Warning: TV chefs can be hazardous to your health

Would you like an order of lies with your meal?

Our national conversation about food is frequently seasoned with ripened half-truths, hidden agendas and dissembling, all in the pursuit of money.

The most notable case in point these days is Paula Deen, who for three years after her own diabetes diagnosis continued advocating a cooking style associated with a greater risk of diabetes and other chronic, degenerative diseases.

That Deen continued to promote a diet that was outrageous in its potential to undermine health - despite her own health problems - is not unusual by today's standards, and that's the problem.

It's a good time to pause and consider the situation.

People admire and emulate celebrities - their wardrobes, home decor and diets. What's less apparent, though, is that it's often the attention and potential for income that drive some of these stars, even if what they are promoting may be harmful to your health.

In fact, it's perverse but true that many individuals and businesses make a lot of money from obese, sick people.

It's unethical to withhold or lie about information that may affect the public's health.

What I find the most shocking of all, though, is not that Deen has diabetes. It's that, in our culture, lying, misleading or withholding information from the public about diet and health information is so readily tolerated and excused.

That Deen waited to disclose her disease until after she'd secured a lucrative endorsement deal with Novo Nordisk, a company that makes diabetes medication, is a form of dishonesty.

The behavior is standard practice in food marketing.

It's easy to come up with examples:

Chocolate is good for you.

No, it's not. The chocolate you and I buy at the store contributes nutritionally empty calories and does not support health in any way.

Dairy products help you lose weight or are needed to build strong bones and teeth.

They don't and they aren't, but they are one of the biggest contributors of artery-clogging fat in the American diet.

Food companies scratch and claw to keep from having to tell us more about what's in their products. The food industry resisted for decades disclosure of the trans fat content of packaged foods and fought to weaken the national organic standards.

The list goes on.

Stop watching television shows in which the chef adds a pound of bacon to a quiche when scientifically backed recommendations advise you to eat no bacon at all.

Be advised: The food marketing machine is not going to look out for you. You need to protect yourself and be wise to the environment you're in.

Folks like Paula Deen are not in it for your health.