Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comPaula Deen pledges money to diabetes association
Seeded on Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:23 PM EST (msnbc.com)
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Terrible human being. She destroys her own health (not to mention the morons that watch her show and make her recipes) and then capitalizes off of it with by cutting a deal with a company that makes diabetes medicine for financial gain. And kept her condition secret while she inked the deal. Disgusting!
Fat, lazy, and greedy. An all American by many standards.
got caught Ms Deen? ....and if news had not leaked out you would still have kept this a secret. you should be ashamed!
LOL this would be mike Marlboro donating cash to lung cancer association and endorsing a treatment.
Slather some more diabetes on it Paula... oops i mean gravy...
Tom & karen ~~ No one purposely sets out to destroy their own health. My sister (who's a nurse) didn't know she was a diabetic until she was 40-yrs old, and another friend until she was 55-years old. And my ex was diagnosed with diabetes 10-years ago. They all ate a relativly healthy diet at the time. But they all had to make some drastic changes. It took time, trial and error to change a LIFETIME of eating habits, and to this day, many years later, they still find it difficult to follow the best diet for their condition. I give them kudos for putting forth the effort.
Paula Deen has indeed built an empire on her recipes and cooking show, and I see NOTHING wrong with that. Her personal medical condition is NOT ANYONE'S BUSINESS! She is NOT OBLIGATED in any way to disclose any of her medical history. MEDICAL HISTORY IS A VERY PRIVATE ISSUE, AND IT NEED NOT BE SHARED WITH ANYONE.
We all have choices in what we want to eat, whether it be healthy, or not. I watch Anthony Bourdain too, but I choose not to eat bugs, blood or eyeballs of strange critters. People who have medical/health issues don't have to watch Paula Deen's show, they can choose to change the channel, or read a book on healthy eating habits. I watch her regularly, I have health and medical issues of my own, and I pick and choose what I make when I watch her show. I have made a number of her recipe's. Sometimes I modify them, sometimes I don't. I'm a vegetarian, and 90% of the time, I eat a very healthy diet, BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO. And if I watch Paula Deen on TV, and decide to make one of her decadent buttery, sugary desserts or fatty entrees, it's BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO. No one twists my arm, one way or the other. And even if she is a diabetic, she can cook and present anything she wants to. Her issues do not have to be MY issues. Her business does not have to by MY business. We all have CHOICES and decisions.
In any event it's NOT ANYONES BUSINESS what her medical issues are, and again, she is under NO OBLIGATION to disclose her personal, private medical history. I say GO PAULA! Do what you do. And to her son who now has a cooking show, I say GREAT! He'll be doing a bit of healthy cooking, and people can (or not) choose to watch him. I say MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
I'm sure your ex and sister didn't go on T.V. pushing these disgusting recipes to folks and telling them "it's sooooooooo delicious y'all!" and "dig in y'all." I used to be a fan. She disgusts me now and I won't be buying her recipes as they cause diabetest. And I don't want her making a red cent on medicine I would have to take IF I did get diabetes. She's a greedy pig. Plain and simple.
Edyn ~~ See, you've made your choice, and you choose NOT to watch her show. SO WHAT! Of course what she cooks is Delicious. What 'causes' diabetes is genetics, as well as poor eating habits. But because one develops diabetes, or is genetically pre-disposed to developing diabetes, doesn't mean they are a bad person. Personally, I think your way of referring to Paula Deen in such a disrespectful manner is heartless and shameful on your part, and it shines a very sad light on YOU, personally.
This is a very serious ethical breach that verges on criminal behavior. She kept her diagnosis secret until she had landed an endorsement deal with a pharmaceutical company. That is bad enough, considering that her food is of a type well-correlated with acquired diabetes.
But now she will continue with her high fat, high sugar, high salt food with the clear subtext that you can be obese, sedentary, and still eat all the fat, sugar, and salt you want without effect if you also take this wonder drug.
That is a criminal conflict of interest as far as I am concerned. I agree with Bourdain that she is "dangerous". I am suspicious of the ethics of any drug or food or entertainment company that would endorse her.
Chris ~~ WOW! Now that you are personally privy to the inside scoop on what transpired, I'm sure you're feeling very special. Criminal behavior? Sorry, but your hypotheses is RIDICULOUS. I think EVERYONE is completely over reacting, and taking it WAAAAAYYY too personal. Get over it, and get on with your own life, that is if you have a life.
Eat up, it's not your fault you're overweight. It's genetics, or it's stress, or it's some other invented bullsh*t reason to eliminate your responsibility.
Has anyone ever seen Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives? These people eat at these places 4 maybe 5 times or MORE a week. Most of them do not even watch Paula Deen. While I don't agree with her cooking style I don't think she is the only person to blame. We need to start using our heads for something besides a hatrack and figure it out that we don't need nine tons of fat, sugar, and salt no matter WHO is selling it.
Sure thing, offering help for free to be a good example for others—wow what a turn-a-round from her past—wonder how many ways Ms. Deen and the boys define the word, Free…
Pledging money to the diabetes association was a nice gesture.
Get real, Lindsey. It's a cooking show, not a lifestyle show. She never said that her recipes were intended as a steady diet (unlike health guru Ellie Kreiger). Does anyone think that the 'Eat Dessert First' gal is either healthy or that her recipes are for constant consumption? How is she any different than Paula? What about 'Hungry Girl' who is STILL perpetuating the myth that a low-fat diet is healthy and uses tons of frankenfoods ('buttery spread', fat-free cheese, really? That crap will kill you before real butter does) to achieve that 'goal'? There are bigger problems on FN than Paula and her perfectly healthy butter fixation (admittedly the sugar needs to go). The problem with this country (and it isn't Paula's fault, by any means) is that the concept of a 'treat' has gone by the wayside. People eat 'treats' all day long, and that is why we have the obesity problem in the country that we have.
So Paula Deen is essentially saying, "Do as I say, and not as I do"?
Ruken ~~ Paula Deen is saying DO WHAT EVER YOU CHOOSE TO DO! It's everyones personal responsibility to educate themselves. If one chooses to live on Twinkies and HoHo's, and wash it down with Cola products, so be it.
So everyone else should suffer the increased health-care premiums for it? You can't have it both ways.
My son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 14. In Type 1 the pancreas simply stops producing insulin. There is no known cause or cure. Type 2 diabetes is usually a result of poor diet, lack of exercise and obesity. Does this sound like Paula Deen. You betcha.
While not everyone with type 2 diabetes is overweight, obesity and lack of physical activity are two of the most common causes of this form of diabetes. It is also responsible for nearly 95% of diabetes cases in the United States. So for the past three years while Paula kept her dirty little secret, more people were exposed to her fatty recipes without any kind of warning. I find this selfish and unforgivable. Type 2 diabetes can be reversed with proper diet, exercise and weight loss. Not always, but it is possible. Why the he11 hasn't Paula altered her recipes to help others with Type 2 diabetes.
I've never tried any of her recipes simply because they seemed like instant artery cloggers in a casserole. Yuk. Sure, I like a good pot roast, which isn't exactly healthy, but geez her recipes are simply over the top. Who in the he11 eats a cheeseburger on a donut? Double Yuk!!
Paula, you should be ashamed. Your donation was a good thing, but now do something more productive: write a cookbook for diabetics, feature more healthy recipes and for goodness sakes... lose weight!
Actually, pot roast is healthy (as long as the steer was grass fed), just skip the potatoes. And fat doesn't either cause weight gain or clogged arteries (as long as those fats are natural), that entire fallacy is based on one flawed research study that everyone keeps repeating. Sugar, on the other hand, not so good. But, why should she alter anything? Her claim to fame is exactly what she's been doing for how many years? If people need to be told how to manage their diabetes by a cooking show host, they have bigger problems than having diabetes. Take a little personal responsibility.
artslady ~~ I don't think Paula Deen has anything to be ashamed of. She does what she does. What rule or law has she broken? She is under no obligation to disclose her private medical issues, nor is she obligated to cook so called 'healthy' meals for the masses. Her show is not based on that. Her show is basically based on 'good ol' Southern cooking' what we all know as high fat, high sugar. Nor is she under any obligation to create a 'special book' for diabetics. There are plenty of books out there already.
You have chosen NOT to cook any of her recipes, and that's just fine. That's your choice, and your business. But I find it rediculous when people want to point a finger at others judging them because the other person isn't doing what THEY THINK THEY SHOULD BE DOING. It's called JUDGMENT!
My hope for Paula is that she will be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle, in spite of all the stress from judgment and criticism that is currently heaped upon her. I sincerly believe that she doesn't deserve this backlash.
She doesn't deserve the money she's getting from the drug company either. She's pushing food that causes diabetes and is pushing a drug that supposedly "helps" you when you get diabetes eating the food she's pushing. She should be ashamed. Why is she announcing her deal and her health if it's none of anyone's business? BECAUSE SHE WANTS PEOPLE TO BUY THE DRUGS. You're comments add no value.
Edyn ~~ I stand by my comments. You, as well as everyone else can choose what they want to eat, drink or take. Whether it be out of ignorance or out of knowledge.
The grocery aisles are FULL of foods that we choose to buy or not, and are endorsed by any number of celebrities. Whether Ms. Deen announces a 'deal' as you put it, or not, is simply none of your business, and I'm sure it is 'business'. People will buy what they want to, based on what they know.
If you are so concerned about what people know, get yourself educated, and be the poster child for good health, go on the road and endorse a healthy life style, expose bad drugs, help get kids lunch programs on track, help hospitals get good food, and get your neighborhood to eat only healthy foods, and quit watching food shows.......the list is endless.
i wonder if she or anyone is surprised at the diagnosis. i don't watch her shows, she gets on my nerves-but from what i understand of her cooking, etc, i'm surprised it took this long! someone told me she fried mac and cheese, then there's fried butter, fried mayo. that all sounds disgusting. she's the poster chef of the rampant obesity and related health problems in this country. you can't eat constant fried, with gravy, and not pay a price health-wise.
Yeah, diabetes, what a shocker eh? So she does eat the stuff she makes on TV.
I don't think blaming her or attacking her choices is the right approach, she is just misguided in her ideas of what caused this to happen to her. The medical and pharmaceutical companies share a burden of blame here for giving type 2 diabetes all the excuses instead of pointing to the point that it can be fixed with just lifestyle changes. There is a good post about this at PaleoDoc.net.
Finally, a voice of reason...
If you look at it, this whole thing points to the deeper issue of a lack of personal accountability in today's society. Nothing is ever a person's fault, nor should they ever be held accountable.
Paula Dean is just one more example of the food and media industry doing everything they can to make profits without regard to the health consequences. We are in the midst of a health crisis largely caused by poor nutrition and over eating. High amounts of added addictive sugar, salt, and fat combined with incessant manipulative marketing and media content such as Ms. Dean are causing the American people to eat themselves into sickness and death.
There is barely a single media food personality that is not overweight and I can assure you if they are overweight there is a high probability they are also suffering from other health problems such as elevated blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides. In other words the message viewers should get from the likes of Ms. Dean and the rest of them should not be how wonderful their cooking is but how unhealthy it is. Instead of tuning in, viewers should be tuning out. At the beginning of every show should be a warning label, “this show is dangerous to your health and is likely to cause coronary disease, diabetes, and other illnesses.”
Watching Ms. Dean and the rest of the overweight Media Chefs to learn how to cook is like asking someone who has filed bankruptcy a dozen times how to run a business.
Have you seen Ms Dean's fathead sons? I predct the whole piggy family will get a juicy endorsement deal from NutriSystems!
Neither of her sons are overweight, at least by today's standards.
*snickers*
Jack ~~ Her sons are not obese. Get your head screwed on straight.
@Enough,
Both of Deen's sons and her husband are also seriously overweight. Saying that this is not so because of "today's standards" means that your standards have changed, not those of medicine.
Another TV celebrity sellout. I'm starting to look at cooking shows as another form of broadcast "organized evangelism". Paula Dean is a cooking Jimmy Swaggart.
Paula and her family remind me of the Kardashians (not a compliment!) She waited to reveal her diagnosis not so that she "could have something to offer" (her words) but until she could get $$$$PAID$$$$$ by big pharma and other "endorsements". I'm disgusted that she claims she's always eaten "in moderation" (again, her words.) When the results (the obvious obesity and subsequent diabetes diagnosis PROVE otherwise!) I, too, live with diabetes and it's a day to day struggle to make good eating decisions, 'cause unlike other vices (like smoking, drinking, etc..) everyone's gotta eat! But to know you have diabetes and say that you'll continue to eat the same way is just irresponsible. She's the Queen of Denial. Oh, yes, it's certainly a coincidence that aside from the getting paid by big pharma, her son, Bobby, has a new show that's being plugged on Food Network called "Not My Momma's Cooking," which supposedly is a show dedicated to healthier versions of Paula's recipes. Such a coincidence...(sarcasm)
You wrote exactly what I was thinking. I'm as Southern as they come (from Alabama) and although we do tend to enjoy fried foods, we also love our fresh garden vegetables. Just throwing a stick of butter in a recipe does not make it Southern. Paula Deen wants followers, but for the last 3 years she has failed to inform her fans of where they were being led. She is a total embarrassment to true Southern cooks and I'm hoping for the day that her show is cancelled. Of course we all have choices, but for awhile it was "trendy" to cook Southern and she is the worst example on tv (with the Neelys close behind). I appreciate the opportunity to vent. I just want people to understand that not all Southerners have fat between their ears and we don't appreciate the wide brush that she uses to paint a picture of Southern foods.
She is just another human being who is imperfect........imagine that!!
Lindsay ~~ SO WHAT! She has a cooking show that features high fat, high sugar. We all have to draw our own line in the sand. No one can draw it for us (that is unless we live in China where it's drawn for them). But of course, I'm sure YOU have NEVER eaten nor have you prepared anything high fat or high sugar, for anyone ever, because that would just be UNFORGIVABLE.
I'm a vegetarian, I eat very healthy, but once in awhile I LOVE a Krispy Kream doughnut. Hell, I'll even eat mac-n-cheese sometimes. It's not unforgivable, nor is it ill motivated, nor is it purposely designed to injure my health or anyone elses. It's simply what I choose to do sometimes, and it's not anyones business. Passing such judgment on something that EVERYONE has a choice to do is just stupid.
Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay. It simply is yet to be seen. Let's give it a minute. If it turns out that she's what you say, then I will agree with you. But in my way of thinking, I'm waiting for all the FACTS to come out, rather than going by this HYSTERIA and self righteous judgment that everyone is throwing at her.
@Reni,
But do you fry your mac and cheese in a stick of butter as she does? Do you eat your Krispy Kreme donut with a slice of sausage, an egg, cheese and mayonnaise as a breakfast dish? And do you do this knowing that it can cause people health problems that might have to be treated with a drug from which you are receiving endorsement money?
There is plenty of information about what is healthy and what is unhealthy. The essential problem is that she contoinued to push her lifestyly while hiding the possibility that it might have contributed to her health problems. And knowing that she also proceeded to sign an endorsement deal with a drug company without telling her viewers.
It is always the American way to blame the victims. But in truth, when one is confronted with an ethical situation, they either are open and honest or they are unethical. That is the choice that was denied to her viewers.
And it looks as though the FDA will now be involved and likely will sanction the drug company for its ethical breach in knowingly involving itself in such an unethical deal. While it might seem that the onus might fall on the viewer of her shows, that presupposes that whe was open and honest about everything that the viewer needed to take that responsibility. In fact, by not being open and candid and by conducting secret financial negotiations, she actually denied the viewers the precise information that might have disuaded them from using her recipes.
It's a lot like blaming a holdup victim because they weren't carrying enough cash and that caused the robber to shoot him. (I knew someone that had that used on them in court.)
It is most likely that her career is finished as a result. But the objections to her "lifestyle choices" and how she presenbted them was being objected to by other people in the food industry long before this came up. She was in the middle of a feud with Anthiny Bourdain among many others because she insisted on taking existing recipes, "fixing" them by assing butter, salt and sugar in huge quantities, and then pushing them as "traditional" southern recipes when they were neither traditional nor southern.
I have watched Paula Deen for years, and yes I have tried some of her recipes, yum. I don't cook them everyday, they are considered a treat. There are many chef's out there that prepare dishes you shouldn't eat on a regular basis.
As far as her health concerns go, THEY are her business and if she chose not to reveal them until now, THAT is her business. All chef's sample what they cook on their shows and that does not mean they eat them everyday. As she has said many times you eat in moderation.
I applaud her for her donation to diabetes, I have also made a donation at different times and I have for other causes.
All of you complainers out there need to get a life and mind your own business. How many of you out there go public with your own business?
All of you "holier-than-thou" posters, nobody was or is cramming Paula Deen's food or anyone else's down your throats so get off her case. I don't see you on here condemning McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, KFC, etc, for their fat filled menus and I'll bet you even frequent those establishments. I'm sure those of you who condemn her do not eat salads and fruits EVERYDAY for EVERY meal. You can't convince me that you don't treat yourselves once in a while with something that's not totally good for you. I know people who eat the supposed "right" way and still have diabetes so it's not totally what you eat. I'm not saying her recipes are policitically correct so to speak based on today's "right and wrong way" to eat, but who cares? I know when a food is not necessarily good for me but that doesn't mean I don't like to splurge once in a while. I think it's wrong to hold her responsible for anybody else's health except her own. I am responsible for what I eat and no one else. What are we, a nation of sheep followers?
The woman is an entertainer. Her show is mostly for people who like food porn. She has a few good ideas that I've used from time to time (the collard greens with cornmeal dumplings and smoked turkey leg is delicious, even without the extra stick of butter she tossed in at the end (not that there is anything wrong with butter, I just didn't feel the need to add it)). Most of it I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole (canned soup, seriously?). Find one person, just one, with diabetes who was so stupid that they thought they could make her recipes every day and it would be OK. If you can't, then you can't blame her for anything. Her food is in the guilty pleasure category. Anyone who can't see that is a fool.
Lindsay ~~ Take heed to some of these comments. EVERYONE has the right to CHOOSE THEIR OWN FOOD. YOU cannot choose for them, so stop trying to justify yourself. Paula Deen has made a fortune because she has a following doing what she does. You are entitled to your opinion, but by saying Paula Deen is trying to make money by scamming for the drug company is 'wrong'. To slam, judge, and criticize her or another person because they don't think like you do, is also wrong. Since you don't personally know her, I would think it hard for you to say exactly what is on her mind or in her heart, and since my crystal ball is in the shop, I can't say what her future plans are either.
No, she said that she isn't going to change the way she cooks on her show. Big difference. And I don't see why she should.
Paula Deen gets diabetes and makes money. Jessica Simpson gets fat and makes money. I can't wait until I get a desease so I can make money.
It would be nice if she changed her show to offer recipes that are still yummy for diabetics...
Would they involve a treadmill?
Or should we just advocate living with an often reversible condition?
tmp1356-1517093 ~~ It wouldn't surprise me if she incorporated some healthier recipes in her show. I look forward to it.
I agree with Dr Nancy, I never watch the cooking shows where the cooks are overweight. I believe their appearance is because of their poor diet choices.
You people don't know much about type 2 diabetes do you? All you know is the snippets you read on badly written news articles. I challange you to read some of the research, real research like on pub med. Did you know that the genetic inheritence of Type 2 is stronger than in type I, confirmed by twin studies. Of the six individuals in my immediate family, four are type II diabetics, both parents, my brother and myself. Guess what, we all jumped on the heathly high carb, low fat bandwagon. My brother, the jock and fitness nut still developed the disease. The the precursor sypmpton of Type II is hyperinsulin levels (insulin levels that are to high). That high insulin levels result in carb craving the cells can't keep up and fat storage at the expense of really feeding the body results??? Its why a diabetic gain weight in the middle not the butt and thighs. Right now, there is no concrete theory of what comes first the weight or the hyperinsulin. Thats a fact.
For years Dr. Atkins promoted high fat and high protien low carb diets. Many of Paula reciepes fit this catagory. If she had eaten the ADA "healthy diet" with 65% carb, I am willing to beat she would have developed diabetes much sooner than her 60's.
Type II diabetes is most likely a reaction of the body to starvation dieting. Ask any diabetic (Type II) out there and they will tell you about how many times they have attempted diets of one type or another. The message must be balanced diet, activity and don't go on starvation diets.
Lindsay ~~ Sometimes we have to change lanes when we find that the lane we are traveling in is dangerous. Now that Paula Deen's medical condition is out in the open (she's changing lanes), we'll just have to wait and see what develops. To PRE-JUDGE as you have, is a bit premature.
Too little, too late, dear heart. God love you for a poisoner. It's time to take the money and run. Trust in you is gone.
The old saying, "money talks". She says she's going to help people with diabetes, I don't
think so!! She's not a nutrionist, just a cook. What happened to her endorsement of
Smithfield hams? What a scam! She and her boys better be donating mega bucks to
the ADA.
F A T b!tch should stop eating butter popsicles
Yup, I would sure want to come out and tell anyone that I am diabetic or anything. The reaction is just so positive and supportive (sarcasm intended). I am not sure why everyone is going after her so hard. If she has diabetes, she has to live with the consequences.
I about choked when I saw Bourdain going after her: when I watched his show the other day, he was in some odd place eating with flies all around. He sits down and eats without washing. Do we hear anyone going after him for e-coli? No. Then this other doctor goes on tv and blasts her for being "egregious." Darn it people...she is a cook. Nothing more, nothing less. She isn't out forcing people to eat what she cooks. They can make that decision for themselves. Let her alone...
I have diabetes, like my great grandparents, my grandparents, my parents, and my siblings. I don't cook the way she does but it doesn't make any difference either.
Betty ~~ KUDOS to you. I couldn't agree more.
I am tired of those with diabetes and obesity AS A result of their poor diets blamming anyone other than themselves. Paula Deen is a poster child of stupidity for encouraging others to eat so disgustingly bad.
TinaBlue ~~ And what are YOU encouraging people to do? To be disgusting, judgmental, critical, self righteous?
Sorry Paula, but you've lost my support for being dishonest. That southern sweetness will no longer work. And you wear fur too! Yuck. I won't watch your show anymore.
The level of vitriol in many of these posts is staggering. So she has made her name from cooking food that isn't all that good for you. SO WHAT!! It's still up to each one of us to decide what we eat. No celebrity chef is holding a gun to anyone's head and forcing them to eat what they present on their shows.
As a Southerner myself, I stopped watching her Food Network show a few years ago. I could no longer watch her prepare meals that, in a single serving, would wipe out my caloric, sugar and fat content for the week. I also stopped watching when she began saturating the retail market with her brand. Sadly, I feel that her overexposure has gone in to double overdrive with this drug endorsement deal. However, people make their own choices when they buy into a brand....