Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / May 16, 1981, edition 1 / Page 31
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food is much harder to digest. When people come to me with digestive pro blems it is relatively easy for me to find out the source of the problem. Most of the time if I go back for two days I can find the problem. It is usually due to eating a high degree of fried andor broiled foods. National Scene: I didn't know that broiling was so bad for you? Dr. Chissell: Broiling is only frying from the top. With broiling the heat comes down from the top and in frying it comes up, from the bottom. The temperature level is what does the damage. It destroys nutrients. Dr. Roger Williams, a biochemist, pointed out something to me that I hadn't thought about. When biochemical analysis is done to find out the nutritional value of foods it is done on raw foods. Once the food is cooked the reagents don't react. National Scene: People have eaten raw foods in many cultures for many years so this approach is not really new. Dr. Chissell: Yes, that's true. Actually the Optimal Health diet can be found in any religious teaching like the Koran, the Bible. . .the Torah. They all have references to fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains and raw foods. stress in itself is not bad. It is only when you become distressed that is harmful." National Scene: So, what you are saying is that Optimal Health has a long historical background? Dr. Chissell: Anthropologists tell us that the first creatures who stood up and walked like humans lived four and a half million years ago. We also know that recorded history goes back to about 5,000 B.C. However, there is a lot of time between four and a half million years and 5,000 B.C. During that time the Creator apparently gave those human beings the knowledge of the natural laws of the universe and what to do to survive and how to avoid premature death. It seems that this knowledge was passed down with tradition until people began to write things down so that those of us who are intellectual could read and be told what to do. So, the intuitive things that we have in knowing how to listen to our own bodies and understanding that good health is a state of mind go back four and a half million years. The first things that we (doctors) have taught in terms of recorded medicine go back a maximum of 5,000 years. So a person has a big advantage with intuitive knowledge of health. But we have created such a vast reservoir of disease that nobody who is practicing any form of health care need worry as long as they are makinR people feel better. National Scene: Why is there such a reservoir of disease in spite of all the technology that is supposed to eradicate it? Dr. Chissell: Because western scientific methods focus on process, going to the smallest possible cause like the germ theory of disease that Pasteur devised. During this same time another doctor said that the organism was the thing. Finally, on his deathbed Pasteur admit ted that it is the total being who is im portant rather than just germs. What we have done with our technological ad vancement is to compartmentalize peo ple. Medicine today is highly special ized. . . .eyes, ears, nose, throat, etc. We just focus right in and divide people in to parts. . .but there is a whole. The thing that we have gotten away from is the fact that the Creator gives us at birth the custody of a life force. This is the one primary thing that we have in com mon with anything else. To me, that life force is the manifestation of God. When we got away from that and opted not to accept anything as valid unless it could be proven by very rigid scientific methods we lost sight of what we have to do to maintain a state of balance or wholeness. We have created our own stresses. We have to get back to the con cept that we all have physical, mental and spiritual components that are all one human unit. There are some medical advancements in the West that have sav ed many lives, but we have balanced it out by allowing premature death. National Scene:Why is it that some peo ple seem to work better under stress? Dr. Chissell: First, you have to under stand that stress in itself is not bad. It is only when you become distressed that is harmful. This has to do with your perception level. What might be stress for me might be pleasure for you. Of course, if you don't have any stress at all your dead. In order for you to move toward your potential there has to be some form of discontent in your life. Whether or not it creates distress depends on how you react to it. If you are not moving toward physical, mental and spiritual potential by doing what you do everyday, then you need to con sider that perhaps there is some reac tion on your part to this situation which may not be healthy. Your next step would be to identify the problem and find some way of balancing it out. If you don't take time to do this for yourself, then you must take somebody else's time to show you how to do it for yourself. National Scene: Are there other doctors that you know of who are practicing the same type of health philosophy as yourself? Dr. Chissell: At this point I don't know many, but I am finding more as I am ex posed more. A doctor at a medical con ference in New Orleans gave a talk on the "natural" control of hypertension. 7 A medical student from Ohio told me that his class had demanded a course in Optimal Health. They termed it "wholistic" medicine. Actually, Family Practicioners have always operated with the concept of "wholistic" medicine because we have always treated the entire individual as well as his family. So the concept of wholistic health isn't new at all. The concept of Optimal health is not as widely known, which is getting the individual to move toward his or her best potential as a per son. National Scene: What is optimal health's strongest concept? Dr. Chissell: It is basically understand ing the natural laws of the universe and balancing them so that one may move in the direction of your true potential. The key is belief. If you believe in con ventional medicine it may work for you. Whether you believe in non conventional medicine, God, allah or whatever, we all have a belief system. A person who doesn't believe in anything is in trouble, because eventually the system will grind that person down. People often say "You can't beat the system". Well, you certainly can't beat the system if your ultimate belief is the system. If you believe that there is something that is above the system then you will understand how people beat the system all of the time. National Scene: How do you view the future of Optimal Health? What would you like to see done in this area? Dr. Chissell: I would like to see a center for Optimal Health. A physical facility to teach people about the concept. I would like to see the teaching begin with pregnant mothers and kindergar ten children so that as soon as they are aware that they are beings they can also become aware of what they need to know to develop to their potential. My dream is to see this happen first in the Baltimore area. Once we prove that people can really take charge of their health, these centers could spread to the rest of the country. National Scene: How has your concept of medical practice cost you Financial ly? Dr. Chissell: Of course the highest paid doctors are those who operate. The Fi nancial sacrifices are there, but the more that I get into Optimal Health the less important I find this to be. Your most valuable asset is your health. Con sequently, I am wealthier today than ten years ago. My practice has been satisfying and I have all of the things that I need. I make constant ad justments for the things that I want. I think that is one of the keys to balanc ing our stress. If you are tuned in to the Creator's master plan you will have what you need. The adjustment comes with what you may want at any given point in time. continued on page 9
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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May 16, 1981, edition 1
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