Paula Deen Dismay...

Shame on you Paula. Shame, shame on you for not being forthcoming about your health....or lack thereof. You could have used all or even part of that time, in which you withheld the truth of what eating more than a lion's share of butter, sugar, and grease has done to your personal health, as a unique platform to reach out and help inform others who looked at you as "healthy" in spite of the lifestyle. People who were probably grabbing at cheese straws in order to justify living and eating like the picture of only pleasantly plump health you portrayed and propagated. We are all responsible for our own choices and for the gathering/sorting through of information to make those choices informed ones. Each individual is solely responsible for the food they eat, how much they eat, and how it is prepared. In no way am I blaming or placing fault to you. BUT, some people are in such deep denial about what is fact or fiction when it comes to food, that to have seen you on a daily basis for so long, seemingly without any ill effects from the delicious, dripping southern sweets and savorys you concoct....well...I can only imagine it gave them the false hope they needed to continue on the path to certain death...unless drastic change takes place. Again, is that your fault, NO. Again, they are making those choices. Was it reckless and irresponsible to represent yourself as reasonably healthy and unaffected by a daily slathering in a calorie cesspool...to a nation of people where obesity is becoming the norm, where it is becoming more and more common to see a 5 year old child who weighs as much or more as some adults, where weight related illnesses and disabilities are likely going to reach epidemic levels, where the wall of a home must be torn down to allow a sizeable enough opening for an individual to see the light of day...before they can be transported for treatment...or succumb. The answer there, for me in my own mind and opinion, is yes...it was dangerously reckless and irresponsible when you could have taken that very bad news and used it for good. Your truth could have possibly been used to make a difference in even one life, I'm certain of it. I was one of the many people out there....who loved butter more than my health, but little by little...I educated myself with truth and took steps to gain control and to gain my life. SP played an important role in that. This is so close to me because I lost my beloved step-dad at the age of 57 to Type 2 Diabetes. He was so full of life...and loved to eat and eat those southern dishes much like myself. He worked hard to get control of his disease and did a really good job of it, too little too late...even that young. He was on the treadmill and had a heart attack. The heart attack he could have survived....but that the diabetes had silently already damaged beyond repair his liver, kidneys, and I don't know what all else. He had no chance and my family is still suffering from the hole he left. The treadmill that he was on, ironically is the one that helped save my life...I still have and use it today...and think of him every time I step on. I also have a 50 y/o BIL who is slowly losing the fight with Type 2 a little more every day...they pull 7-10 liters of fluid off his abdomen regularly and he is in liver failure. Ammonia builds up in his blood and greatly impairs him to the point he is unable to work any longer...it is just a waiting game now...very sad. The message here is if you make the changes necessary....Type 2 is REVERSIBLE...we've seen it on Biggest Loser...I've seen it from a lady in my church, but you have to take it seriously and right from the point of diagnosis...you cannot wait because it ravages your organs and systems while you are making up your mind of the next step. So yes, Paula, I think though you are not personally responsible or liable for anyone's undoing, you certainly did not step up in courage to use your truth to advocate for change. No...apparently you just kept cooking up a greasy, hot mess and profiting off of that which is literally trying to kill you. Selling a poisonous product without putting the skull and crossbones label on it after you learned how sick that very product had made you. That makes me as sad as it does angry. No one is perfect and I don't hold you to any standard higher than I do myself, but I would have expected a stronger moral character from a southern woman,that I admittedly enjoyed to some extent. I would have thought there would be more compassion from someone who has come through so much adversity. I am not without some empathy....I know that news must have been a devastating blow not only to your health, but also your ego...you perhaps may have had yourself in quite the throes of denial as well,until that shoe dropped. I would not wish that on anyone. But, I have seen a brave and giving spirit come from many "regular, everyday" people who suffer Type 2 and fight, not only to overcome, but to educate those around them to try and keep it from ever happening to anyone else. To say Type 2 is "not a death sentence" is very misleading and belittles the gravity of the disease. It almost is if the person is unable to manage it through diet, or diet and medication together along with regular exercise. I do pray for your health and healing, and have hopes that you will step up as you educate yourself and help educate your public about the harsh realties, the myths, and most of all...the hope of change through a health specific diet/exercise in order to fight...and beat...this completely avoidable disease. It's the right thing to do.