It won't change the way she cooks, but I'm betting it will change the way she eats!

Been waiting for this announcement, no surprise to me. She's the poster child for lack of moderation. My mother was this kind of cook and her food always made me gain weight. I never fry food. It's sad.

I was a Type II diabetic but I lost 100 lbs and no more health problems for me. Her claim that she can have a little piece of pie doesn't look like it works for her. Paula Deen looks like she's overweight with health problems.

Any kind of sugar is poison to anyone with either type of diabetes. Period. That Paula Deen claims it's all right in moderation is foolish denial. Sugar stresses your pancreas which has already been damaged by prior excesses. All forms of sugar should be eliminated from one's diet if one wishes to live a long and healthier life with Type II diabetes. Ask your doctor to be candid with you. He or she will tell you so.

Right on!

Are we not surprised that she is now a spokesperson for a major drug company? Look folks, all we need to do is eat like there is no tomorrow and take our meds! What's the problem!

Seems like Paula Deen waited these past couple years before she disclosed her diabetes so she could first arrange a sweet advertising/promotion deal with a diabetes pharmaceutical company.

How sad that she's acting like she doesn't need to change her cooking and eating habits much to control her diabetes. Paula, it takes more than moderation, especially your definition of moderation that includes tons of butter, fat, and sugar, to turn around Type II diabetes and being overweight and unhealthy.

Paula would have done better to sign a promotional deal with Weight Watchers (or a similar plan) and demonstrated the steps necessary to lose weight and eat healthfully.

I love butter, cream, choc, etc. So I am saying I love sugar like she does. The BIG difference between me and this woman isn't our love of baking and cooking with the best stuff, but that I lead a very active physical life. I am 60 and work on a farm every single day and ride horses every single day. I am extremely fit and I am a huge eater.

However, about 1 year ago, I chose to start cutting back on sugar intake. So I baked only on the weekends and then gave away the extra on Monday to others so that NO cookies were in my house during the week. I lost a lot of weight this year doing that. I still think compared to many I eat a lot, but I physically work very hard.

So moderation is very important coupled with a lot more exercise. This is why America is fat. Everybody is behind the computer and eating.

Equally I watch Anthony's show every day. He is a hypocrite in that he eats TONS OF FOOD and JUNK several times a day. He also grossly abused his body with drugs and alcohol and has absolutely no room to talk about others.

Both shows are fun to watch for different reasons. If Anthony hates Paula he equally should hate Jamie Oliver that cooks with butter and cream all day long. I love Jamie as well because I love rich food, but again - in moderation.

MODERATION. Diabetes and often obesity is for the most part a crisis that people are bringing on themselves and costing our economy like no other crisis. We should be ashamed that we are refusing to look in the mirror and see the results of our eating habits. It isn't an all or nothing game. Just push away from the table or refuse to buy some products and bring them home.

Look at the waffle aisle in the grocery store. Do you think that food is low fat?

People have a very hard time wrapping their minds around diabetes because it doesn't hurt until it is ready to kill you...Until you lose a limb, your eye sight, kidney function, have a heart attack or stroke, for example. Peridot...You are dead wrong. The brain must have a certain amount of sugar in order to function. My husband is a diabetic. I happen to use Splenda in my cooking and make pies and breads that are sugar free except for the natural sugar in the fruit, pumpkin, berries or whatever. The deserts I make do not affect his blood sugar. Moderation is one key, but it is important to limit the simple sugars and carbs as much as is possible. To take them away and eat nothing but protein is a death sentence--besides, no one can stick to that kind of diet for very long. Beware of store bought goodies that claim to be sugar free--look for the maltose and sugar alcohols. They will give you gas that will lift you ten feet off the throne. You can make good food using sugar substitutes. Most people have no idea that my pies are no added sugar. I don't advertize it and they don't complain about it. They just eat it and ask for seconds. Deprivation is the bane of any diet....So get inventive and make things that your diabetic likes and can eat...in moderation.

She is a money grubbing woman. I get cravings like the next person but I know better than to eat a breakfast sandwich made out of 2 doughnuts and pure fat. For her to sit there and say she didn't tell because she wanted to figure things out is 100% true she wanted to figure out who would pay her the most money to use there drugs. Promoting moderation is a crock of crap coming from her mouth. A persons moderation is to go to McDonald's 1 time less per week. To be healthy is to have proper amounts of veggies, meats, and starches cooked in light amounts of olive oil or coconut oil not to deep fry it in Crisco. She is a walking billboard for being unhealthy. I not only can't stand her but I can't stand her blatant lying to the public masses. If you really want to be healthy I would say read up on clean eating or something of that nature cause this woman is a heart attack waiting to happen.

It does not take much skill to add a stick of butter or a pound of bacon to every dish.

She'll either change the way she cooks or she won't last long.

Dear Paula,

My I.V. bag full of gravy keeps getting clogged about halfway through each dose. Can I thin it down a little with some lard? Thanks so much!

I have Type II diabetes and Paula is right, you can eat anything you want in moderation. I went to a dietitian when I first found out I was diabetic and it is all about portion control and carb counting. You need to exercise and be aware of what you eat and how much. I now use Splenda, Agava Nectar, and Stiviea in place of white sugar when ever possible, but if none of those work in the recipe, sugar. When you eat an over abundant amount of carbs, your body can only use so much and the rest is turned in to sugars.

And as for her waiting to tell us till she has a sweet deal, when you first find out you are a diabetic you do need to "wrap you head around it" as she said. There is a lot you need to think about and learn about. And if her sweet deal ends up help other people accept and learn to control their diabetes good for her.

Sirlaf............Hilarious!!!

So moderation is very important coupled with a lot more exercise. This is why America is fat.

It's wild to me how different things are these days. Back in the 80's you couldn't pry people out of the gym. Spandex and sweat bands were everything.

Sirlafalot

Dear Paula,

My I.V. bag full of gravy keeps getting clogged about halfway through each dose. Can I thin it down a little with some lard? Thanks so much!

^^^^^

ROTFLMAO <thumbs-up> Sirlaf

it's not just carb counting, it is also balancing those carbs with fats and protein to slow down teh carb absorbtion in your body. you have to do both. Even if it is sugar free pie (still has flour for the crust and such, berries, whatever for filling) you will have a carb load, so eating that without any protein or fat will mess up your blood sugars also.

If Paula Dean eats "in moderation" why she is SO DA*NED FAT!!!???

This woman is death walking. butter, butter, butter, sugar, sugar, sugar, lard, lard, lard, she needs to come out with better and healthier recipes for people to try and eat. I won't cook the way she does because all that butter, sugar and lard in just about every recipe she cooks is not healthy to be eating.

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My mother is Type I diabetic. What Paula says about moderation is correct. You have to balance your diet. I have to keep Mom's carbs balanced with the right amount of everything else, but she can enjoy a Paula meal sometimes.

To those of you who are criticizing her for her weight, a reminder: she is middle-aged. The female body is more resistant to losing fat into the middle years. To the women who are so critical on weight, if you haven't reached middle age yet, just wait until you do. Things do change, particularly if you have kids, gain weight in the process and don't have the time or money to pay a personal trainer.

It's called personal accountability. So what if she promotes high fat/high sugar recipes on her show? Every person out there has a choice every single time they choose to eat or drink something, regardless of what they've seen on TV or heard from Paula Deen. Make a healthy choice, take some responsibility for whatever choice you make, and deal with the consequences. If you think she's the devil for promoting these fattening dishes, then YOU don't watch her show, don't buy her cookbooks, don't cook those dishes and don't eat those foods. Simple.

theboys, riding a horse is exercise for the horse, not for you.

Sirlafalot,

Great post! Paula, you live by the sword you die by the sword. Read Anthony's Kitchen Confidential. At least he owns up to the fact that he abused his body with drugs, drinking and smoking. He alone is responsible for his behavior. Those of you ragging on Bourdain need to know more about the man before you start bad mouthing him. Yeah, he's right all along about Paula and her trash cooking.

Bourdain: “When your signature dish is hamburger in between a doughnut, and you've been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you've got type 2 diabetes... It's in bad taste if nothing else.”

I agree with Mr. Bourdain's statement.

Diabetes is a major health problem in America.

Oftentimes, the disease is silent.

However, it can be deadly.

Diabetes can cause kidney failure, blindness, infection, amputations, severe nerve damage, limited mobility and a host of other serious health conditions.

Mrs Deen's was irresponsible in choosing to not let her TV viewers and patrons know that she had developed this disease. She blatantly disregarded the health of her television viewers and her customers. Hopefully, this article will motivate people who live on high fat and high sugar diets to change their eating habits.

If Mrs. Deen has quietly changed her diet, I would not be surprised.

Bourdain is a pompous ass. Everyone is piling on Paula Deen, how about free choice, how about all the crap that is available in the stores to choose from. We can watch Paula and enjoy her or not watch her & not cook & eat her recipes; How about that folks, people are fat because they eat wrong and they know it, it's a choice.

@Demar - It sounds like you've never ridden a horse for any length of time. Horseback riding uses your entire body! Leg muscles grip the saddle, core muscles keep you upright and balanced, and arm muscles are needed to guide the horse (granted, you don't really use your arms as much as your core and legs, so it's not a great arm exercise).

I have been cursed with Type 2 Diabetes. My doctor said it is not from what I eat, its hereditary; however, when I watch the carbs and sugars, modify my food recipes, VOILA! The sugar count is down. I was very angry when I found out and cut all the obvious carbs that I knew were there. I'm doin great now, and was told that diet and excersize is key. Never did it before this and its paying off. I will get healthy and get rid of this.

This woman is a fool. Her example is only a good one for someone who wants to commit slow suicide.

She will change her mind when he has her first coma - if she comes out of it. She sounds like the kind of delusional patient who will not believe it until its time to amputate a leg and then she will want "another chance" after she has done all the damage to herself and as she blames everyone else for her own folly -especially her doctor! Anyone who follows her example is more of a fool than she is!

Southerners live and die in their Lands of Denial.

I find it so sad that people are acting like this is something she deserves! Why is she responsible for everyone else's health! Does she force you to watch her show or eat her food? No! As far as letting everyone know of her diagnosis, since when is ANYONE obligated to tell the public what is between them and their doctor. Has she ever claimed that her recipes are low calorie? Of course not! I have watched a lot of the cooking shows on Food Network and there are not very many that are low calorie recipes. It is about moderation. That is with anything. It is about genetics. Both of my grandmothers cooked exactly as she does and one died at the age of 93 and the other at 98.

Paula Deen is only responsible for Paula Deen, not the rest of us!!

"Diabetes diagnosis won't change how I cook"
No, but it will change how you will die.

Idiot.

Paula, why not change the way you cook? Why not tell the world about cooking ingredients with known benefits, such as resistant starch? see this website at resistantstarch.com

Paula, you are a joke all around! What a shame you have created a following and lead them down the path to death - - JEM JONES! You are a horrible woman! I have Type 2 - diagnosed 1 year ago in April / 12. It shattered me. Sent me into a state of depression - in spite of the fact that it runs all through my family - even some of the little ones. I am going into my 70's now and have only had it 1 year. I have NEVER eaten your way. NEVER eated red meat (or most meat of any kind) and simply cannot stand the smell of 'stuff frying' or that has been fried. Dunno how it came on me? Guess it it heredity.

I do not watch you and in Walmart I want to gag when I hear you voice. I will quickly get together and run out of there (Walmart). There is No One in the South that talks the way you do! You are such a 'put - on', a joke. And let me tell you, it is not impressive. It's disgusting! The people in the South should be ashamed of you - making 'fun' of them the way you do. And on top of this - I do not know why any industry, company would endorse you.

@Peridot-1693859 It is a misconception that a diabetic must eliminate all sugar. Sugar is a carb and many carbohydrates can be just as bad or maybe even worse than sugar. Every person, even a diabetic has to have some carbohydrates to live. As long as you are moderating how many carbs and exercising you can usually bring your blood sugar into a healthy range (sometimes without medication and sometimes with.. it depends on the person).

Dear Sirlafalot,

Please just use Wesson oil for your thinning purposes. That will work just fine.

Yours truly,

Paula Dean..

Thanks Paula! Cookem' Dano.

@25 Walker

I use butter and sugar when I cook. I know that when I watch Paula cooking and I imitate some of her recipes not to use the unusually high amounts of butter and sugar. I use a tbsp of butter to saute my vegetables and I usually put the meat on the George Foreman. If you look at many of her recipes in her cook books they don't call for that entire stick of butter that she would use on her show, but more likely it's 1/4 of a stick of butter (2 tbsp).

My husband WAS borderline diabetic, high cholesterol and hypertension. At the moment he only has hypertension. He works out and I increased the amount of vegetables that he eats. What I didn't do was take away the flavor (which would have made it hard for him to stick to any type of diet). And Paula does say often EVERYTHING in moderation.

Boy, does this sadden me that a person who is so well liked and respected by so many is missing the opportunity of a lifetime; To help people. Not just entertaining people but really contributing to the haelth and welfare of other human beings. As a physician, I see diabetics every day and try to educate my patients till I am blue in the face and behind by an hour and all I am trying to do is help one person at a time. She could help MILLIONS by teaching Diabetic Cooking on her show and all she has got to say is that 'I am a cook, not a doctor'. Sorry folks, that is a cop-out. If diabetes was just a 'sugar problem' then so what? It is a Small Vessel disease and those small vessels provide oxygen to organs that we need to live and function. By the time a person is overtly Diabetic the adverse effects of the disease on certain organs has been going on for at least 5 years. I am so proud of so many of my patients for learning to cook healthier, make better choices and increase their daily exercise because they are choosing to live a better quality of life, not just be alive and laughing at a laundry list of medications to counter lazy thinking. In my personal opinion, everyone should understand a diabetic diet and that should be the norm. Diabetes is an expensive disease to have and maybe Paula can afford it but I seriously doubt the average American can afford the myriad of health consequences that comes with the disease.

Paula Deen's cooking is NOT traditional Southern cooking. Not by a long shot. Her heavy emphasis on salt, sugar, and solid-at-room-temperature fats. For example, her "traditional Southern cornbread" recipe contains almost a stick of butter, all-purpose flour, and sugar in addition to the traditional ingredients. The traditional recipe would have had NO sugar and NO flour. These are refined products and as such would have been cash purchases in the rural South. Excessive salt was never used for the same reason --- it didn't cost much, but it had to be paid for in cash. Salt was primarily used in baking for its chemistry and otherwise was added with a shaked if desired. Butter was seldom consumed in the traditional rural South because it, like eggs were often bartered for other merchandise. This is typical of the representation of high fat, high sugar, high salt Southern food is way far off base.

If you want to taste REAL Southern cornbread, e-mail me and I will send you a recipe that contains half the calories and twice the taste of Deen's junk food. But to get all that good taste, you have to give up the butter, the salt, the flour, and the sugar. (The recipe btw goes back at least to the early 1800's.)

Her "southern biscuits" call for only flour, sugar and heavy cream. Not even close and I would suggest adding a pound of chocolate chips. That way you could at least use them as hockey pucks instead of just tasteless calorie pills.

This is how a lot of people in the South eat these days. And it is why the South leads the country in obesity (yes, Paula, this means you) and acquired diabetes (again, Paula, this means you.) But there is nothing traditional about it. If you look at pictures of the pre-WWII South, you will see that the people tend towards being thin. This is all the proof you need that Deen's recipes are not in any way traditional.

I have to agree with Anthony Bourdain when he says that she is closer to a mass murderer than a chef and that she is one of the most dangerous people in the country.

I enjoy cooking and presiding over a heavily-laden table. But I have never seen the need to take the recipes that I grew up with and add tons of butter, sugar, bleached flour, and huge amounts of salt. These four ingredients end up overwhelming the taste of any food they are used to adulterate.

If you don't believe me, get Paula's cornbread recipe off the web and e-mail me for mine. Make both and you tell me which is better. Nothing could be truer than "you are what you eat." Just look at Paula Deen and you see what she eats. Do you want to end up as an obese diabetic as well?

What really bugs me is that NOVO NORDISK is giving her free supplies while the rest of us without insurance are spending half of our income at the pharmacy every month and can't get any insurance or help with medications because WE MAKE TO MUCH MONEY, What a joke.

While nobody is forcing anyone to watch her shows, she is full of BS when she says she promotes moderation... Moderation my butt... I rarely watch her shows anymore because as much as I LOVE butter, etc., I almost gag at times seeing how much she uses. She makes comfort foods, fine, but there are ways around it. What I find most offensive is her crappy attitude that because she is southern and loves these foods, it's not her fault. I live in SC and that's pretty southern. Like the poster above said, she had the opportunity of a lifetime to combine good food with some common sense about ingredients.

I am sure in addition to free supplies, she is raking in the $$ hand over fist. This too is her right. But, this is just as much gluttony as the foods she cooks. I like Anthony Bourdain, and agree with him. I won't watch Paula again, and when she is here in town this next week or two, cannot recall when, wouldn't step foot near her. Shame on her.... Judging from the diamonds she sports all over, she is not hurting for cash, with her TV show and ads as well... She is just plain disappointing to so many.... Shame, shame, Paula..

I am sorry all of you bashing Paula , I don't watch her because I cook the type of food she cooks, while it always looks and sounds delicious, I watch her for pure out and out entertainment she provides everyone needs to take responisibility for their own actions, if you don't like what she cooks, or her attitude to what is going on the by all means don't watch her , don't promote her, but for gosh sakes there are more important things going on in the world right now, what she is doing is her choice just like the way you live your life is yours

it pisses me off to hear everyone bad mouthing paula ,what ever happend to personal responsibilty and some common sense? come on people

The cooking she promotes is horrible. I find it appalling that someone would actually put 2 krispy kreme donuts on a hamburger! No one needs to eat such a horrible thing. She puts way to much butter, lard and mayo on everything. There are people out in the world who do not understand the term moderation when eating & they blindly follow people like her. I am not saying it is right & people should be more responsible for what they eat & do. Unfortunately, some people are not strong enough to think that way, but follow her recipes as they think it is right. she should change the way she cooks & stop using the ingredients that she does to help promote a more healthier diet to those that follow her blindly.

She is truly in denial as well. Sorry, but you can't continue to eat the same foods you cook/promote in moderation. That has to change. Many foods that aren't sweet turn into sugar & wreak havoc to a diabetic. I know, my mother was diabetic & was in denial. She didn't eat in moderation & ended up having both of her legs amputated. She thought it was healthy to eat pasta even though it turns to sugar. It would be nice to see Paula change her cooking ways & use her celebrity to promote a healthier lifestyle then slapping 2 donuts onto a hamburger.

I agree--truly shameless promotion. Now that she has spent years capitalizing on fat laden food which leads to diabetes she wants to capitalize on "helping" people with diabetes. The Today Show has become a total waste of time, no news.

This is not surprising news. What is sad is that she is essentially sticking her head in the sand and, oh yes, doing infomercials for the big pharmaceutical company. Type 2 can be controlled with diet, if the person is motivated to do so. She could accomplish so much good if she was willing to 'dial it down' a bit.

At her age denial will kill her sooner rather than later.

Peridot...Denial is a strong coping mechanism. To build an empire on a certain type of food and now have to advertize that it isn't good for you is a real buzz kill. Denial is what kills most diabetics. On the other hand, I have seen old and I'm not so sure it is a good thing. Educate....then allow people to decide for themselves. Stop with the food police crap. People have a right to live and die as they please and you aren't going to change them with your judgmental attitudes. Sugars is just as addictive as tobacco for some. Treat it as such and offer tasty, more healthy alternatives.

OK......I was born and raised on Southern cooking. My Grandmother, IMHO, was just as good a cook as Ms. Deen. My grandparents lived well into their 90's, eating fried chicken and potato salad...breakfasts were grits and eggs, bacon, biscuits and some sort of gravy...(I concider gravy to be a food group)...so why aren't we all fat and half dead?

Well, folks moved around alot more....no computers coming up, minimal TV, (what's a video game?) and lots of chores. People, you CAN'T eat like this, then go sit on your ass.

Excercise is also a very important componant to your body's ability to regulate blood sugar and insuline...VERY important!!!

So, if you like the "down home cooking", by all means, go for it.....but somewhere along the line you have to burn it off.

A bit about Mr. Bourdain...he's an arrogant little b!tch, and I can barely stand to watch him for the way he talks down to people. So, of course he's not going to have anything nice to say.....he's just too smug.

In essence...unless someone has a gun to your head and is forcing you to eat pecan pie smothered in whipped cream.....the choice is YOURS to make!

BTW, Peridot....Sugar is NOT poison to the pancreas. Sugar stimulates the Ilets of Langerhan in the pancreas to produce insulin. When blood sugars remain high for long periods, it simply wears out the pancreas....thus, the pancreas must be stimulated to produce insulin (Type II) or the insulin needs to be replaced (Insulin Dependent Diabetes). High blood levels of glucose erode the lining of blood vessels which causes the side effects of diabetes. Drinking alcohol is hard on the pancreas--harder than sugar--and more painful. Glucose causes a decrease in blood circulation--and a subsequent lack of oxygen to the limbs, eyes, kidneys and other organs. It does not "poison" the pancreas. Get your fact straight.

Those passing judgment on this woman and her cooking and baking choices, should look in their own mirrors. If you are without sin, then bash away, but if you like your cookies, soda, chips, etc. then we should call you a hypocrite.

I live on a bike trail. NOBODY USES IT. There is your big problem. When is the last time you saw a kid shoveling snow, or raking leaves, or pushing a lawnmower. I look all the time. As a matter of fact, when is the last time you saw kids on bikes unless at some organized event. When is the last time you saw kids jumping rope?

I never considered myself athletic growing up. However compared to kids today, I was olympic material which is mighty sad.

Anthony Bourdain is a bad tempered, arrogant, foul mouthed hypocrite. I watched his show exactly twice. He was not entertaining either time. Paula is a nice lady, who loves her family, and cooks the same types of things my grandmother, who lived till 99 years of age, and my great grandmother, who lived to be 100 years of age, cooked for us when we visited them. It is southern cooking from scratch, as we say in the south. She enjoys life out of the fog of the alcohol stupor that is Anthony Bourdain's trademark. Maybe he doesn't know alcohol damages your liver and your brain. The brain part shows. Long live Paula!!

Pam Montgomery - THANK YOU!! I was raised on great southern cooking also and I am doing great thank you very much. It IS all about BALANCE. Sick of all these folks criticizing others who are not their idea of the ideal weight and don't choose to eat like they do. If you don't want to eat this way then DON'T - it's a free country.

(insert applause here) George Douglas and theboys!!! Ya'll said it all!

TC..most welcome, my friend!

Once again, it is the old self promotion shuffle... Paula, sweetheart, I love you and I love your cooking but, the drug companies are using you. As for not changing your diet, that is up to you. I hate to see you do it, I would hate to see you shorten your life, lose limbs, memory and eyesight but once again, as TC so eloquently proclaimed, "it is a free country". I had the same diagnosis but, instead, decided to take action, lost seventy pounds and am much happier. Like I said, people are able to determine their own fate. I would justy like you to remain as vibrant and active as you are now!!

I bet she's the only one who won't incourage her viewers to make lifestyle changes. It's simply really: she encourages a lifestyle that lead to her Type II-->she promotes/profits from medicine to help control Type II-->she keeps pushing the cause of her Type II, but with "moderation" that she herself doesn't use. She's actually profiting from the cause and the treatment. She's not trying to hurt anyone. She didn't plan this. She's just not being honest/responsible. Only time will tell...

Anthony Bourdain is the worst critic. He drinks heavily. He eats whatever is placed in front of him. He stays out late. Doesn't exercise. He does all this on his shows. I'm not sure if it reflects his real life. We really don't know, yet he has the nerve to criticize Paula Deen is such a terrible way.

There is a hereditary component to diabetes that you people are not taking into account. Some people can get away with eating fatty, high sugar foods for life and others, with a lower metabolism or a nasty gene pool, can eat a Twinkie and put on five pounds. We are all going to die of something--let me assure you that no one is getting out of this alive. Enjoy your life...in moderation. Make necessary adjustments to make your life happier. Don't judge so harshly. Paula Deen will wake up when she is ready to accept the consequences of her eating habits...Then maybe she will slip some awesome sugar free or low sugar recipes into her show. Maybe, she will never see the light and die. It really is HER choice and her life.

Jedi Caz, if you want to watch a lifestyle change show, watch something other than Paula Deen. She cooks. She's not running a lifestyle change show. That's not the point of her show.

Peach Wookiee, you're right. Paula Deen is not doing a healthier lifestyle show. She is clearly in denial of her own ill health and wants to profit by promoting a drug company for medication. She's a perfect example of someone who doesn't want to discipline themselves by eating healthy and exercising. These people are always looking for a pill to solve the problems they created.

Wanda bouvier,

Deen told USA Today that since the diagnosis, she walks on the treadmill and quit drinking sweet tea. "That's a big trick for a little Southern girl," she told the paper. "I calculated how much sugar I drank in empty calories, and it was staggering. I would start drinking tea at lunchtime and drank it all the way to bedtime."

She changed 2 main components of the cause of her diabetes. I live in the South and I don't drink southern sweet tea. I don't see how one glass doesn't send every southerner into a diabetic coma. Taking that 1 element out of her diet probably saved her the equivalent of 1 cup of sugar a day. See Change.

@ mangoz1, How does one capitalize by teaching people to eat bad foods? Which is worse, Genetic Modified foods with Corn syrup or natural foods with real ingredients that usually don't start with Mono, Partially Hydrogenated ... I'll stick to my fatty natural foods while you just suck on your healthy preprocessed soylent greens.

Inticing? Teaching? Influencing?

What is wrong with people? Adults cooking at a stove are NOT little kids. It's a CHOICE.

It is the critics that are the control freaks: Paula is evil and must be STOPPED! Eat my way or die? Wasn't there a famous book writing health guru that dropped dead while jogging? I suppose it was his diet, right?

Come on!

Yeah. Jim Fixx. Still, had Mr Fixx gone for a checkup and a stress test, chances are he would have passed with flying colours because the type of heart problem he had wouldn't have shown up back then. We are talking about 1984, 26 years ago. Try to be more current next time with your straw man (useless and irrelevant) argument. Here's another example of your irrelevance:

Attending the theater is harmful to your health, did you know? That fool President Lincoln went to see Our American Cousin and got shot in the back of the head. Better stay home, it's better for your health. Other stupid presidents were JFK who didn't know riding in a convertible could also be fatal.

If you don't know history and timelines, perhaps you should keep your keyboard to yourself.

I think that might have been a reference to Dr. Atkins, not Jim Fixx. Still an ignorant comment though. If you cannot see how this fat cow of a woman has promoted her lifestyle, only to now be saddled with the poor health outcomes (which she is also capitalizing on), you are being deliberately obtuse.

Peridot-1693859 is another one of those self important "commenting intellectuals" that comment just to try to convince themselves they are brilliant. Paula never pretending to eat healthy. Michelle Obama is an example of a true hypocrite who preaches healthy eating for publicity and self promotion, but eats steak and lobster with drawn butter at every opportunity. At the same time she is preaching just the opposite. Having tax payer employed White House staff growing a garden for her for photo ops. puggylove gave a good example of how little each of us know about what will really cause our deaths and was correct in doing so.

@George Douglas, how do you know Michelle Obama "eats steak and lobster with drawn butter AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY"? Do you follow her around and watch what she eats? I'm a pretty healthy eater myself, but once in a while I indulge. Nothing wrong with that. And I've seen no evidence Ms. Obama's indulgences are more than occasional. We have an obesity epidemic in this country and, consequently a diabetes epidemic as well. And if you're worried about where your tax money is going, realize that's one place. This is also a major factor causing insurance premiums to rise. For you to attack the the first lady for trying to encourage kids to choose the right foods so they can have a long and healthy life is plain stupid. What is wrong with you people???! And what does Michelle Obama have to do with this article anyway?

Why did I see a political attack coming in this? Look, guys, Mrs. Obama has nothing to do with this. And those of you calling Paula Deen "a fat cow..." How many of you are heavier than you should be despite "eating healthy"? In the end, it is up to you and you alone how you eat. If you're watching Paula Deen and cooking everything that's on the repeat of her shows, it's not her fault. It's yours for not looking for other things.

As for Anthony Bourdain, if he's eating stuff in excess and is only telling off Paula because she's heavy and he may not be, then he should remember that there are heart attack victims and sufferers of liver damage that are skinny as rails and still die.

I am a diabetic also and wish she would do some good tasting recipes for diabetics, cause I love Paula Dean!

Thank you FloridaMarc. Like many other American's, food seems to be a drug for some, and that drug can be abused and lead to danger. "I have always eaten in moderation". Seriously? Unless moderation is the city she lives in, gimme' a break! She is now a poster child for diabetics. She'll be staring in medicine commercials, which will run during her unhealthy show. Talk about conflicting. Time to be responsible.

Some people are addicted to food as though it is a drug. She's in denial.

When Paula Deen continues to be known for recipes such as fried butter balls (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/paulas-fried-butter-balls-recipe/index.html) you have to wonder how she managed to avoid becoming diabetic at an earlier age.

@ Voter-in-LA

The fried butter balls actually came from a fair vendor in TX that came up with ways to deep fry so many things (fried coke a cola anyone). If you only eat 1 or 2 it's not going to do a lot of damage (moderation see). Buuuut if you eat the whole batch yourself instead of sharing it with friends (which is what it was intended for). Don't you think that the food network staff and camera crew are eating a significant amount of what she cooks. She doesn't sit there and eat the whole thing. My goodness people it's her life let her live or die as she pleases.

I don't blame my eating habbits on someone else. Besides I've been alive for longer than I've known of Paula Deen and so has many of her viewers. She didn't start them on that slippery slope. They were already slidding.

Yeah moderation, that's like asking the alcoholic to have just one drink. Once you have a diesase there is no such thing as moderation, you need to stop doing what has made you sick.

The main point here is that she now has diabetes, in part due to her eating habits. Once you get diabetes EVERYTHING CHANGES. She can claim she's been preaching moderation her entire life but now her bad habits will GET HER KILLED. If she really practiced what she preached then A) she likely would never have gotten diabetes, or B) 3 years ago after she got diagnosed with it she would have lost weight and reversed her type 2 diabetes. 90% of type 2 cases can be reversed through diet and exercise. Believe me when I tell you that the 10% of diabetics who are type 1 and will be for life (irreversible) wish they could be that lucky.

Mine's reversed and I'm delighted. I lost 100 lbs! It wasn't easy but I'm coming up on 5 years of maintaining that weight loss this April. Paula Deen won't survive her diabetes if she doesn't change her habits. Type II doesn't mean you can still eat like you did before and take the meds or shoot up the insulin.

She's making a mistake that will end her life sooner rather than later. I feel sorry for her family. Type II killed Johnny Cash because he was non-compliant. His daughter's still angry.

Food isn't a reason to live.

Peridot...Even if your predictions are accurate...It is her choice and not yours to judge. Maybe, Cash didn't want to live longer than he did. My father in law is the picture of non compliance. He is insulin dependent and is 82. The man is mean as hell and like the Ever Ready Battery Bunny. Food may not be a reason to live for you, but it is for some people because that is all they have. A bit of compassion might be called for here. We need food to live and we take comfort in many types of foods. They release endorphins that make us feel better. It might be better to say: Eat to live. Don't live to eat. Most family are angry that people die because of life style choices....however, the majority of people that do not die in accidents die of lifestyle choices. Better than being warehoused in a nursing home with dementia and having someone come around and wipe your butt and turn you every two hours.

There is more to life than food. If that's your only pleasure, you need to find other reasons to live. It's definately worth changing your lifestyle to live a happy healthy life.

Depends. How long do you want to be around to enjoy the foods you love?

It's a choice. You make it yourself, but remember that the people who love you will be furious when you die that you chose food over them. They will find it hard to forgive you. My mother chose alcohol over a relationship with me and 15 years after her death I'm still working on forgiving her.

What if your kids have problems with food, too? Is that what you're teaching them? Is that how you want them to live their lives, suffering as you do? only taking pleasure in food, never any joy in anything else?

Think about this long and hard before you eat yourself to death. The world has many other pleasures. Overeaters Anonymous is in the telephone book. They can help you if you have a problem with food.

trust...Can I come to dinner? I happen to like my meat dead--you know, so that a good vet couldn't save it--but ohhh the rest sounds great. I bet you burn it off everyday by working your butt off. BTW...They are called cattle ranches and farms are for the greens and such.

Okay that is a leap going from Trust's dinner to Peridot, your mother being an alcoholic. That is far from the same thing. Sounds like Trust had a well balanced meal with meat, carbs, and veggies. No where did Trust say the amount eaten. Grilled food is a lot healthier then most ways of cooking.

Thanks for the morning laugh; especially, the southern charm and grace.....:)

She IS quite overweight. And I am overweight myself, before someone calls me out for being nasty. We are fat because we eat fattening foods. My vice is soda. Hers seems to be butter. I don't watch her because her voice and accent grate on my nerves. But unless you have a skewed perception of reality (which many people do, of course), Paula Dean is overweight. And now she has Diabetes to boot. I wish her health and happiness only. But as FloridaMarc pointed out, she has her head stuck in the sand.

Daisy, I'm over weight. And yes Paula is over weight. But she appears to weigh about the same as my grandmother who is pushing 80. My grandmother can out do me in just about everything fitness wise. However she finds it nearly impossible to lose 1 lb. Why? Because during/after perimenopause it becomes very difficult to lose weight. Your hormones react differently to food during this time than it did when you were in your twinkling twenties. It's one of the main reasons that hormone replacement therapy is pushed on women (many of which may cause cancer). The middle age spread is a reality (one that I am currently facing). A change in her diet and exercising may not cause her to lose a single pound but it could allow her to become fit and reverse her diabetes.

(Psst) Minus the pound of butter on top.

And cooked for so long that they don't even begin to resemble their original color.

pjw-708550 - Paula doesn't overcook vegetables. Apparently you haven;t watched her show or used her recipes.

she FRYS them

What is so surprising about that? She is a business woman. I would have thought you would be used to it by now given our current Congress.

Seriously? Politics in an article about a chef getting diabetes? *sigh*

Imagine the conversation in the board room at Novo Nordisk:

Exec A: Who should we get for a spokesperson? Paula Deen?

Exec B: Well her food will shorten the lives of our potential customers, that might diminish sales.

Exec A: Yes, but even if they die younger than they need to, they'll live long enough for the patent on our Novo Nordisk to expire. Who cares what happens to them after the drug goes generic?

Exec B: Yeah, with direct to consumer ads, she'll increase our sales because the potential customers willl think that if they take our drug they can eat the way she cooks. Do you think she'll "come out" about her diabetes?

Exec A: Sure if we pay her enough. Meeting adjourned.

She quit smoking several years ago.

I agree. She must be at least 100 lbs. overweight. It's no wonder she has type 2 diabetes. When a person gains this much weight the cells get enlarged and the insulin receptors stretch and no longer work. Lose the weight and the cells begin to function normally again. There is more to life than food as another poster wrote. "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels."

Drew/Sarum: Some people are just ignorant ... that's means you two. Paul Deen might like all the fatty, butter-laden foods, eat them in moderate quantities, but still be heavy. Why? Well, a lot has to do with genetics. I agree with many of the posters here today about moderation. But sometimes that isn't all it takes. I should know, I'm at least 100 pounds overweight myself and it's very frustrating to me to because I eat next to nothing. And before you strike out at me with some nasty, venomous comment, that next to nothing is not fast food, potato chips, high calorie junk food, or anything of the like. Sure, I splurge every now and again, but as a general rule I eat very moderately: chicken breast and salad for lunch, chicken breast and vegetables for dinner, Greek yogurt and fruit for breakfast, fresh fruit and fresh veggies whenever possible. Still, despite my efforts (including regular exercise), my weight barely fluctuates. Luckily, I have very good cholesterol levels (my doctor told me once that if he didn't know me better, he would say I was on cholesterol medication because my levels were at a level that generally only comes from being on medication), no signs of Type II, no heart disease, nothing of the sort that comes from being overweight. Not to say that I use any of that as an excuse to NOT try to lose weight, but it's pretty clear to me that I may never be "thin" … ever. So what it comes down to is trying to be as healthy as possible, which includes: eating well and in moderation and getting regular exercise. I really hate it when people generalize about what makes a person overweight. It makes my blood boil. And usually, it's skinny people doing the generalizing and smack talking. Ever heard of the saying: "Stand in their shoes?" Try that for one day and then make your comments. And BTW, I've known many thin people who have all sorts of health issues, including Type II diabetes, high cholesterol, clogged arteries, etc. In fact, many of the "thin" people I know get sick more regularly than I do. I haven't even had a cold in 25 years.

I’m not condoning Paula’s way of cooking. Frankly, I don’t like her recipes because I think them unhealthy, but she’s correct when she says she’s “the cook not the doctor.” Everyone makes their own choices in life. Blaming someone else for the choices you make for yourself is shirking responsibility for your actions. Paula will change her choices now if she wants to; and that will be her own business. If she decides not to change her cooking habits, then it’s her choice and she will live with the consequences of her choice … not you. So stop being a weight hater.

What's your point? So, she is overweight? My concern is for all the children out there that are now overweight...Not adults that were raised to cook a certain way and spent the day on their bicycles and with friends running around the neighborhood.

Melanie; did ya ever eat at McDonalds??

What does McDonalds have to do with it? If the entire summation of Paula's argument is that moderation is key then your own argument goes out the window. The point is people who eat in moderation and exercise are unlikely to get diabetes in the first place. Don't get me wrong, some people with a family history of type 2 will almost definitely get it no matter what they do, and type 1 can hit anyone with no know causes or factors (and it is much more serious), but if the majority of cases of type 2 are reversible and she has had at least 3 years to make an effort... clearly she has no intention of doing so.

The vine is about unhealthy eating or so a lot of the writers are saying so. McDonalds is one of the most unhealthy places to eat. Check out Morgan Spurlock's 'SuperSize Me' if you want to see what crap it is.

I'm just commenting on the fact that a lot of posters are saying that her cooking is soooooo unhealthy.

10 and 12 year old kids are getting type 2 diabetes. Their diet: McDonalds or other fast food 2 or 3 times a week with little or no exercise. Draw your own conclusion.

I'm not saying McDonalds is good for you, the point I'm making is: this story isn't about McDonalds. Don't shoehorn it in.

The story seems to be about unhealthy eating, that's my point about McDonalds. It is worse than anything that Paula Deen cooks. Do you eat at McDonalds a lot or is there another reason you are defensive.

I avoided McDonalds like the plague even before I was diagnosed with type 1. This article is about Paula Dean and diabetes, using McDonalds as a metaphor for unhealthy eating is one thing but it still has no relation to what Melanie-1631910 was saying.

My question is, why are you so defensive of Paula Dean? Let me ask you this: do you think she is setting a bad example by encouraging unhealthy eating habits when those same habits are what led to her current medical condition?

No way will you catch me eating her junk though. A burger on a donut? Ew.

This is what Melanie said. In no way am I defending Paula Deen's cooking. It's southern and a lot of it is unhealthy if eaten every day. I grew up in the south and my grandparents ate hearty meals. They also worked hard every day of their life. Type 2 diabetes is not a death sentence. I have it. Mine was not caused by eating unhealthy food but by Agent Orange in Vietnam. It is controlled and A1C is consistenty below 5.5%. All in moderation just as Paula says. Melanie made the statement about not eating junk, but I'll bet dollars to donuts that she eats at Mickey D's. All she has to do is deny it.

I think I see the problem here. Melanie was saying "There is no way Paula does what she recommends, thus making her a hypocrite, thus making her a bad role model." I am paraphrasing, of course. She expressed the opinion that Paula's food is junk food and unattractive to her (Melanie's) world view. Again with the paraphrasing.

You jumped in and tried to make Melanie out to be a hypocrite by randomly asking if she had ever eaten unhealthy food in her lifetime. Paraphrasing.

The main point is that Paula says she eats unhealthy food in moderation. That is clearly not the case. Being overweight (she is) and having type 2 diabetes (she does) and having had 3 years to reverse either situation means she is a hypocrite to claim to eat healthy and encourage others to do the same.

At the end of the day there are 2 schools of diabetes management. Option 1: continue eating high carb foods but monitor your blood sugar and take insulin as needed. This will not result in death from diabetes-related illnesses but it means you will not lose weight and reverse your diabetes. Option 2: the same as option 1 but on a low carb diet with plenty of exercise. This will probably reverse your diabetes, thus allowing you to not check your blood sugar half a dozen times a day and inject yourself with insulin every time you eat. Paula should PRACTICE the second option, not just tell others to do it.

I didn't jump in and try to make melanie anything. I simply asked her if she at at McDonalds. Paula is not the only cook on the food channel to use butter or cook unhealthy meals, she just happens to be the one singled out. Check out some of the other cooks and you'll see what I mean. Look at the crap Guy Fieri eats on Diners Drive ins and Dives and you have to wonder how he's still standing and btw he's about 40 lbs. overweight also. Just sayin.

A lot more than the pig at the top of the screen.

Agreed. And did he put the drink down or take the cigarette out of his big mouth while he was criticizing Paula? Bourdain is the poster boy for unhealthy habits.

Texas Warren,

If I'm not mistaken you are thinking of Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods.

No @schoolyard, Tex is right, Bourdain consumed insects (and still beating cobra hearts) on the show he used to have on FN (as well as a lot of other 'unconventional' proteins).

Interesting. IF some athlete develops type 2 diabetes and signs a lucrative deal to promote a drug, we call them a hero. This is some effed up society when we worship somebody because they can hit, carry or shoot a silly little ball.

A better analogy would be a football player signing a lucrative deal to promote a treatment for brain damage. Would we still applaud them for making money off of damage caused by their career? I sure as hell wouldn't. Type 2 diabetes isn't linked to being a professional athlete, the exact opposite.

But then there are the athletes who develop type 1 diabetes and work with it to continue as professional athletes, which is no easy feat. Them we do applaud, and for good reason.

Mr. Ed...I love to watch Paula Deen's show. My mother was from the south and I grew up on food fried and floating in gravy served with fluffy biscuits dripping in butter. Now, however I'm a grown up and when I go into the kitchen and take a chicken out of the fridge it's up to me to decide to grill it, broil it or deep fry it. I can make a nice tomato sauce or load it with gravy. It's up to me to make the choice as to how it's cooked, not Paula's or anyone else's. I am the one that has to decide how to prepare meals for me and my family. Paula Deen is not in my kitchen with a gun forcing me to deep fry anything. I do love good fried food now and then but I don't do it all the time but that's my choice. Paula does not force her brand of cooking on anyone it's a choice we all have to make every day.

This whole scenario reminds me of the Kartrashians. They will sell their soul for $$$$. Her only motive for keeping her diabetes quiet for 3 yrs was so she wouldn't jeopardize her empire (show, books, appearances, son's empire etc) She was recently on Dr Oz and she never mentioned her diabetes dx of course but she did talk about her struggle to quit smoking. Dr. Oz agreed to help her if she wanted his help. Now maybe he can help her with her greediness ($$$) and her diabetes dx. I'm Southern myself but like another poster commented her voice/accent grates on my last nerve....Wake up Paula and smell the Coffee! Her sons need to quit riding on her coat tail and enabling her. I know she's the matriarch of the family but what good is that if complications from diabetes kills her. Very bad idea to hook up with BIG PHARMA. $$$$ She can do whatever she feels she needs to do without hooking up with big pharma$$$$. Best of luck to her.