Shocked and appalled. The flames continue to be fueled as outrage grows among the public and the medical community – Paula Deen endorsing diabetic medication – really!? (This story has resurfaced thanks to recent allegations of sexual harassment against her and her brother.)

Sharing in my outrage, The Doctors  expressed their incredulous disdain. Dr. Lisa Masterson said, “Paula Deen, you’re an amazing cook, [but] you should not be hawking medicines.”

I could not agree more. Eighty-five percent of type 2 diabetes cases are due to lifestyle choices – and it is easy to see what choices Paula Deen has made that contributed to her diagnosis. This woman has built her empire on rich fatty foods and gooey, sugary sweets – not light fare and physical activity. Her endorsement of diabetic medication is sending the message that landed America in the chronically ill and overweight state that it is currently in – treatment rather than prevention. And if these trends continue, 30 percent of the U.S. population will be diagnosed with diabetes by 2050.

Quite frankly, she is not a doctor, she is a chef.  Her job has never consisted of promoting the prevention of diabetes or health of any kind – it has been quite the opposite of that. Instead of changing her lifestyle, she may continue to eat, drink and be sedentary while gulping down pills. She propagates the idea that healthy lifestyle changes are not necessary thanks to modern medicine. If she uses her power position to endorse a healthy lifestyle with the hope of getting off medication – now that is a message I could get on board with, but the drug companies certainly don’t hope for that.