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Feature Story
Make Your Lifestyle Something to BRAGG About!
by Patricia Bragg, N.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Patricia Bragg lectures in cities around the world spreading the message of health and wellness through The Bragg Health Crusades. She believes that humans can live to 120 years old and she says, “not on support cocktails of drugs and hip replacements, but with super energy and total health.”
“You are what you eat, drink, breathe, think, say, and do,” says Dr. Bragg, as she recently returned from a five-month Health Crusade to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia. She has the youthful skin, suppleness, vitality and an agelessness that confirms her message, “your life will be transformed if you are a good health steward.”
The Bragg Health Crusades
My father, Paul C. Bragg, is known as the father of the Health Movement in America. He was the originator of health food stores worldwide, and he started The Bragg Health Crusades over 85 years ago. I now carry on the Bragg legacy as a dedicated Health Crusader with a passion for helping people throughout the world find the path to super healthy living.
I remember how we set up health stores throughout the country. At the Bragg Health Crusades, my father would ask, “Who wants to open the first health food store in your city?” He would take the existing retail business of those who were interested and set up Bragg Health Foods on consignment and there was a health food store up and running in 24 hours.
We had 365 different health food products at the beginning including the first 7-grain cereal, the first herbal teas, the first vitamin/mineral supplements, the first digestive enzymes, and so on. My father did this throughout America and soon health food stores were in all major cities. GNC, Nature Food Centers, and other health stores got their start from Bragg Crusades.
Take Control of Your Health
I believe that just because a person lives to be 60, 70, 80, or 90 is no reason they should suffer from degenerative diseases, such as hardening of the arteries. We are trained to link old age with inevitable decay. But think of all the people you know who look much older or much younger than their years. The body does not respond to time, but to lifestyle. Treat it well and you can defy the old-age signs we have come to associate with aging. According to The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle, your bloodstream is renewed every three months, and every cell in the body is renewed every 11 months. If you keep the body healthy by eating a diet that continually feeds and purifies it, how can you get sick?
Because many of us are living at such a fast pace, we fall into the trap of the “suicide lifestyle” which is defined by an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise and shallow breathing. These are all slow killers. Millions of people are indeed killing themselves with their knives, forks and spoons. Homemakers can choose to prepare either health or sickness for their families. Eating a healthy diet and having a strong, healthy heart are not difficult goals when living The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle. My father and I wrote The Bragg Healthy Heart, because we believe the heart is the pump that runs your “river of life”— the blood that courses through your body every second you are alive. Remember, you have four other pumps: your two arms and your two legs and keeping those pumps in good working order is the reason exercise is important at all phases of your life.
Keep a Daily Health Journal
I believe it’s always the right time to be honest with yourself about your health. Have you had a multitude of ailments, illnesses, and/or operations? Have you used drugs, alcohol, or eaten an unhealthy diet? How long have you been living unhealthily? Remember that toxins from preservatives, chemicalized and embalmed/fast foods are buried deep within your tissues and will take time to be flushed out.
What about your vitality? Do you feel under par, with nagging aches, or are you sluggish and tired? Keep a daily journal of what you eat, your energy levels, exercise, elimination, weight, and moods. Daily journal writing will help you focus on what you are actually eating, your reactions, and will help you reaffirm your commitment to the new Bragg Healthy Lifestyle—a lifestyle followed by Hollywood stars, champion athletes and top business leaders around the world.
You Are What You Eat, Breathe, Think, Say and Do
As an example, I have guided Clint Eastwood’s healthy lifestyle for over 55 years and I have helped Madonna decide what foods are best for her children. I have helped inspire The Beach Boys to keep healthy and youthful for over 40 years and I worked with Dr. Scholl, of the footwear fame, and hotel founder, Conrad Hilton, both hale and hearty well into old age, and both living to almost 100.
And you do not have to be a Hollywood star to get your body and mind on the path to total health. Anyone can follow The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle. The Bragg philosophy is based on simplicity. Best of all, most things that are healthy and full of natural goodness are free: exercise, deep breathing, fresh air and gentle sunshine, good posture, loving thoughts, laughter and smiles.
When you launch into a health drive do not expect miracles overnight. With this system of purification you are going to stir up old toxic poisons. Almost everyone carries five to ten pounds of deeply buried toxins in their bodies. Headaches, fevers, colds, mucus or other signs will be present when toxins are being eliminated. Be patient. It took years for them to build up and they will not vanish in a flash. In a relatively short time, however, you will be amazed as you become healthier and your energy increases.
Fasting is the Greatest Remedy
Start your Bragg Healthy Lifestyle with a water fast for 24 hours. Drink 8 to 10 glasses of distilled/purified water on fasting days; in three of the glasses add 1 to 2 teaspoons of Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and a little raw honey or 100% maple syrup (if diabetic use a pinch of Stevia powder). While fasting you may also drink herbal teas and occasionally fresh juices diluted with distilled/purified water.
Fasting begins the self-cleansing of the inner body machinery. When we stop eating, our Vital Force, which is used to chew, digest and assimilate food as well as eliminate waste, is used to detoxify, purify and heal the body. Fasting is a miracle cleanser and rejuvenator. My father and I wrote the classic Bragg health book The Miracle of Fasting and it has been the #1 health book in Russia for over 30 years.
I suggest fasting one day a week. Monday is my day to fast, and I also fast for three days at the beginning of every month. Always eat something raw to break the fast such as coleslaw salad, tomatoes, fresh fruit, and re-educate your taste buds to the delicate flavors of raw foods. Diabetics should fast only with supervision.
Go Organic!
Keep all foods close to their natural state and in the least processed form. The ideal diet is made up of raw, organic fruits, salads, sprouts, veggies, brown rice, beans, legumes, raw nuts and seeds. Use natural flavorings such as garlic, onions, herbs, spices, kelp, lemon juice, and Bragg Liquid Aminos (the perfect healthy soy sauce substitute); Bragg Sprinkle Seasoning (24 Herbs & Spices); Bragg Sea Kelp Seasoning and Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. Simplify your meals and give thanks before eating. Play soft music, relax and learn to savor the natural flavors. You will enjoy peaceful, happy mealtimes and be less inclined to overeat. Breathe deeply and chew thoroughly, since your stomach has no teeth! Relax and you will need less food to satisfy your stomach when you eat healthily in a calm setting.
Buy organically grown food. Check the supermarkets, farmers’ markets or grow your own. For more information on organic veggie gardening visit your library or the Web. Even if you have only a window box, you can grow herbs, cherry tomatoes, radishes, kale, lettuce, spinach. I also favor a mixed vitamin “C” powder with acerola, rosehips and bioflavonoids that you can add to liquids. Tablets and capsules are another option. Because of my commitment to organic foods and good health, plans are underway for an organic school on my farm in Santa Barbara, California. The goal is to teach children and people of all ages not only about proper farming techniques but also about the wonderful values inherent in growing, preparing and eating organic foods. My Australian farm has been self-sustaining, off the grid and 100% solar for many years. This is but one part of the Bragg healthier lifestyle.
What’s New at BRAGG
Look for these New BRAGG Health Products on the shelves of your favorite health food store or in your supermarkets’ health food section:
Bragg Salad Dressings: Healthy Vinaigrette Dressing, Ginger and Sesame Dressing. Bragg Seasonings: Sprinkle (24 herbs & spices) and Sea Kelp Delight. Currently being taste-tested and nearly ready to market are Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Health Drinks, which include: Original ACV & Honey ACV & Apple-Cinnamon, Pomegranate-ACV-Goji Berry, and ACV & Ginger
(The aforementioned are all from Bragg’s Director of Health Science, and Nutritionist, Dr. John Westerdahl, who has created a new powerful supplement BRAGGZYME, a superior balance of natural enzymes that help promote cardiovascular health and offer defense against inflammation.)
Years of preparation and research have helped produce a new Bragg Vegetarian Health Recipe book with more than 700 vegetarian recipes, both raw and cooked. The Bragg Vegetarian Health Recipe book was introduced this March at the 5th International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition held at Loma Linda University, the premier scientific conference on the positive health effects of plant-based diets. Over 700 scientists, researchers and nutritionists from 42 different countries attended the conference where the latest scientific research was presented about the health benefits of a vegetarian diet and how such a diet can contribute to the prevention, treatment and even reversal of disease. Scientists also discussed the low impact a vegetarian diet can have on global climate change as well as the reduction of environmental pollutants and conservation of valuable natural resources.
Bragg Live Foods and Bragg Health Science are founded on the motto “live foods make live people” and both continue to excel in serving the needs of a growing health-minded world. My wish is that all people, throughout the world, are healthy and peaceful.
Join the Bragg Exercise Class in Waikiki Beach, still going strong – 6 days a week, 9 to 10:30 a.m. – at Fort DeRussy lawn. Everyone is welcome.
Patricia Bragg is a Life Extension Nutritionist, Author of 22 Self-Health Books, Dynamic Health Crusader, Lecturer, Health Educator and Fitness Advisor to world leaders, Hollywood stars and athletes.Write or call 805.968.1020 for requests and information.Visit www.bragg.com. Bragg Crusades Box 7 Santa Barbara CA 93102