UPDATE: YES.

Is Paula Deen suffering from type 2 diabetes? That’s the current gossip in the food world. It isn’t new gossip, however. The National Enquirer reported that the Queen of the kitchen was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes last spring, which went unconfirmed.

The most recent gossip surrounding the Food Network star was that she would announce to the world that she was dealing with the disease and that she would also announce her partnership with Novartis, a pharmaceutical company that produces a drug to help treat the disease. The gossip is just that – gossip.

No one has been able to confirm that 64-year-old Deen has the disease nor can they prove that it came from her cooking. Now it is quite possible that the star is seeing some ill effects from the way she cooks. She uses large amounts of fats and sugars that just cannot be healthy. One of her recipes, Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding, calls for 2 dozen donuts, a stick of butter, a whole box of confectioner’s sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. I think I gained 5 pounds reading the ingredients.

The recent gossip started on Friday when The Daily reported in the headlined article “Paula’s Big Fat Secret” that, “the queen of high-calorie, Southern cooking — is about to come clean and confess that she can’t eat her own dishes anymore because she has diabetes.”

A CBS report later in the day on Friday claimed the rumor of Deen breaking the silence on her diabetic condition was false and that Deen has no deal with Novartis. The representative of Novartis told CBS, “The rumors that Novartis has signed a multi-million dollar spokesperson deal with Paula Deen for a diabetes treatment are not true. Novartis is not working with Ms. Deen.”

Deen and her representatives have remained silent on the situation leaving fans and non-fans to speculate on whether she is actually suffering from her preference for unhealthy foods. Her son has tried to put a spin on his mom’s food by starting a new show on The Cooking Channel called, “Not My Mama’s Meals,” where he takes his mom’s recipes and converts them into healthier dishes. For his first episode he turned his mama’s Krispie Kreme Bread Pudding into a healthier Fresh Fruit Bread Pudding.

It is doubtful that Deen would confess to having type 2 diabetes if she has been afflicted. She has often been criticized for her recipes that are filled with fat, salt and sugar.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, you have a higher risk for diabetes if you are over 45, have excess body weight, a family history of diabetes, a poor diet, and a low activity level. Type 2 Diabetes is a serious disease, but it is also one of the most preventable of human diseases and there is evidence that it is reversible with a lifestyle change of losing weight, eating right, and exercising.

Perhaps it might be in Deen’s best interest to follow in her son’s footsteps by making her recipes healthier.

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About lindastcyr

Linda St.Cyr is a writer, blogger, activist, and short story author. When she isn’t writing or raising her kids with her life partner, she is busy being vocal about feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and bringing attention to human rights violations all over the world.

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