I do not know much about diabetes. My grandfather (papa) had type 1 diabetes and injected himself with insulin regularly. He used to show me how he would pinch a layer of his belly and use that spot to inject it, although he never let me watch him do it. I know that it basically has to with how the body processes insulin and reacts to consuming sugar (thank you, wikipedia!) and although I do not know much about Paula Deen, I know she cooks fried butter and has diabetes.
Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about this. I eat fried butter. (Or I would, if I could figure out how to fry it. I believe you can freeze it first, and then it fries up nicely. I will have to try it.) I’m also, left to my own devices, morbidly obese and would have become diabetic, had I not have weight loss surgery. And so are a lot of Americans (obese, morbidly obese, etc). Everyone knows that obesity contributes to a lot of diseases, including diabetes. And yet, to the cure (diet and exercise) we say: FUCK THAT SHIT, I WANT MY FRIED BUTTER. (Or at least, I did.)
Night before my weight loss surgery
I don’t think Paula Deen should apologize for cooking once-in-a-while treats like fried butter. I rarely watch cooking shows (although every time I watch one, I think, “I should watch these more often!”) but I haven’t seen Sandra Lee pushing viewers to eat Kwanzaa Cake after every meal. Paula Deen is paid to cook on television. Her schtick is that she cooks “comfort food” — which, to her, means fried everything and a hamburger with two donuts as the buns. She’s good at that schtick, I’ve seen her on Oprah and she seems like a southern, female version of Santa Claus.
But she’s also a chef and a woman who has a disease that is linked to unhealthy eating and being overweight. Given her platform – her publicity and her television show – she had a unique opportunity to promote ”natural” treatment for diabetes, lifestyle changes. Instead, she waited three years to reveal her diabetes – coincidentally, just after she got a job to promote diabetes medication. It’s not surprising, but it is kind of disappointing.
Filed under: cooking, food, Pop Culture, weight loss surgery | Tagged: paula deen, paula deen diabetes, sandra lee kwanzaa cake, weight loss surgery | Leave a Comment »
