Paul Bragg

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Paul C. Bragg

Born: 2/6/1895, Batesville, IND.

Died: December 7, 1976, South Shore Hospital, Miami, FL

(Heart Attack)

Paul Chappius Bragg was born on February 6, 1895 in Batesville, Ind. to Robert Elton Bragg & Caroline Chappius Bragg.

Paul Bragg's paternal grandparents, James H. & Amanda Bragg, can be traced back into Indiana history at least through 1840, while his maternal grandparents, John and Margaret Chappius,were much later arrivals to Indiana, having been born in Switzerland & Ohio, respectively. James H. Bragg's occupation was a "miller", while John Chappius was a "stonecutter".

A few years after Paul Bragg's birth, he, his older brother, James Elton Bragg (born Indianapolis, Ind, in 1893) & his parents left Indiana & moved to Washington. D.C. where his father procured a civil service job as a "Compositor" with the G.P.O. (Government Printing Office) in that city. A third son, John H. Bragg, was born in Washington.D.Con April 8, 1899.

The decadial U.S. Census Reports for the years 1900 (with Paul at "age 5") 1910 (with Paul at "age 15") & 1920 (by this time, their three sons had left home)show the Robert Elton Bragg Family first residing in apartment houses at 1102 Capitol Street & then at #6 Quincey Place, Washington, D.C.

After high school, Paul C. Bragg joined the Washington, D,C, National Guard for a 3-year enlistment, where his rank was a "private".

When Paul was age 20, he married an Indiana-born girl by the name of Neva Parnin, & they moved back to Indiana where they resided at 2435 N. New Jersey Street, Indianapolis & Paul Bragg became an "insurance agent" with The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in that city.

On June 5. 1917, Paul C. Bragg completed a WWI Draft Registration Card with the Indianapolis Draft Board (Register Report 13-3-12-A) where he gave his age as "22", his date of birth as February 6, 1895 & his place of birth as Batesville, Ind.

The 1920 U.S. Census found that Paul C. Bragg had again changed locations & careers as Paul, Neva & their two young daughters, Lorraine (age 2 & 1/2) & Neva Polly (age 4 months) were now living at #409 East Second Street in Frederick, Maryland, & Paul gave his "occupation" as "Director, Y.M.C.A." in his census interview.

By 1922, The Paul C. Bragg Family had again moved, this time to California, where a third Bragg child, Robert Elton Bragg, was born in Los Angeles County in that year.

By the time the 1930 U.S. Census took place (which is the last census currently of public record until the 1940 one bcomes available in 2012), Paul & Neva Bragg had divorced, & Neva & her new husband, August Busch, were living with the three Bragg children in Los Angeles, CA. There is no record of Paul C. Bragg being counted in the 1930 Census.

nutritionist, was a pioneer in America’s health reform movement.^[1]

The December 18, 1972 edition of TIME magazine cover story entitled "The Perils of Eating, American Style" identified Paul Bragg as being 91 years old in 1972. The opening two sentences of this article are: "Paul Bragg, 91, claims that his lifeguard's physique was the result of two hours of daily exercise at Honolulu's Waikiki Beach and his special diet. He eats natural foods-fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, but little meat and no salt; he plans to live to 120." The entire text of the article is available for free at the TIME magazine web archive.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945185,00.html

"Modern Day Philosopher" John Demartini writes, on his websites, that he met the then-93 year old Paul Bragg in Hawaii in 1972. http://www.john-demartini.com/dr-john-demartini.php and http://www.drdemartini.com/pages/personal.html

An article in the Halifax, Canada Chronicle-Herald dated February 27, 2007, says that Demartini "picked up the ancient philosophy from the then-93-year-old "wise man" Paul Bragg while he was living in Hawaii in 1972, surfing there and finding makeshift places to stay after leaving his home in Texas.... Bragg's theories and guidance set him on a path of education and inspiration, says Demartini."

http://www.herald.ns.ca/Living/561500.html

There has been some dispute about Paul Bragg's year of birth, with some claiming it to be 1895. However, the aforementioned articles clearly point to 1881 as being Paul's year of birth, as well by email received upon enquiry from the Bragg website.^[2]

In his book "Conscious Eating" (North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, 2000), ISBN-10: 1556432852, Gabriel Cousens, M.D. writes, at page 560: "Dr. Paul Bragg was one of the original American pioneers of raw foods and natural living in accordance with the laws of nature. His work has reached millions of people in this country. Until he passed away in an unfortunate swimming accident at age 96, Bragg was in vigorous health in large part because of his 80% raw food, 'fresh is best' diet and regular fasting as a way of life."

Dr. Cousens writes: "The late Paul Bragg, a great advocate of healthy natural living and vegetarianism, used to go to the meat market before certain press conferences and get a freshly killed chicken. He was a master at dramatically and cleverly confronting people with the reality of eating dead flesh. He would bring the dead chicken to the conference, and as he held it up in front of the reporters he would describe the horrible living condictions of the chicken or he would describe how it was filled with antibiotics, arsenic, and a variety of other dangerous substances, e.g., often being infected with salmonella, tuberculosis, or cancer. Then, he would point out that if humans were naturally carnivorous, we would act like carnivorous animals and eat the chicken by biting into it raw. And if we were truly carnivorous, we would bite into the guts as carnivorous animals do to their prey. Then he would swing the chicken around his head, throw it into the crowd, and laugh as the people ascattered. It was not surprising that no one would pick up this free chicken." (Conscious Eating, at page 307)

Elsewhere, Dr. Cousens writes: "According to American health teacher and author of 'The Miracle of Fasting', Paul Bragg, who was a great tower of natural, healthy living in the world: 'The greatest discovery by modern man is the power to rejuvenate himself physically, mentally and spiritually with ratio nal fasting.'" (Conscious Eating, at page 231)

Dr. Cousens describes "fasting" as a form of "youthing": "...fasting works by rapidly removing dead and dying cells and toxins. But fasting also stimulates the building of new cells. Aging occurs when we have more cells die than are being built. 'Youthing' happens when more new cells are produced than are dying. After fasting, the experience of 'youthing' abounds. Senses get sharper, food tastes better, there is more energy, meditation is easier, and the communion with the Divine is enhanced. Paul Bragg describes it several ways: 'Fasting clears away the little things which clutter the heart and mind. It cuts through the corrosion, renewing our contact with God. When you fast you are working with nature. God and nature will not perfom a miracle until we are willing to bring our lives and our habits into conformity with nature's laws." (Conscious Eating, at page 234)

Paul Bragg was echoing the ancient words of the Greek physician Athenaeus, who said:

"Fasting cures diseases, dries up bodily humors, puts demons to flight, gets rid of impure thoughts, makes the mind clear, the heart purer, and the body sanctified, and raises man to the throne of God." (quoted in Conscious Eating, at page 235)

Rumi (1207-1273), the enlightened Sufi poet and mystic wrote:

"There's hidden sweetness in the stomach's emptiness. We are lutes, no more, no less. If the soundbox is stuffed full of anything, no music. if the brain and the belly are burning clean with fasting, every moment a new song comes out of the fire. The fog clears, and new energy makes you run up the steps in front of you. "Be emptier and cry like reed instruments cry. Emptier, write secrets with the reed pen. When you're full of food and drink, an ugly metal statue sits where your spirit should. When you fast good habits gather like friends who want to help. "Fasting is Solomon's ring. Don't give it to some illusion and lose your power, but even if you have, if you've lost all will and control, they come back when you fast, like soldiers appearing out of the ground, pennants flying about them. A table descends to your tents, Jesus' table. Expect to see it, when you fast, this table spread with other food better than the broth of cabbages." (Rumi, in 'Open Secret')"

Jack LaLanne, described at "jacklalanne.com" as "The King of Fitness" attributes the turnround in his life to a meeting with Paul Bragg.

"Jack La Lanne is America's Number 1 Physical Fitness Expert and Guru, and is often called the "Godfather of Fitness". Jack admits it was not always this way. 'As a kid,' he flatly states, 'I was a sugarholic and a junk food junkie! It made me weak and it made me mean. It made me so sick I had boils, pimples and suffered from nearsightedness. Little girls used to beat me up. My mom prayed… the church prayed.' It was at the age of 15 [1929] when he heard pioneer nutritionist Paul Bragg speak at the Oakland City Women's Club in the San Francisco Bay Area that Jack finally realized he was addicted to sugar. Bragg promised Jack if he would exercise and eat a proper diet he could regain good health. Jack listened attentively and was fiercely determined to walk away from that lecture ready to build a totally new Jack La Lanne. " (at http://www.jacklalanne.com/biograph.html)

Bragg advocated using deep breathing, water fasts, organic foods, drinking distilled water, juicing, exercise and listening to one's body as methods of prolonging life span. He believed that every human can live to 120 by living a healthy life.

His daughter, Patricia Bragg, had since taken over the Bragg's health empire.

Some of Bragg's achievements:

Bragg Health Crusades presented Health Lectures across America. Bragg was one of the first to introduce pineapple juice and tomato juice to America. He introduced Juice Therapy in America by importing the first hand-juicers. He was the first to introduce and distribute honey and date sugar nationwide. Bragg pioneered Radio Health Programs from Hollywood three times daily in the 20s. Bragg and daughter Patricia Bragg pioneered a Health TV show from Hollywood to spread The Bragg Health Crusade on their show, Health and Happiness. It included exercises, health recipes, visual demonstrations and guest appearances by famous, health-minded people. Bragg opened one of the first health restaurants. He marketed many different health foods and products nationwide: herbal teas, health beverages, vitamin drinks, seven-grain cereals and crackers, health cosmetics, health candies, calcium, vitamins and mineral supplements, wheat germ, digestive enzymes from papaya, herbs and kelp seasonings, and amino acids from soybeans. Crippled by tuberculosis as a teenager, Bragg developed his own eating, breathing and exercising program to rebuild his body. He excelled in running, swimming, biking, progressive weight training and mountain climbing. He made an early pledge to God, in return for his renewed health, to spend the rest of his life showing others the road to super health.

Bragg was the inspiration and personal health and fitness advisor to top Olympic stars from 4-time swimming Gold Medalist Murray Rose to 3-time track Gold Medalist Betty Cuthbert of Australia, his relative (pole-vaulting Gold Medalist), Don Bragg and countless others. Jack LaLanne, th e original TV Fitness King said, “Bragg saved my life at age 15 when I attended the Bragg Crusade in Oakland, California.”^[3] Paul Bragg also wrote many successful books, such as "The Miracle of Fasting".

Bragg died at The South Shore Hospital, Miami Beach,FL on 12/7/1976. According to his obituary in The Miami Herald of Friday, Dec. 10. 1976, "He was stricken at The Crest View Apartments, rushed by rescue squad to the hospital, where he died a short time later". ( Also Ref. State of Florida Death Certificate File No. 76-0846ll, Registrar's No. 15075).

[edit] References

[edit] Links

• Bragg.com, Paul and Patricia Bragg's website