Paula Deen expected to reveal she has Type 2 diabetes Paula Deen promotes the new book "Paula's Southern Cooking Bible" on Oct. 12, 2011, in Ridgewood, N.J. (CBS) All of the high-calorie, butter-intensive, fatty foods Paula Deen has whipped up over the years may have finally caught up with her. The 64-year-old chef is expected to announce not only that she has Type 2 diabetes, but also that she inked a multimillion-dollar deal to become the new face of a Novartis drug used to help treat the disease, reports The Daily. Last spring, the National Enquirer reported that Deen had been diagnosed with the diabetes often linked to obesity. Now a source tells The Daily, "She's going to have to start cooking healthier recipes. She can't keep pushing mac and cheese and deep-fried Twinkies when she is hawking a diabetes drug. Insiders say the Georgia native has started changing her cooking approach and will soon make healthier options available at her Savannah, Ga., restaurant, The Lady & Sons. Her son, Bobby Deen, has already jumped on the healthier food bandwagon. Earlier this month, he launched the series, "Not My Mama's Meals," on the Cooking Channel, where he creates less fatty versions of his mother's old-fashioned Southern recipes.