PAULA DEEN AND DIABETES

FROM AZCENTRAL.COM

Food Network star Paula Deen, announcing that she will be a paid spokeswoman for a diabetes-drug manufacturer, revealed this week that she has had type 2 diabetes for three years.

Her news unleashed a question, frequently expressed in the days since: Can people hoping to control the disease eat the deep-fried cheesecake, the egg-bacon-cheeseburger in a doughnut and the other high-sugar, high-fat foods that the Queen of Southern cuisine is known for?

Only within well-defined limits, says physician Atul Lalani, medical director of endocrinology services at Scottsdale Healthcare.

“We say a healthy diet is good for everyone, and it’s a must for the diabetic,” he says.

There is a genetic predisposition for type 2 diabetes, in which the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or cells ignore insulin. But poor diet and lack of exercise can play major roles in the development of the condition.

“Gone are those good old days when Grandmother said, ‘You’ve gained some weight and you look good’,” Lalani says. “Today, 8 to 10 percent of adults have diabetes and another 8 to 10 percent are pre-diabetic. We can do something about it.”

People with pre-diabetes have higher-than-normal blood-glucose levels, which recent research suggests can be damaging even before reaching the levels of a diabetes diagnosis, the American Diabetes Association says. To fend off or manage diabetes, Lalani advises a well-balanced diet, weight loss as needed and regular activity.

That’s not to say, though, that people fighting diabetes must give up everything that brings them pleasure. For a special occasion, it’s OK to have a dessert or other treat, Lalani says.

But indulge by design. Exchange the splurge food for something else that day.

“A lot of people consider that becoming diabetic is the end of the world, and that’s just not the case,” Lalani says. “Occasionally, we can make changes and do the things that make life interesting.”

“Or maybe we need to change the definition of what makes us happy.”