The queen of Southern fried food, Paula Deen, has Type 2 diabetes. That news is all over the the Internet and airwaves, as people argue over whether her cooking is to blame and whether she is pushing us all toward the disease.
Deen made me put all those mashed potatoes in my mouth. Great excuse. I don’t think my husband will buy it.
Meanwhile, chef Anthony Bourdain is tweeting continual criticism of Deen. He has called her the most dangerous person in America because of her high-fat cooking. He recently tweeted: “Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.”
Excuse me? I have seen what Bourdain has put in his mouth on “No Reservations.” I envision a trip to the emergency room with a kid who just ate a rock scorpion because Bourdain ate something similar. It’s a bit of the pot calling the kettle a cooking utensil.
And I’m sure that Deen never thought, “Gee, I think I’ll load up on high-sugar and high-fat foods so I can get diabetes and have the opportunity to hawk some diabetes medications and make lots of money.” Nobody tries to get diabetes. Nobody wants a life of medication, dietary restrictions and fear of complications.
Many people out there live with habits that seem to invite diabetes, yet they never develop the disease. The cause of diabetes is a combination of heredity, diet and exercise habits. What we eat is not the only cause of the disease. Sitting behind a desk for 10 hours a day can contribute to it. Extreme stress can exacerbate the condition.
We are in the midst of an epidemic of Type 2 diabetes. Even children are getting what used to be an “adult onset” disease. We are too sedentary, lulled into a trance by our computers, our TVs, our hand-held devices. And as much as we are told to stop drinking liquid sugar, we continue to do so. Take a look at the soft-drink aisle. In some stores, it’s two aisles — much more than the amount of space used to sell vegetables.
There are things we can do to avoid the disease: Get tested. Lose excess weight. Check blood-pressure levels. Walk regularly. Some people will do all these things and still develop diabetes — but they will be healthier and better equipped to battle the disease. Some will do none of it, feel lousy and not develop diabetes. Luck? Maybe. But why chance it? Battling diabetes once it is full-blown is hard work.
Bourdain is making this personal. His nasty diatribe may cause others to hesitate about getting tested. I’ve known people who have hidden diabetes, epilepsy and even cancer from their employers because they have watched others endure this type of discrimination. And I don’t blame them. It takes only one bad health incident for an employer to turn on an employee. Just the admission of any physical ailment makes some employers jumpy. I know; I’m diabetic.
That Deen is choosing to go public and work with a major pharmaceutical company to promote their product isn’t unethical, as Bourdain suggests. That company will sell that drug with or without Deen. Drug companies always get their products into the hands of patients desperate for a cure.
What is relevant is that Deen’s participation may encourage others to get tested and treated. Other celebrities have worked to publicize the cause. Singer Patti LaBelle has written cookbooks for diabetics. Blues legend B.B. King helps sell diabetes-testing supplies. Will Bourdain research their lives to find a way to blame their illness on their actions? After all, they are profiting from their disease, just as he is accusing Deen of doing.
Back off, Mr. Bourdain. You’re creating a hostile environment. Rather than mocking those with diabetes, you should be encouraging people to get tested.
Jo Ann Viola Salazar of Durango (joann.salazar@gmail.com) blogs at The2TrailerMarriage.
