Since celebrity chef Paula Deen has announced she does indeed have diabetes, I am contemplating whether or not she plans to prepare her recipes any differently. Perhaps she will prepare them the same as she does on the Food Network channel and at her restaurant, then cut back on the heavy cream, deep frying, and sugar she cooks with and admits to eating herself.
I have read news reports saying that genetics,as well as this diet of plenty of fat and lots of sugar has contributed to the disease. I have in the past and continue to prepare some of her recipes and have always adjusted them by reducing those particular ingrediants.
I found some interest awhile back in Deen’s personal life not only because I am a fan of the Food Network and many of her recipes, with my own take, but because I have experienced a lot of anxiety that on occasion has taken the form of minor agoraphobia. In reading about her I discovered she suffered anxiety, panic attacks, and agoraphobia while in her 20s, eventually becoming virtually housebound. Agoraphobia is rare and very scary. She focused almost all of her energy on cooking and baking as it gave her comfort and therapy.
Her misfortune turned out to be a blessing however, because she in 1989 felt well enough to utilize her knowledge and skills expanding them into a catering service. She prepared meals out of her home kitchen and had both her sons deliver the meals to neighbors. Then in 1996, she was able to save enough money through her catering and alimony money to open a restaurant along with her sons, “Lady & Sons,” in the state of Georgia. She also has written cookbooks and has her baked goods for sale at Walmart.
She was lucky enough to get out of the mess associated with agoraphobia; here’s hoping she can adjust some of her recipes in regards to her own fitness, because all of that butter sure tastes delicious, though the saturated fat is bad for the heart. According to MayoClinic.com, heart disease is one of the major complications of the type 2 diabetes that she has. As I mentioned earlier, she is known to indulge in her own treats, perhaps she can get out of the kitchen a little more because exercise also can improve the body’s use of insulin, helping to prevent damge to arteries. Not that you can’t get exercise in the kitchen, I know I do, but MayoClinic.com says that aerobic exercise is best for the heart and circulation, and advises low-impact cardiovascular exercises, in addition to altering the diet to slow or possibly reverse the natural course of the disease.