Pull off the San Bernardino freeway east of Los Angeles and you’ll encounter a community of Adventists teaching us new lessons about the power of faith, friendship and fruit.
America’s only original blue zones region is home to one of the highest concentrations of Seventh-day Adventists in the world. Their faith mandates a healthy lifestyle and acts of service to the church and community, which contributes to their longevity. Adventists in the U.S. live as much as a decade longer than the rest of the country, with much of their longevity attributed to a plant-based diet, regular exercise, and community.
The Biopsychosocial religion and health study looked at 20,000 Adventists and found that it was their connection the church that inspired both their healthy habits and their emotional wellness.
“Those that were religiously engaged had a healthier diet, did more exercise and had more emotional wellness and less depression,” said study co-author Kelly Morton, a professor of medicine and psychology at Loma Linda University. “And they did live longer.”
You can live like these American longevity all-stars. Here are ten practices Adventists in Loma Linda follow to live measurably longer.
Find a sanctuary in time.
A weekly break from the rigors of daily life, the 24-hour Sabbath provides a time to focus on family, God, camaraderie, and nature. Adventists claim this relieves their stress, strengthens social networks, and provides consistent exercise.
Maintain a healthy body mass index (BMI).
Adventists with healthy BMI’s (meaning they have an appropriate weight for their heights) who keep active and eat meat sparingly, if at all, have lower blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol, and less cardiovascular disease than heavier Americans with higher BMIs.
Get regular, moderate exercise.
The Adventist Health Survey (AHS) shows that you don’t need to be a marathoner to maximize your life expectancy. Getting
regular, low-intensity exercise like daily walks appear to help reduce your chance of having heart disease and certain cancers.
Spend time with like-minded friends.
Adventists tend to spend time with lots of other Adventists. They find well-being by sharing each other’s values and supporting each other’s habits.
Snack on nuts.
Adventists who consume
nuts at least five times a week have about half the risk of heart disease and live about two years longer than those who don’t. At least four major studies have confirmed that eating nuts has an impact on health and life expectancy.
Give something back.
Like many faiths, the Seventh-day Adventist Church encourages and provides opportunities for its members to volunteer. People like centenarian Marge Jetton stay active, find sense of purpose, and stave off depression by focusing on helping others.
Eat meat in moderation.
Many Adventists follow a vegetarian diet. The AHS shows that consuming fruits and vegetables and whole grains seems to be protective against a wide variety of cancers. For those who prefer to eat some meat, Adventist recommend small portions served as a side dish rather than as the main meal.
Eat an early, light dinner.
“Eat
breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper,” American nutritionist Adelle Davis is said to have recommended –an attitude also reflected in Adventist practices. A light dinner early in the evening avoids flooding the body with calories during the inactive parts of the day. It seems to promote better sleep and a lower BMI.
Put more plants in your diet.
In support of a biblical diet of grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables, Adventists cite Genesis 1:29: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” The Adventists encourage a “well-balanced diet” including nuts, fruits, and legumes, low in sugar, salt, and refined grains. Studies have shown nonsmoking Adventists who ate 2 or more servings of fruit per day had about 70 percent fewer lung cancers than nonsmokers who ate fruit once or twice a week. Adventists who ate legumes such as peas and beans 3 times a week had a 30 to 40 percent reduction in colon cancer.
Adventists women who consumed tomatoes at least 3 or 4 times a week reduced their chance of getting ovarian cancer by 70 percent over those who ate tomatoes less often. Eating a lot of tomatoes also seemed to have an effect on reducing prostate cancer for men. A new study has found that adherents to this way of life have the nation’s lowest rates of heart disease and diabetes and very low rates of obesity.
Drink plenty of water.
The AHS suggests that men who drank 5 or 6 daily glasses of water had a substantial reduction in the risk of a fatal heart attack –60 to 70 percent–compared to those who drank considerably less.
SOURCES:
Lee, J., Morton, K., Walters, J., Bellinger, D., Butler, T., & Wilson, C. et al. (2008). Cohort Profile: The biopsychosocial religion and health study (BRHS). International Journal Of Epidemiology, 38(6), 1470-1478. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyn244