I was sorry, although not surprised, to hear of your diagnosis of diabetes. Having watched your cooking show for years, I guess it was just a matter of time before your style of cooking caught up with you, so to speak.
Now, in interviews, you say that you always preached “all things in moderation” but in all my experience of you, I have seen nothing remotely close to moderate. Instead, I saw a homespun talent delighting in wrapping macaroni and cheese in bacon before frying it. There was no mention of moderation. I watched as you constructed a sandwich of Thanksgiving leftovers that included mayonnaise, mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and bacon. No mention of moderation there either.
Now that you have pulled back the curtain on your struggle with the disease that afflicts more than 8% of Americans (almost 26 million people) and is on the rise, did you come out on “Today” and say that you know that your illness is the result of deep-fried, buttery, sugar-laden foods? Nope. Did you say that you would change your lifestyle in order to better control this disease? Nope.
You announced that you will give up sweet tea, will walk regularly on your treadmill and represent a diabetes drug.
I don’t care that it took you a long time to reveal your illness. It is, frankly, no one’s business. It does look a bit fishy, however, that you chose to announce your struggle at the same time you announced becoming the paid spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, a leading diabetes drug.
You posted a lasagna recipe on the Novo Nordisk website called ‘Diabetes in a New Light’ that included lean ground meat (oy…) and 7…count them 7 different cheeses (some low fat and some not) but seriously, for diabetes? Seven cheeses?
Seriously?
With all the research that tells us that Type 2 diabetes is the direct result of diet and lifestyle, did it not occur to you that a change in your own diet and lifestyle could help you with your disease?
It’s time to do more than switch from fried chicken to baked. Only a dramatic shift in the way you eat will allow you to control this disease for the rest of your life. Only a dramatic shift in the food you consume will change your health in a way that makes drugs not necessary.
Now I am sure the idea of giving up meat, cheese, butter and other saturated fats makes you’re a bit nervous, especially considering that your empire is built on such foods. But as a national public television chef who has spent my career helping people regain their health by changing their food, I can assure you that most of your beloved Southern recipes can be converted to delicious, satisfying, plant-based versions that will give you a newfound love of food. Plant-based eating will allow you to be creative in new ways, with new energy for all aspects of your life.
And the side effects? Unlike diabetes drugs, the side effects of plant-based eating include more energy, weight loss, a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke. You will look and feel better than you have in your life. Diabetes drugs can only promise to turn your life into a risky business, potentially damaging your liver, kidneys...even brain function.
Makes kale seem a whole lot more appealing, doesn’t it?
Type 2 diabetes is the result of the food…or foodlike substances we choose to eat. ..and obesity (and a wee influence of genetics). There was a recent Gallop Poll that lauded the fact that America is less obese…Yippee, right? Well, before you get out the party hats, look at the actual statistics and you’ll see there is a lot more work to do. The obesity rate went from 63.1% (overweight or obese) to 62.9%. and we’re celebrating. A .2% drop in obesity has us slap happy. I guess it’s better than going up .2%, but…I’m just sayin.’
Why not use your considerable influence to help them make choices that will serve them and not rob them of health? Instead of becoming the paid spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, a drug that won’t help us become healthier or get to the root cause of our ills, but just masks the real problem, why not help Americans become better educated so they can reclaim their health and break the stranglehold that pharmaceuticals have on our lives?
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