Here’s what’s going on behind the scenes of the Paula Deen Type 2 Diabetes Show

A whole lot of cornbread

When your timing is off, you might end up with egg on your face.

Or cookie crumbs on your sweater.

In the February 2012 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, several famous people share their mini-memoirs. That is, they were asked to tell their life stories in exactly six words.

Here’s what celebrity chef Paula Deen wrote: “Might as well eat that cookie.”

If you wanted to compose a personal motto that would guide you inevitably to type 2 diabetes, you couldn’t do much better than the defeated resignation in the phrase, “Might as well eat that cookie.”

The sad thing is that Paula has many thousands of loyal fans who have been charmed by her mischievous “we’re-so-bad!” attitude when it comes to indulging in Sweet Potato Buttermilk Cornbread, Creamy Hash Brown Casserole, Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding, or any of the dozens of other carb/sugar bombs she offers up.

The message is clear: Paula loves these foods. She’s invited all of us to join her and revel in the pure enjoyment of this decadent fare. And if you’re one of her admiring fans, it must be very hard to resist the temptation.

If you know anyone who’s fallen under the spell of this Southern belle, it’s time to give them a shake and wake them up to what’s really going on in Paula’s world.

Beware the tasty journey

I’m sure you’ve heard that Paula Deen recently revealed that she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes three years ago. Why the long wait to come forward? She told People magazine she didn’t want to just make the announcement and walk away. She wanted to “come with information” and “be armed to be able to help others.”

And by that she’s apparently referring to her endorsement of Victoza, a type 2 diabetes drug made by Novo Nordisk.

I wonder if she thought she would just quietly slide this item into the news cycle without controversy? If so, she thought wrong because the backlash has been as hot as deep fried cheesecake.

Completely deserved, of course!

For years, this woman has been making a very lucrative living by selling and promoting super-rich southern dishes. No doubt, they’re quite delicious. But they’re exactly the type of high-calorie, simple-carb laden foods that promote type 2 diabetes.

But now, when you go to her website you’ll find a link to her new campaign called “Diabetes in a New Light.” That link takes you to a page that looks just like Paula’s site. But if you examine it closely, you’ll see that it’s actually a Novo Nordisk site.

It’s such a crass bait and switch! You eat the foods she’s built a small empire promoting, and then — after you’ve developed type 2 diabetes — you need the drug she gets even more money for promoting!

If you doubt that for even a second, consider this…

The planning of Paula’s diabetes announcement obviously wasn’t haphazard. It was carefully timed to launch her “Diabetes in a New Light” campaign. And the very week all of this blew up in the media, it just so happened that a special “Comfort Food” edition of Paula’s magazine was on the newsstands.

And right there on the cover is everything you need to see to know what Paula is all about.

The newest celebrity type 2 diabetic is smiling her high-beam smile, of course, while holding up an enormous tureen of “Paula’s SECRET stovetop macaroni and cheese” — a heaping pile of calories and simple carbs.

On Paula’s website, she promises that “Diabetes in a New Light” will be a “tasty journey,” and adds: “I hope that y’all will come along with me.”

“Paula Deen: Why I Didn’t Tell Anybody I Have Diabetes” Liza Hamm and Alison Schwartz, People magazine, 1/17/12, people.com

“Paula Deen teams with Novo Nordisk on diabetes” Associated Press, 1/17/12, ap.org

“Diabetes in a New Light” Paula Deen, pauladeen.com