What Happened to a Healthy Lifestyle? Paula Deen Promoting Drug Usage for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes.

Paula Deen announced this week that she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes three years ago. Known for her high fat and sugar-laden recipes, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to many. But instead of promoting a healthier lifestyle to help manage the condition, Deen’s response is that type 2 diabetes should be managed with medication. What?

She also announced that she is now a paid spokesman for Novo Nordisk, a maker of diabetes medications.

I’m disappointed that Paula Deen isn’t promoting healthier foods and recipes.  Instead, it seems her paid sponsorship is influencing her choices. Eating “in moderation” and the use of drugs is not the answer to diabetes, especially when studies have shown that diet and exercise can not only manage the disease, but it can also reverse it. In a time when 26 million people in the United States have diabetes, celebrities and those in the media spotlight can use their influence to try to help many sick people.  Type 2 diabetes is a serious disease that can lead to kidney disease, blindness, hypertension, amputations, stroke and death.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates another 79 million Americans over age 20 are pre-diabetic, which means that although they have elevated glucose levels, they can do something to stop it. They don’t have to become diabetic because they have a choice to eat healthier, exercise, watch stress levels, and maintain a healthy lifestyle, overall.

Paula Deen may not be able to change everyone’s eating habits, but it would sure be a wakeup call to many of her fans that a lifestyle full of excess high-calorie foods IS bad for your health and that by making healthier diet choices, one can stop this epidemic.