There is no question that certain diets, such as vegetarian diets, are generally more healthy than Paula Deen’s diet.

At the same time, as the post suggests, there is definitely a lot of narcissism tied up with vegetarianism, as there is with jogging, and other ‘health and fitness’ activities.

Many vegetarians believe that their diets make them better persons — that they are superior to others, i.e. more sensitive, caring, intelligent, etc. because of their food choices. It is almost as though the better food becomes part of their personalities and makes their personalities better.

There is also a lot of specialized ‘knowlege’ or verbiage connected with vegetarianism, and when a non-vegetarian slips or stumbles, making an error because of the lack of special knowledge about vegetarianism, such as confusing veganism with vegetarianism, most vegetarians will gloat about how superior they are for not making such a mistake.

Although in all fairness re making food choices, sometimes when traveling or eating lunch while at work, depending on the environment around the workplace, it is sometimes difficult to make healthy choices that are appetizing. I remember an insurance company that would not permit refrigerators on their premises so that people would be forced to eat the not particularly healthy food in their company cafeteria.

Little Al on January 18, 2012 at 2:52 am

It is a low creature who revels in someone falling prey to diabetes. Let them shuffle off to Michelle’s fantasy garden.

Worry01 on January 18, 2012 at 3:04 am

I don’t watch much television. I swear, until I read this article, I thought Paula Deen was a French guy named Paul LaDeen.

Irving on January 18, 2012 at 4:35 am

Diabetes is not necessarily about what food you choose to eat, although that does play a part in how it is exacerbated. Diabetes is more from hormonal issues.

That said, the new book, Wheatbelly by Dr. Davis, details how the new hybridized wheat causes weight gain in those who consume it. Wheat also can cause autoimmune issues as well.

Deb on January 18, 2012 at 9:16 am

There is so much we do not know about diabetes. We assume that Type II only happens to the unhealthy, overweight people. It does not, but stories of the seemingly “healthy” victims don’t fall into the correct meme. If someone’s kidneys fail, do we blame them? But let a pancreas fail and it was totally avoidable? We are doing this country a diservice by focusing on the prevention and not focusing on recognizing the symptoms. Everyone can tell you the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Do you know the symptoms of diabetes?

I have no idea why Paula developed diabetes, and neither do any of the media snobs.

Robin H on January 18, 2012 at 9:21 am

While I don’t usually agree with your positions on most topics, but would defend your right to voice your opinion with my life, I do have to say that I agree with you whole-heartedly on this post. No one put a gun to the head of Ms. Deen, or anyone else who consistently ate the type of cooking that she espouses. In addition, if anyone ate that type of cooking consistently within the last 25 years, and didn’t realize that they were slowly killing themselves; must not have read a newspaper or magazine, watched a television newscast, listened to the radio, or visited a doctor.

Customs4Ever on January 18, 2012 at 9:34 am

Vegetarianism as a healthier diet is a myth. Vegetarians have a shorter life expectancy and are subject to higher rates of chronic diseases. The substitution of carbohydrates for protein and saturated fats is the cause of increases in rates of obesity and type II diabetes. Americans no longer take responsibility for their own actions, as Debbie points out. And they increasingly listen to government and activists instead of doing their own research and investigation. That’s why many of them believed in man-caused global warming and many of them voted for the current occupant of White House, thinking he was a moderate, Christian, brilliant leader.

Concerned Citizen on January 18, 2012 at 9:35 am

i like to watch cooking shows and occasionally grab a recipe to make. i’ve always found deen a bit too phony and her food gross. one of the few episodes i saw of hers was when she made this meatloaf monstrosity… it could’ve easily been a parody on SNL with the wrap it in bacon… dump a can of mushroom soup on it… now roll it in breadcrumbs… now cover it with cheese… and this was after she dumped everything she could find into the meatloaf itself. a total turn off.

on the other hand, one of my families favorite recipes is osso buco that gianna delaurentis made on her show, everyday italian. i don’t make it with the high=priced veal shanks, but substitute meaty beef short ribs. we love it. oh, and yes, gianna can get a little annoying with her own special brand of aren’t-i-wonderful-phoniness, but she’s got a perky little rack and makes some interesting foodaggio.

KIRCHE on January 18, 2012 at 9:43 am

Unfortunately for some of the commenters, there is no question that vegetarianism is a more healthful diet than the alternatives, which are laden with unhealthy fats and other substances. Websites of all the leading medical institutions verify this.

Also, although some non-obese people develop diabetes, there is a high correlation with unhealthy life styles. The Harvard Disease Risk site will verify these assertions.

This is not to excuse the self-righteous behavior of vegetarians, but they definitely have a more healthful lifestyle, and it discredits the credibility of conservatives to argue in favor of unhealthy lifestyles, or to say that they are as good as healthful ones.

Little Al on January 18, 2012 at 10:20 am

I’ve never seen her show. Can anyone tell me if Paula Deen has actually told her viewers, “This is a healthy meal,” or “This is a healthy diet”? If she has, then she deserves the public shame being heaped upon her.

However, if she never made any claims to teaching how to cook healthy meals, but focused strictly on the flavor, then what are they arguing about? Anyone with a modicum of sense knows you don’t eat a BigMac for every meal and expect to be healthy. You expect to be lacking in some nutrients, overdose on others, and generally feel bad. Likewise, healthy people can and do indulge in pure flavor from time to time.

Paula Deen was showing a variety of flavor options from which people could choose what to try. For a treat.

Balance is the main thing. Balance out your treats with healthy meals and exercise. And above all, be honest with yourself about what you are doing/eating.

Debbie is right on this one. Paula Deen doesn’t “deserve” disease, and she doesn’t deserve to be blamed for anyone else’s disease, either.

If she were strictly a dessert chef, people would make the connection – dessert=treat, and not vilify her. Too bad she made unhealthy but flavorful entrees, too, I guess.

Hey, who was it who came up with the BigMac recipe? Let’s villify him! It makes just as much sense.

Michelle on January 18, 2012 at 10:50 am

Julia Child cooked and ate what would be considered non-PC today and lived for 93 healthy years along with the high life expectancy in France with a diet that would be considered unhealthy. My problem with many vegetarians and the food police is not so much with what they want to eat but imposing that diet on others through coercive political means. I suspect most vegetarians become so to wear it as a badge of virtue and this episode clearly portrays that. The real issue is not what you eat but how much.

Richard on January 18, 2012 at 11:03 am

I respect vegetarianism and veganism and YES even raw-food veganism as long as the issue is NOT political. Unfortunately, it mostly is so even though I may respect the discipline and the knowledge of the diets above I can’t stand the self-righteousness of the political aspects. We all know Liberals are the worst kind of phonies though.

I agree with DS. On the Beyonce baby and PD. This type of shadenfreude just shows how political life in USA has become. Also, because PD dissed the ugly FLOTUS she is now in the crosshairs. That’s enough for dumb Liberals to want her dead.

My favourite food is well done vegetarian. It is hard to find and EXPENSIVE. I also eat meat these days. I used to only eat chicken. Not because of health (although I eat more chicken now for health) but because of my love of animals. Anyway, I do wish I had the discipline, $$$ and talent to make tasty vegetarian meals but I don’t. I also don’t act like tasty food is crap. The best tasting thing on a McDonalds menu is a #13!!!!!

I respect kosher eating these days and wish I had the discipline and knowledge to follow it. It’s way too late for me. I like that it is religious based and not arrogance based. Plus I know the animals are killed more humanely.

All I can say the that Liberalism has really ruined the culture of this great country. I hate it!

Skunky on January 18, 2012 at 12:29 pm

Is chocolate cake a vegetable?

Seriously, the issue is that she pushed food that contributes to diabetes, and now she is hawking a treatment for diabetes. She is making money off both ends of the deal. Anthony Bourdain put it best. “I was in the business of breaking legs, and now I am in the business of selling crutchets.”

I do agree that everyone has a choice. There should be no government intervention, no one telling McDonald’s not to give toys, or cut back on fries, etc., particularly since that person these days is in the form of wide hipped, big assed transexual who devours 1500 calories at lunch here on the streets of Washington, DC, and who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Can we eat healthier and is it okay to push for a more healthy lifestyle? Yes, but it would be a lot easier if people did not have to work two jobs, with the income of the second job going to pay for taxes. It would be great that, if instead of supporting so many fat assed lazy people on welfare, the government took some of tax money and spent it on parks and recreational facilities which we the taxpayers could actually use.

JG: Anthony Bourdain is a shameless pan-Arabist/pro-Muslim liberal. Further, his analogy is flawed. If Paula Deen forced people to make and eat her recipes, then it would be apt. If Johnny Knoxville of “Jackass” fame sold crutches, then it would be comparable. Paula Deen is a capitalist and a smart marketer, and I can’t blame her for squeezing money/endorsements out of all ends. Smart people will see through that. I agree with the rest of your comments, regarding government intervention and taxes/welfare. DS

Jonathan E. Grant on January 18, 2012 at 12:37 pm

BTW Diabetes is when the pancreas can no longer produce insult and break down simple sugars. That is why carbs and sugars must be watched.

Well, in animals it is. I am not an expert on the humans but reckon it is almost the same…

Skunky on January 18, 2012 at 12:49 pm

Genetics plays a big portion into this as well. Having battled Colon Cancer this past year, everyone told me to stay away from meat. Fine and dandy when most of the men in my family died from this disease that is easily more remedied in prevention through screening. I’ll keep eating meat, since it doesn’t mean a thing that genetics has already imprinted in our DNA.

You’re the best Debbie!

CB on January 18, 2012 at 12:59 pm

I agree, Debbie! I do not have to follow the recipes of some famous celebrity chef on TV. I keep my daily diet simply and moderate so I do not have to gain weights and work out to keep in shape. Just because the foods look very good on TV doesn’t mean you or anyone should indulge heavily into them by copying ingredient for ingredient exactly to a TV chef’s specs and eat ’em. You can modify or reduce some ingredients to something preferential and healthy enough for yourself and/or others. I do not believe in fascism/food police over people eating foods and the progressive morons who push for ’em just because it causes global warming and all that eco-baloney.

What you eat is what you choose to eat or not, that’s your own prerogative, not the fascist food police morons.

Bob on January 18, 2012 at 1:01 pm

On KFI 640 radio last night in Los Angeles, radio personality Tim Conway Jr. (yes, the son of comedian Tim Conway), said that Paula Deen was a fraud and was not surprised that she had diabetes because every recipe she makes starts with 2 sticks of butter and 2 cups of sugar. He also said that she has a fake southern accent too. I turned him off before anymore drivel spewed out of his mouth, but I couldn’t believe he could get away with his character assasination. He’s a pathetic scumbag. But I must admit, his game called “What the Hell Did Jesse Jackson Say?” is pretty funny.

FrenchKiss on January 18, 2012 at 1:32 pm

Refined carbs (as contrasted with whole grains) are not much better than saturated or trans fats. It is astonishing that with all the useful information available on the internet, incredible myths about health seem more widespread now than ever before.
Kind of like anti-semitism. Access to more information does not seem to reduce ignorance and primitive conceptions.

Little Al on January 18, 2012 at 1:33 pm

And here I thought I was the only one who is thoroughly sick over both topics. It’s quite obvious that the average intelligence of Americans has seriously declined if these are the main topics of concern today. Thanks once again Debbie.

Naomi R on January 18, 2012 at 1:53 pm

Little Al, would you please cut out the Holier Than Thou stuff. It’s getting annoying. For every article you can produce saying vegetarianism is the holy grail of life, I can find another that says the opposite.

“Many vegetarians believe that their diets make them better persons — that they are superior to others, i.e. more sensitive, caring, intelligent, etc. because of their food choices. It is almost as though the better food becomes part of their personalities and makes their personalities better.”

Those are your words in your first comment and now you are calling us ignorant for not agreeing with you. I believe you have succombed to your own wisdom.

Robin H on January 18, 2012 at 1:54 pm

Robin, of course you can find articles, and your imagery is misplaced, and shows a disdain of religious people.

I cited sources from Harvard; you could just as easily go to the Mayo Clinic website or the Johns Hopkins Hospital website.

I don’t really care what you think — I am writing these posts for the benefit of others who may read this site and have been taken in by the demagogy of health cranks, who unfortunately are becoming more and more pervasive. Articles from cranks unfortunately have attained mainstream respectability; the comparison with anti-Semites is unfortunately apt.

Your reading comprehension is also sorely lacking. I am criticizing vegetarians for their haughty attitudes, not for the substance of their diet. And BTW, your spelling skills also could stand improvement, RH.

Little Al on January 18, 2012 at 2:16 pm

She didn’t exercise enough to merit her diet. I know people who can eat a load of food but exercise well enough to burn it off.

I also know that people who have diabetes end up having bigger appetites and cravings.

CaliforniaScreaming on January 18, 2012 at 2:27 pm

Apparently PD is now reinventing herself; she now will provide recipes for ‘healthy’ diets )although the one that is publicized in the WSJ features red meat, which is linked with breast, colon and prostate cancer).

She is following a long tradition of reinvention, pioneered by Craig Claiborne, and followed by Patti LaBelle. When they succomb to illness caused at least partially by their diets, they start changing to ‘health’ foods, so their books will get the best of both worlds.

Little Al on January 18, 2012 at 2:34 pm

Paula Deen wasn’t really on my radar until she commented on the FLOTUS’ eating at her show taping. After that, I became kind of sympathetic toward her. This is a national IQ test (Debbie’s term!) and a schadenfreude-fest! Still, it wasn’t too smart (on Deen’s part) to endorse a diabetes drug — I think she is hurting her brand.

mominminnesota on January 18, 2012 at 4:41 pm

I’m from Memphis originally & can safely say that Paula Deen reminds me of many “ole Southern ladies” who could cook their BUTTS off. And the attack on her by one of my favorite culinary minds, Anthony Bourdain, just makes me shake my head. After all, he’s one of the people to be a proponent of fatty & unhealthy foods, albeit in moderation.

I spent 8 years in high end kitchens & learned alot of different styles of cooking. And while I like Italian/Mediterranean cooking & food a whole crapload, there’s no substitute for some nice Southern cooking. My Dad, nor his family, never kept Kosher, so we ate it all when I was growing up. And just typing about pulled BBQ pork shoulder or Memphis style dry rubbed ribs drives me nuts & makes me homesick. Bacon grease fried catfish with hushpuppies, biscuits & sausage gravy, fried okra (the ONLY way I’ll eat it besides in gumbo), chicken & dumplings, cornbread, shrimp & grits, fried chicken… The list is endless.

And while all this stuff sure as hell ain’t healthy for you to eat every day, it can be done, as Ms. Debbie said, by MODERATION & EXERCISE.

Geez, now I’m stuck on chicken & dumplings, don’t have the 9 hours (exaggeration) to make it & am stuck up here in Pittsburgh with nary a decent Southern/soul food restaurant in the damned town.

Con Chef (NB) on January 18, 2012 at 7:40 pm

Years ago it used to be socially acceptable to put down people of other races to make yourself feel better. Now that that behavior is obviously unacceptable, people now see it acceptable to put down overweight people.

This Paula Deen story shows it. Look at the losers cackling in glee at someone having a horrible disease that will cut her life short and may end up killing her. What kind of a person does that and rejoices at someone else’s misfortune ?? The quasi-religious BS of the vegans ticks me off. Their lifestyle is extremely unhealthy—yet they act like what they eat makes them better than others.

Personally I want the government no where near telling people what they can or cannot eat. However I would really like to see more nutrition education taught in schools and since the government already subsidizes food, I’d like to see healthier food subsidized. Anyone who says “healthy food is cheaper than junk” is a moron. Go to the grocery store and compare the prices on fresh produce and lean meat versus processed junk. The reason so many poor people are fat is that they eat processed carbs because that is what they can afford. I think that if people were educated and healthy food was cheaper, obesity levels in this country would plummet.

jimmyPx on January 19, 2012 at 9:46 am

I would suggest to anyone who has an open mind about nutrition and diet the he or she should go to this website – http://www.fathead-movie.com. Recently, a Canadian study found that obese and overweight people had lower rates of heart disease than skinny people. I remember when butter, cheese, and eggs were bad for you but now they’re okay. The protein/saturated fat-is-bad-for-you mantra is based on fraudulent science and conclusions, as were the scientific “studies” about DDT, second-hand smoke, and global warming.

Concerned Citizen on January 19, 2012 at 1:00 pm

Well, that was a good spite and fire article Debbie.

In spite of kosher, don’t you feel in the least bit tempted by some of Deens luxury recipes/ chocolates etc.,? Not just a teeny bit, – tempted somehow, go on, you know it will taste good, -‘go on, go on, go on, will you have a cup of tea’-. http://youtu.be/Whbc5YJz7OU

Concerned Epicurean on January 20, 2012 at 2:26 pm

I’m not fat, I don’t any of Paula Deen’s nasty food and I don’t blame her for fat kids. But I have no sympathy for her fat ass for getting diseases that comes from a nasty, unhealthy lifestyle. And she is a nasty witch who has made negative comments about other people’s lifestyles so if they are getting the last laugh good for them. She brought this on herself. The disease and negativity.

Sounds like you are just as ugly as her.

GiveMeAFckinBreak on January 22, 2012 at 3:01 am

Leftist food critic Anthony Bourdain started the Anti-Paula Deen bandwagon. Here’s a guy that wants more laws banning “unhealthy” food & rails against Deen’s association with “Evil Corporations”. He does this while consuming all things pork, smoking, drinking, and bragging about his drug use. It seems that Hypocrisy is alive and well in the U.S.

Vincenzo on January 26, 2012 at 10:14 am