Recently, celebrity chef Paula Deen announced she has type 2 diabetes.  If you aren’t familiar with her, she’s known for using one ingredient in pretty much all foods: butter.

Her strong Southern drawl and warm personality has engaged audiences for her popular cooking shows.  Her love affair with butter (and sugar, among other less-than-stellar ingredients) has certainly raised a few eyebrows though among the critics.

Now this news came out and many aren’t surprised.

This blog isn’t about Paula Deen though (aside from wishing she used her announcement to suggest she is making some lifestyle changes since that’s the biggest driver of type 2 diabetes).  It’s about heart disease.  But I bring up Paula because people with diabetes are at an even higher risk for heart disease.  In fact, two-thirds of people with diabetes die from cardiovascular disease. 

So how can you prevent or at least reduce the risk of heart disease (and diabetes, for that matter)? 

Yes, sure eating well and exercising regularly.  Let’s get specific.  And since Paula Deen and her affection towards butter was the start of the blog, let’s continue.

Butter is primarily saturated fat.  While some saturated fat is OK healthy, in fact most of the science suggests there are much better options, like canola oil, to eat more regularly.  Canola oil is 93% healthy unsaturated fat.  That’s a good thing. 

Canola oil has the least saturated fat of any edible oil.  In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration au

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