Weighing In - Why I Have Compassion for Paula Deen
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 @ 02:23 PM
Paula Deen announced her diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes on national television yesterday. She admitted that she'd been living with diabetes for three years and had not made her condition public because she "had nothing to bring to the table".
But now she has a new partnership with Novartis and is marketing her sons' cooking shows. All this has set the blogosphere on fire with rants against her, criticisms and complaints about her choices, and most amounting to something like she gets what she deserves.
A few of my clients asked for my opinion, so I watched her announcement on the Today Show, and did a little research.
Let's start with what it means to have Type 2 Diabetes. Here is a brief summary of the complications of this chronic disease:
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Eye problems, including trouble seeing (especially at night) and light sensitivity. Blindness.
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Feet and skin can develop sores and infections. After a long time, a foot or leg may need to be removed. Infection can also cause pain and itching in other parts of the body.
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Diabetes may make it harder to control blood pressure and cholesterol. This can lead to a heart attack, stroke, or other problems. It can become harder for blood to flow to legs and feet.
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Nerves in the body can become damaged, causing pain, tingling, and a loss of feeling.
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Because of nerve damage, there can be problems digesting the food. There can be weakness or trouble going to the bathroom. Nerve damage can also make it harder for men to have an erection.
- High blood sugar and other problems can lead to kidney damage. The kidneys might not work as well, and they may even stop working
I asked myself if this is a diagnosis I would wish on a friend, family member, neighbor? I saw Paula talking about her new website campaign, Diabetes, In A New Light, which promotes the hope of living fully with this chronic disease and heard her say that she wasn't about to change her life (but she would make small changes...) I saw her breakdown on Entertainment tonight, sticking to her story of eating her famously butter laden recipes "in moderation".
And the more I watch, read and think, the more compassion I feel for Paula Deen. She is a chef who, for three years had "nothing to bring to the table".
Paula is an icon of an American value - food as entertainment. She has grown up in a country in a time when we have learned that our health (and how our food relates to our health) is a back burner issue. What's up front? Career, money, fame, celebrity, reputation, butter. Of course she doesn't want to give up everything she's believed in, everything she's been taught, her empire, her cookbooks and royalties and her TV show. Would you?
There is no doubt that Paula Deen, a wealthy and educated woman, knows that a diet high in fruits and vegetables and whole grains, and a program of daily exercise could help her to beat this disease (possibly without drugs) but still she is willing to risk her health and her life for what our culture has taught her is more important. Butter.
We are all Paula Deen. Keeping what we know to be true close to our chest until we are ready to make a change. And even then, the changes we are willing to make may not be enough for our critics. It took me 25 years to develop a healthy lifestyle that truly reflects my own mind, body and spirit.
Do I wish Paula would get on national TV and tell the world she was wrong about her recipes? That she's decided to make a lifestyle overhaul and be a role model? That she's on a mission to promote fruits and veggies and whole grains and exercise? Sure.
And she may do that one day.
But here's how I found my compassion for her.
I start by saying what her critics say, "I am nothing like Paula Deen"
then I realize, "I am something like Paula Deen"
finally, with Grace, "I am nothing but Paula Deen".
Type 2 diabetes is a terrible diagnosis, no matter how you got there. We can see what Paula Deen has to lose by holding on to her lifestyle - but if we are compassionate - if we are all nothing but Paula Deen - what we can come to is a question that is not about Paula at all.
What Do We Have to Lose?
Alicia Leeds Meyers is a Personal Healthy Lifestyle Coach who walks the talk and helps her clients uncover their path to a healthy lifestyle.
