Did Paula Deen's egg bacon donut burger cause her diabetes? Go easy on the goodies, y'all

mlive ^ | 1-2012

[doug from upland]

Could it be the bacon, egg and glazed donut burgers, y’all?

When butter-loving country cook Paula Deen announced this week that she has type 2 diabetes, foodies everywhere started buzzing.

What can you expect when you concoct a Lady’s Brunch Burger out of bacon, eggs and a beef patty with glazed donuts for buns?

Could all that piggy pudding and Uncle Bubba’s seafood pot pie be to blame?

Sort of, local nutrition experts say. But not entirely.

Diabetes educators say no certain type of food leads to diabetes, but the calorie-laden goodies Deen whips up can lead to weight gain -- one of the culprits.

Weight, activity level and genetics all contribute to type 2 diabetes, said Marcia Johnson, clinical supervisor for the diabetes education program at Spectrum Health. Risk also increases as you age.

“Diabetes is much more common in people who are overweight, especially if they carry the extra weight in their midsection,” said Johnson, a registered nurse who has worked in diabetes education since 1979.

Sorry, Lots O’Meat Lasagna, darlin' -- you’re out.

Deen, 64, star of the Food Network show “Paula's Best Dishes,” found out three years ago she has type 2 diabetes, but kept it under her hat until this week, when she revealed the news to Al Roker on NBC's Today show.

Deen told Roker she doesn’t plan to change how she cooks, but said she has always encouraged moderation.

"I share with you all these yummy, fattening recipes,” she said on "Today." “But I tell people, in moderation ... it's entertainment. People have to be responsible."

No more pork chops with cheddar and bacon grits?

“This kind of food is unhealthy not just for diabetics, but for everybody,” Johnson said.

But lovers of Deen’s fried chicken and beefy macaroni and cheese don’t have to give the comfort food up entirely, Johnson said.

“Occasionally treat yourself to a small portion,” she said. “Or rework a recipe so it’s healthier.”

Deen’s son Bobby does just that, promoting lower-calorie versions of his mom’s recipes, on his new Cooking Channel show, “Not My Mama’s Meals.”

Experts say a big factor is genetics – whether you’ve inherited a susceptibility to the condition.

“If you have those genes -- relatives with diabetes -- you want to get regular check-ups,” said Carolyn Belsito, registered dietitian and diabetes educator at Metro Health.

“We’re learning more about the causes of diabetes all the time,” Belsito said. “There are studies that show you’re at a higher risk if you have sleep apnea, as well as stress.”

Experts say small changes in lifestyle can make a big difference.

Deen has said that since the diagnosis, she quit drinking sweet tea. That’s a big change for a Southern gal.

“Giving up sugary beverages can have a huge influence,” said Spectrum Health’s Johnson. “People often drink a whole day’s worth of calories just in their beverages.”

Deen also said she now regularly hits the treadmill -- another good move to prevent the disease, Johnson said.

“Exercise helps with weight control, but it also immediately burns up blood sugar,” Johnson said, “and it continues to drop for the next day or two.”

One in 12 people in West Michigan has diabetes, according to 2008 data from the Alliance for Health. Statewide, the disease is estimated to cost $6.5 billion in health care expenses and lost time from work.

Diabetes prevents the body from making or using the insulin needed to convert food into energy. Sugar builds up in the blood, and that can eventually damage the heart, eyes, kidneys and feet.

Deen is now being paid as a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that supplies her diabetes medication. She and her family are appearing in a new ad campaign for the company this month.

Meanwhile, experts say they’re happy the butter diva went public.

“It’s a wake-up call for people who might see themselves in her,” said Belsito of Metro Health.

“I hope some good can come from this,” Spectrum’s Johnson said. “Diabetes is mostly self-managed, so getting people talking about it and learning about it is good.”

So is Double Chocolate Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. But just a smidgen, y’all.

[southern rock]

No much sympathy for Paula. When you promote sickness and death, you can’t be surprised when you get sickness and death. And now she is turning to medication for help. Pretty pathetic. Just change your diet, Paula. But there is no lucrative deal in that.

[aruanan]

No much sympathy for Paula. When you promote sickness and death, you can’t be surprised when you get sickness and death.

Nutritionally speaking, this is an absurd statement. No food is bad, unless it is spoiled with bacteria or laden with heavy metals. If you eat in a manner consistent with daily energy requirements, don't limit yourself to a single macronutrient (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats), and get sufficient physical activity, you're not going to get sick any more frequently or die any sooner than anyone else because of the food. And, yes, I literally am an expert on human nutrition.

[southern rock]

Good fat from healthy animals doesn’t make you fat. It doesn’t give you diabetes.

But it does contain cholesterol, which the human body does not need or want more than it makes itself. Animal fat is NEVER good fat.

[DH]

Well, ain’t that something?

I guess we all will be forced by Mamma-Obama to only drink purified water and eat soylent green to keep healthy.

When I die, they will find me lying on the floor, face up with a napkin around my neck, a butter knife in my right hand, a fork in my left hand and a smile on my face.

[EBH]

Is Saturated Fat Evil, or Not So Bad After All?

The myths, lies, and misconceptions about saturated fat and your health.

http://www.truthaboutabs.com/saturated-fat-is-not-evil.html

[EBH]

Paula Deen is not responsible for anybody’s food choices.

I watch her show to get either some ‘special’ recipes or to find out how to make a simple southern dish.

But in the long run, it is up to me to decide how much butter, fat, cream etc. I use.

I make that final choice, not Paula.

[IamConservative]

If you eat in a manner consistent with daily energy requirements, don't limit yourself to a single macronutrient (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats

Fair to say in your opinion that the typical American diet has too many macronutrients and not enough micronutrients? That's what I see wrong with Paula Deen's cooking. 1) most everything is cooked, 2) too much macronutrient, i.e. calorie dense food. Humans are the only species that cooks their food.

[antisocial]

“All animal protein is a known cause of cancer.”

TOTAL BS!!!

[calex59]

Well I can gaurandamntee it wasn’t the eggs, bacon or hamburger that caused diabetes. Eggs have .6 carbs, bacon and hamburger have 0 carbs. Any pastries eaten will have loads of carbs which actually put more glucose into the blood stream than the sugar in the donuts. Anyone hyping this diet as a diabetes starter are simply full of sh**.

[aruanan]

Fair to say in your opinion that the typical American diet has too many macronutrients and not enough micronutrients? That's what I see wrong with Paula Deen's cooking. 1) most everything is cooked, 2) too much macronutrient, i.e. calorie dense food. Humans are the only species that cooks their food.

If you eat a varied diet that includes meat, you will get all the micronutrients (minerals and vitamins) that you need to prevent deficiency diseases (there are other uses for them that are alleged but not as definitively demonstrated as their role in deficiency disease), though women usually need more calcium than they get in their diets and most people in a modern, heavily clothed, spend-most-time-indoors-or-in-car society need more vitamin D than they typically synthesize. Vitamins are not usually destroyed by cooking, though you could lose some in water that plants are cooked in. Minerals are not destroyed by cooking.

As far as calories go, the number one requirement for human life is gross kilocalories of food energy and water. Without micronutrients it can take many months to decades to develop a deficiency disease (and this is usually in the context of a diet relying on a single macronutrient such as pellagra from living off an almost exclusive corn meal diet throughout winter months), without macronutrients you'll start to weaken within a day or so, become seriously impaired within a couple weaks, and die within a few months (unless you were gigantically obese or extremely heavily muscled to begin with). Without water, of course, you'll die in a matter of weeks.

Humans are also one of the longest lived mammals on earth. Most mammals have a heartbeat/longevity/size ratio that is fairly well fixed. You reach the end of your alloted heartbeats, unless you're taken out by a scavenger or accident or disease first, and you die. Human life span vastly exceeds this. It probably has a lot to do with agriculture making a lot of food available and cooking and food prep techniques that 1. makes nutrients in food more easily available, 2. kills parasites and fungus, 3. can help remove substances from raw sources that would otherwise harm or impair health.

[libertarian27]

“Everything in Moderation~ Including Moderation”

[angcat]

She's disgusting and her husband can't open his eyes he is so fat. Ina makes the best food and she is very well mannered unlike Paula who cooks with all that junk jewelry and licks her fingers.

[Conan the Librarian]

Ran into Paula once at the Local Publix. She was eating a piece of Publix Fried Chicken.

I thought about wrestling it away from her, but, only so I could have it.

AS the poster upstream posted, Humans live much longer than other mammals, and, as such, of course we will get diseases of age.

We’re all gonna Die, you might as well have fun doing it.

[Mase]

Cut out all sugar, white flour, bread and pasta.

Huh? That's crazy. Why would anyone want to do this rather than enjoying these wonderful things, like everything else, in moderation?

[Mase]

Ran into Paula once at the Local Publix. She was eating a piece of Publix Fried Chicken.

Publix fried chicken. Best fried chicken.....ever.

[Conan the Librarian]

I don’t know about THE best (my Grandma made some mean fried chicken), but, it is VERY VERY good.

Even Paula said “that’s good fried chicken”.

[southern rock]

No, this is pretty well researched by now.

[southern rock]

Huh? That's crazy. Why would anyone want to do this rather than enjoying these wonderful things, like everything else, in moderation?

Poison in moderation is still poison.

[Mase]

Sugar, white flour, bread and pasta is poison? Is that really what you're saying?

If so, that's crazier than crazy.

[southern rock]

Yes, that is what I am saying, and that is not crazy, that is pretty much mainstream nutritional thought. Add white rice to the list as well.

If flour, bread and pasta are whole grain, only then are they good for you. The white or "enriched" stuff is a killer.