Celebrity chef star Paula Deen recently confirmed her battle with Type 2 diabetes and the steps she’s taking to sustain her health.
The Food Network star, long known for her love of all things made with butter and her high-fat/high-caloric recipes, says she was diagnosed three years ago but kept the condition quiet until she could offer advice to the public.
“I wanted to bring something to the table when I came forward,” the 64-year-old chef said Tuesday on NBC’s “Today show. “I’ve always been one to thing that I bring hope.”
According to the Associated Press, Deen is teaming up with drug maker Novo Nordisk to launch a program to help people living with Type 2 diabetes and promote a Novo diabetes drug. “Diabetes in a New Light” will offer tips on food preparation, stress management and working with doctors on a treatment plan.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes where the body does not produce enough insulin or does not use it efficiently, allowing excess sugar (or glucose) to build up in the blood.
Deen says genetics, lifestyle, stress and age contributed to her condition, but has always enjoyed her indulgent food in moderation and has always urged her viewers to do the same.
She says she takes a once-daily noninsulin injection of Victoza to control blood glucose.