood sugar levels in combination with exercise and healthier eating.
Three Major Factors for Type 2 Diabetes
According to Dr. Robin Goland, the co-director of Columbia University Medical Center’s Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, there are three major factors that contribute to your likelihood of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes: genetics, diet and exercise.
Despite the media’s focus on diet and exercise, Goland says that genetics is the most important factor. In other words, if your family has a history of Type 2 diabetes, you’ll have to be especially careful to avoid the condition through various lifestyle choices, such as diet and exercise. Goland even goes as far as to suggest that a person without a genetic disposition to diabetes could actually lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle and make plenty of poor diet decisions and still maintain stable blood sugar levels. Of course, doing so would increase your risk for other conditions, such as heart disease.
At the same time, Goland’s findings shouldn’t suggest that diet and exercise are unimportant factors when it comes to diabetes risk. In fact, eating foods rich in fat and sugar, such as those prepared by Deen on her cooking show, on a regular basis would certainly increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Exercise can offset the effects of a poor diet in terms of keeping your body fat percentage reasonable, but no amount of time at the gym will make up for a diet lacking in important nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals and complex carbohydrates.
The bottom line is that you need to regulate your weight level in order to best prevent Type 2 diabetes, and this is ideally accomplished through a combination of a calorie-conscious, nutrient-rich diet and regular physical activity.
It should also be noted that age is a contributing factor to diabetes risk. As you get older, the risk increases. Paula Deen, for example, is 64 years of age.
A Little Weight Loss Goes a Long Way
The New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a study finding that even small changes to exercise and diet patterns could prevent 60% of high-risk individuals from ever developing diabetes. Dr. Goland agrees with these findings, saying that it’s not necessary to devote your entire life to exercise and shed every last ounce of body fat in order to stave off Type 2 diabetes.
Goland used the following example to describe how even a small amount of weight loss can greatly lower diabetes risk: If a 300-pound individual with high blood sugar were to drop 5% to 10% of their body weight, arriving anywhere between 270 and 285 pounds, their blood sugar levels would likely stabilize.
Siminerio agrees, echoing Deen’s statement that moderation is key. Siminerio says that no specific foods have been directly linked to diabetes risk, and that the most important action for high-risk individuals to take is to cut down their portion sizes and get active whenever possible.
How is Paula Deen Changing Her Eating and Exercise Habits?
Although you may not see sweeping changes to Paula Deen’s Food Network cooking show, she is making some modifications to her own lifestyle. Since her diagnosis, Deen has been walking at least one mile per day on a treadmill, and she’s given up sweet tea. The changes, in addition to her daily diabetes medication, have allowed her to take control of her blood sugar levels and even drop a clothing size. She still plans to eat her signature homestyle cooking, while continuing to moderate portion sizes.
Her son, Jamie Deen, says that most of what he eats at his mother’s house is quite different from the rich foods she prepares on TV. According to Jamie, the menu typically includes items such as grilled chicken, seafood and large green salads, all of which fall on the healthier end of the food spectrum in comparison to her traditional pies, cakes and fried foods.
Paula Deen Type 2 Diabetes: The Bottom Line
Paula Deen, a celebrity chef best known for her rich, high-calorie southern cooking, has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes since 2008 but only publicly revealed her condition today. While her announcement raises some ethical questions concerning the nature of her television show and how she celebrates her cooking style, the real takeaway for fitness seekers should be the contributing factors to diabetes, including genetics, diet, exercise and age.
Doctors agree that you can significantly lower your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by losing just 10% of your overall body weight. The healthiest way of accomplishing this is through a combination of frequent physical exercise and a calorie-conscious, balanced diet.
