Hi everyone this is Monica Reinagel the nutrition diva here with your quick and dirty

tips for eating well and feeling fabulous as I'm sure you've heard by now, Paula Dean, the Queen of Decident

Southern-style cooking, announced this week that she suffers from Type 2 diabetes. When the news of Pauladine's type 2 diabetes diagnosis first broke, I was hopeful that it might

provide a teachable moment for the millions of fans who cherish Paula and relish her over-the-top brand of culinary

naughtiness.

I mean this is the woman who thought up the lady's brunch burger in which you top a burger

with a bacon and a fried egg and then

sandwich it between two glazed donuts. While I have nothing against an

occasional indulgence, a steady diet of the kind of calorie-laden food

poly glorifies on her popular TV show leads to some very predictable

consequences such as Paula

Paula herself now knows firsthand, type 2 diabetes.

Now I realize Dean is first and foremost an entertainer.

As she herself, as Tartley pointed out, it is not her job to be America's nutritionist.

That's my job.

Nonetheless, her diagnosis could have been an opportunity for Paula to lead her fans to a more balanced perspective on food.

Instead of glorifying excess for its own sake, Dean could have shown how in the context of a healthy diet and lifestyle

even the most decadent dish can be enjoyed in moderation, of course.

Instead, Paula seems to be sending a very different message,

one that I find quite disturbing.

It turns out that her diagnosis dates back to 2008,

but was kept under wraps,

...