By Rebecca Rose of ChoiceEating.com
Last week, Food Network’s celebrity chef and restaurateur, Paula Deen, came clean on NBC’s Today show and admitted she was diagnosed three years ago with type 2 diabetes. Given the high-calorie southern cooking for which she is known, this really may not come as a surprise to many.
According to the American Diabetic Association, type 2 diabetes means the body fails to produce enough insulin, or the cells are conditioned to ignore the insulin that is produced. Insulin allows the body to convert glucose created by the break down of starches and sugars in food for energy.
Undiagnosed or improperly managed diabetes can lead to serious health problems, including an increased risk of heart attack, neuropathy or numbness of the feet, and gum disease.
Aside from a genetic predisposition, factors that can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes are the consumption of refined and processed foods, weight gain and lack of exercise.
So what are the lessons to be learned from this food guru’s revelation?
1. Moderation: “Here’s the thing, you know, I’ve always encouraged moderation,” she told Al Roker. “On my show, you know, I share with you all these yummy, fattening recipes, but I tell people ‘in moderation.”
2. Substitute comfort foods: There are healthy ways to get the flavor and chew that attracts us to certain foods. For instance, mashed potatoes can be substituted with garlic mashed cauliflower.
3. Manage your stress: Stress can raise cortisol levels, which leads to insulin resistance. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress.
4. Stay away from refined sugars and high fructose corn syrup: Not all sugars and carbohydrates are bad. The real determining factor is the kind of sugars and carbohydrates you consume. Though it can be a little strict, following the rule of no white foods like bread, rice or sugar works for some people. These foods can be replaced with whole-grain breads, brown rice and stevia or other natural sweeteners.
Rebecca Rose is an award-winning writer based in Oak Park, IL, who routinely covers health and fitness, financial and women’s issues regionally and nationally.
Comments
I think it’s interesting that Paula’s cooking represents a long lived southern culture that many have embraced for a very long time without dealing with diabetes and other illnesses. The skyrocketing rate of diabetes has a conspicuous correlation to the introduction of endocrine disrupting hormones into our environment and food chain. There are many different chemicals which mimic estrogen that appear in our food, bath and body products, and our environment. Science is showing strong evidence that these chemicals of concern are responsible for our bodies’ inability to deal with “unhealthy” food. I’m not a junk food advocate. I cook and eat pretty healthfully for a Southern gal, but I know that my great grandparents and grandparents had eggs, bacon, real cream, real butter, etc. every day of their lives and lived to be in their 80s and 90s. I look forward to the “rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey would say.