WASHINGTON (AP) – Actress and singer Della Reese was raised to believe that “chicken is made to fry.”
But a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes about four years ago has forced her to change her ways – and her diet.
Instead of frying her food, she’s using a lot of spices for flavor, she said Tuesday at a conference to raise awareness among women with diabetes.
“God has given us this good life, and we’ve just pigged out on it,” she said.
Since her diagnosis, Reese said she’s exercising more, including spending about 30 minutes a day on a stationary bike.
Before being diagnosed, Reese said she rarely exercised.
“I would drive my car up to your porch,” she said.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common, and typically affects adults with a family history of diabetes, but younger people who are obese may be stricken as well.
The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline is sponsoring Reese’s “Stronger than Diabetes” campaign to raise awareness. Reese said she takes the company’s diabetes drug Avandia.
“I decided I would be stronger than diabetes,” she declared.
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