
DATE: Sunday, April 13, 1997                TAG: 9704110240

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY MARGO M. MATEAS, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:  139 lines

DOCTOR WITH A MISSION DR. SHAWNE BRYANT, A GYNECOLOGIST, HAS MANY OTHER USEFUL TALENTS, INCLUDING CARPENTRY, AROMATHERAPY, AND MASTER GARDENER. SHE PLANS TO USE THOSE TALENTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS AT HER SUFFOLK FARM.

Dr. Shawne Bryant approaches hobbies the same way an Olympic athelete approaches sports - with a vengeance. The 40-year-old Virginia Beach gynecologist is also a certified massage therapist, reflexologist, aromatherapist, a Red Cross HIV/Aids instructor, Class A general carpenter and last year received certification as a master gardener, something that will come in handy on her farm off Hosier Road in Suffolk.

Bryant says she's not an overachiever, just in a hurry. ``All my life I felt I was pushing against time,'' she says in her trademark breezy and sincere style. ``I've always been driven.''

She hopes her farm, currently stocked with a horse, chickens, geese, lambs, goats, cows and emus (``Beep-Beep'' escaped last year and captivated Suffolk with its chase) will provide more than just a respite from the rigors of a full practice in Virginia Beach and a recently-opened office in Suffolk where she sees patients on Fridays. The 47-acre farm also houses a large catfish pond. She looks forward to the day when her fertile spread of land will yield more than the organic fruits, vegetables and herbs she now grows for her patients, and will become a source of hope and dignity for others who are rebuilding their lives.

``I see a farm community operated by people from homeless shelters and other employment programs. One of the most debilitating aspects of homelessness is the loss of dignity, of being self-supporting and self-governing. I want my farm to be a community where people work and live off the land. It gives you a tremendous sense of pride to be part of a community like that,'' she smiles.

Bryant plans to erect a 10-room boarding house on her land to provide the homeless and persons afflicted with mild retardation a chance to be truly self-sufficient. She currently has three people interested in living and working on the farm, she says, and envisions a community where men and women alike learn new skills on the road to pride and self-dignity. Construction of the greenhouse and barn will likely begin as soon as the weather remains steady, she said. Last summer 20 youths from the Rites of Passage program through Faith Deliverance Christian Church in Norfolk spent the day on the farm, learning the rigors of country life, and she expects more to visit this summer.

Getting ``back to nature'' is good for the soul and ultimately good for the body, Bryant believes. However, making the decision to eat more healthy is not enough. Between pesticides, herbicides and commercial processing, the only thing left in our food is a bad taste and lots of chemicals. And the water supply is so littered with impurities that bottled water has become booming business.

``Even when we make an effort to eat healthy, the food we are consuming is already compromised. The nutritional value is not there. We start with soil that has been stripped of its essential nutrients, plant seeds and douse them with chemicals and pesticides, rip them out of the ground early so they can be shipped across country, gas them with methane so they look ripe, polish them with waxes and plop them on a supermarket shelf to be bought and consumed. It's just not a cycle that allows for the essential vitamins and minerals to be preserved,'' she said.

This destructive cycle breaks the body down, resulting in disease, she says, pointing to statistics that indicate that 80 percent of all fatal diseases are food-based, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and kidney disease.

"We have to look at our lifestyles and ask, 'What is the missing link?' What do we need to bring our bodies back in balance?'' Bryant said.

The key to healthy living is to return to the basics: eat organic fruits and vegetables, drink pure water, get exercise and relax with holistic therapies. To compensate for unhealthy way of raising and harvesting vegetables, Bryant grows organic fruits and vegetables herself. And she raises crops of herbs she sells to her patients, who are becoming more eager to try the organic crops once they realize how much better it makes them feel, she said. She points out that 60 percent of all medicines have a plant basis. But ultimately, food is not about the body, Bryant points out. It's about the soul.

``Our society is so focused on commercialism that there is little room left for soul,'' she says, her soft black eyes brimming with passion. ``And we are so weighed down with the residue of these chemicals and the stress of modern life that we lose touch with the spiritual. We really become disconnected from ourselves that way.''

Vast changes in the way medicine is dispensed add to our disconnection, she believes.

``The medical industry is not focused on the quality of care so much as the bottom line.

However, if they want to really examine the bottom line, they need to look at the fact that the American public spent $270 million in physician office visits last year. Conversely, Americans spent $430 million on visits to alternative health practitioners, without the added benefit of insurance.

``These are shocking statistics, and we need to pay attention to them. Clearly, our job as physicians is to give our patients the best medical help we can. And if we find that holistic medicines are as effective, or more effective than traditional remedies, we need to be responsive and make sure we provide those as well.''

Those most needing additional care are women, according to Bryant. ``Women are the nurturers, the healers. We're the ones that keep it all together for everyone. We'll sacrifice ourselves to save everyone else.'' She advises women to get back in balance through holistic therapies such as facial, body and foot massages and aromatherapy, the use of essential oils either on the skin or released into the air.

``Aromatherapy is very, very effective in reducing stress,'' Bryant said, adding that her favorite scents are rosemary, jasmine, and orange blossom, all strong, pungent scents that alternately serve to pick up or relax the senses.

Studies have shown that hospital patients sleep better in lavendar-scented rooms, and that workers make fewer mistakes in offices scented with peppermint. Jails painted pink and lavendar have fewer incidents of violence.

Bryant says this is all part of realizing our intrinsic spirit, of truly getting ``back to nature.''

``When we come into balance with all these elements, it's like coming home to ourselves. We really get to express who we are meant to be. And there's no greater health and happiness than being exactly who we are.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos including color cover by MICHAEL KESTNER

Dr. Shawne Bryant, checks the condition of a crop of garlic that she

is growing on her 47-acre farm in Suffolk with the help of Getty,

one of several farm residents.

Dr. Bryant examines Matea Leon, a patient at her Virginia Beach

medical office. Bryant says she hopes her farm provides more than

just a respite from the rigors of a full practice in Virginia Beach

and a recently-opened office in Suffolk.

Dr. Bryant not only has sheep on her farm in Suffolk, she also has a

large catfish pond and is raising organic fruits, vegetables and

herbs.

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