When Bill Weir, an assignment reporter for Nightline was asked to do a story on Dr. David Agus, a California oncology doctor with a new book and an innovative approach to health, he readily agreed.  He consented to numerous tests and agreed to share his results with America.

But this self-confessed fitness nut was not prepared for what the doctor found.

On a routine MRI, Dr. Agus found heart calcifications that indicated that a heart attack could be imminent for the 44 year old Weir.  It shook Weir to the core.

Said Weir, “I’ve survived 44 years with the willfully ignorant attitude that doctors are for sick people, and I never get sick.”

The good doctor’s prescription to treat Weir’s illness?  Diet and lifestyle changes including more cold water fish, reducing stress, more fruit and veggies, cutting back on fats and alcohol.

A lifesaving MRI and a prescription for common sense.  Did Weir really need an MRI to tell him that a diet heavy on fat and alcohol and a stressful life and career could potentially kill him?  Perhaps.  I think we all understand these things in a sense but it can take a brush with death to actualize them in our lives.

Watch the video here and watch more on tonight’s Nightline.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/this-could-be-big-abc-news/ultimate-example-preventive-medicine-232140727.html

After revealing on the Today Show that she has lived with Type 2 diabetes for the past three years, Food Network host and guru of Southern cooking, Paula Deen has come under fire for not revealing her condition sooner and for continuing to cook foods that are downright frightening in fat, calories and sugar.  (Have you heard of Gorilla Bread?)

Her revelation has led some to ask, “Did her diet lead to her Type 2 diabetes?”  Its a good and fair question and it seems the answer is both “yes” and “no.”  There is no single food or even a group of foods or a style of cooking that will lead to Type 2 diabetes.  But risk factors for Type 2 diabetes include obesity which is directly linked to an unhealthy diet.

This isn’t the first time Deen has been criticized for her love of butter or her calorie-rich concoctions.  Caving into similar pressure years ago lead her to invite her sons on to her famous cooking show to demonstrate leaner, healthier versions of her recipes.

Deen has incredible star power and could use this as an opportunity to begin the conversation with her fans about ways to cook nutritious foods and how a healthy diet can lead to weight loss and help eliminate Type 2 diabetes.

What do you think?