Longevity in Loma Linda California – Bing video
Where teaching to help those in need spiritually, mentally, and physically is of paramount importance. Living a decade longer than the average American is a group of Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. Much of the community’s longevity can be traced to religion, culture, and a sense of wholeness. This project examines what it means “to make a person whole” in body, mind, and spirit, while examining studies conducted at Loma Linda University School of Public Health.
Geographic locations around the world where people are living longer and healthier,
were first studied by Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and New York Times
best-selling author. He called them “blue zones.” Loma Linda is the only blue zone region identified in the United States. Mahoney looks to develop a deeper understanding of the Seventh-Day Adventist community in Loma Linda, connecting religion, community, and lifestyle to longevity.
Through the stories of Loma Linda’s Seventh-Day Adventists,
Mahoney sheds light on the “secret to longevity” and how overall wellness involves more than physical well-being. Living a decade longer than the average American is a group of 9,000 Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. Loma Linda is coined a blue zone by National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author, Dan Buettner. Blue zones consist of five places in the world where individuals are healthier and live longer.
Adapting blue zone characteristics such as regular exercise, vegetarianism, and a sense
of community, the spirituality and religiosity in Loma Linda’s Seventh-day Adventists serve as its key ingredient to longevity. Every day, Loma Linda resident and Seventh-day Adventist Ester van den Hoven, 96, walks twice for 20 minutes, a walking regime she has stuck to for years. She reads the Bible and other spiritual texts each day, while completing puzzles and socializing within her Linda Valley Villa retirement community.
Starting around 5am, Tom Sawyer, 75, hikes six to eight miles per day, sometimes
12 miles in the hills of Loma Linda. A bowl of oatmeal topped with chia seeds, hemp seeds, cranberries, bananas, and almonds that has been his go-to breakfast for as long as he can remember. His wife, Marijke Sawyer, 73, eats a handful of almonds, has her worship, and reads the Dutch and Adventist news before heading out the door to walk a mile to the Drayson Center to work out. She makes it a goal to walk a total of five miles each day,
with aerobics, stretching, balance, and weights as part of her daily routine.
Explore Loma Linda University – Bing video
Image by Maiya Mahoney. United States, 2021.
Marijke (left) and Tom Sawyer (right) celebrating the Sabbath in their backyard on Saturday, July 17, 2021, in Loma Linda, California. On the Sabbath, the Sawyers have fellowship with friends, share stories, and gather together for a healthy, vegetarian meal. “We rejoice and we celebrate on the Sabbath. From Friday sundown to Saturday Sabbath sundown, we set that time frame apart to relax as God set it apart at creation,” Marijke Sawyer said.
Exercise, a vegetarian diet, a sense of community, and religiosity are common factors within the 9,000 Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda that contribute to longevity.
Viewing the body as a “Temple of the Holy Spirit,” Adventists derive their diet from the Bible, specifically looking at Genesis 1:29: “Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” Most Adventists follow a vegetarian diet, believing this diet is optimal for their health, as well as the original diet God intended for humans to have.
“The Temple of the Holy Spirit all started in the Garden of Eden. Man was made to eat vegetables and not to kill animals. I believe if we eat healthy food like fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables, and drink plenty of water; health is optimal. Anything that we put in our body, like a stimulant, alcohol, or smoking, any of that sort, becomes so damaging,” Marijke Sawyer said. “Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and we want to honor that and respect that. That is why we choose healthy living, the diet, and exercise. The spiritual part, I would argue, is the most important. It all stems down from that.”
Spirituality is a common thread that Adventists share and an intrinsic part to their everyday lives. This relationship with God remains at the forefront of their lives as Adventists set aside each Saturday, known as the Sabbath, to worship, rest, and be
with the community. They view the Sabbath as the seventh day of the weekly cycle.
“The Sabbath is defined as a period of rest,” Cristian Iordan, a pastor at Campus Hill Church said. “It is a day focused on the relationship with God and enjoying the community of fellow believers. That’s why most Adventists during the Sabbath come to church and worship. They have fellowship with each other.”
Image by Maiya Mahoney. United States, 2021.
Pastor Cristian Iordan sits in a pew at Campus Hill Church in Loma Linda on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Iordan grew up in Romania under communism for the first 10 years of his life. “There were many times when people from the communist government and local authorities would come to our door and look for what they called contraband, which was religious literature.
The printing and distribution of any religious content was highly restricted and
monitored by the government.
In a way, that amplified and enriched my journey with God,” Iordan said. To find a sense of purpose, fueled by faith and community, Marijke Sawyer volunteers in Loma Linda and the surrounding communities. She volunteers at places such as at the Preventative Care Office School of Public Health, at the Drayson Center as a volunteer of the Senior Planning Committee, and at the Proton Center, and she participates in food drives with her husband Tom, as well as other contributions.
“Some people say, ‘Marijke, you should slow down.’ Why would I slow down?” she said. “As you retire, you have two choices,” Marijke Sawyer said. “You can either stay home
and vegetate or be a light and be productive for your community and for the people surrounding you.
I choose to be blooming where the good Lord has planted me. I enjoy every moment of it; talking and sharing with people, praying with them, offering a word of encouragement.”
Image by Maiya Mahoney. United States, 2021.
Marijke Sawyer volunteers at a food drive at the Inland Empire Filipino Seventh-day Adventist Church in Redlands, California, on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. “Every day there are different activities and different people you will meet. You will meet sorrow and you will meet joy. I just feel so blessed,” Sawyer said.
Born and raised in the Netherlands, Marijke Sawyer met her husband Tom in 1969,
who was born and raised a Seventh-day Adventist. Three years into their marriage,
she decided to become a Seventh-day Adventist, too.
“I was simply taken back by so much truth, biblical sound truth,” Marijke Sawyer said. “Also, the lifestyle. I always thought Tom had a different lifestyle than anything I had
ever experienced. Life has become more meaningful.”
Image by Maiya Mahoney. United States, 2021.
On Wednesdays, Marijke (left) and Tom Sawyer (right) deliver food
to various homes in Loma Linda. “The spiritual part plays a big role.
It has as much to do with the physical part,” Tom Sawyer said.
Similarly, for Ester van den Hoven, being a Seventh-day Adventist and
having a strong faith keep her going.
Image by Maiya Mahoney. United States, 2021.
Ester van den Hoven pulls out her Bible in her apartment at Linda Valley Villa.
A retirement community, on Monday, July 19, 2021, in Loma Linda.
Hoven was born in Germany and spent her early years living in multiple places
including Turkey, the Netherlands, and Australia. In 1962, Hoven settled in Loma Linda.
“I feel my faith has given me a lot of peace,” Hoven said. “Always be honest, trust in God, and believe in spiritual things. To some people it may sound silly, but if I wouldn’t have had that hope, I would be very much lost.” Religion gives these Seventh-day Adventists rest, peace, and purpose, a recipe for longevity.
Image by Maiya Mahoney. United States, 2021.
Ester van den Hoven sifts through her Bible on Monday, July 19, 2021, in Loma Linda. Hoven reads other spiritual literature in addition to the Bible. “I pray at night that I’ll be able to get up and do what I have to do. My purpose is to live carefully, be kind, be honest, love God, love thy neighbor as thyself,” Hoven said.
“What describes this particular community here is a rich diversity of cultures and people coming from virtually everywhere in the world,” Iordan said. “When people come together from all these different cultural backgrounds, there is a strong magnet that continues to attract here at Campus Hill Church and that is our devotion and love to God, which is first and foremost generated by that.”
Image by Maiya Mahoney. United States, 2021.
Churchgoers congregate outside of Campus Hill Church in Loma Linda on Saturday,
July 17, 2021. “In this community, the central point of coming together is celebrating
our Creator, the one who created us in his image and likeness, but also our Redeemer,
who is God? We believe God instilled in every human being the ability to choose.
When people come to worship God here, they exercise the decision to come together and to worship,” Iordan said. “Religion, as a believer, gives me peace of mind because I have the assurance of salvation,” Marijke Sawyer said. “Therefore, I can rest easy, and it gives me a reason to live.”
‘To Make Man Whole’ is the motto of Loma Linda University School of Public Health.
Image by Maiya Mahoney.
‘To Make a Person Whole’: Body, Mind, and Spirit.
What this sunny, religious town in California teaches us about living longer | CNN Researchers are uncovering the secrets to why individuals in the southern California
town of Loma Linda are living 10 years longer than the average American.
Located in San Bernadino County, Loma Linda is the sole blue zone in the United States, as defined by National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author,
Dan Buettner.
Blue zones started as a concept developed out of the demographic work by Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain in the Journal of Experimental Gerontology, which Buettner then built upon. Traditionally, blue zones are “heterogeneous populations where people are living statistically longer,” Buettner explains.
Most often, exercise and healthy eating top the list of wellness habits in blue zone communities; however, the Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda redefine healthy living by adding a new meaning. Nestled into the desert mountains of southern California sits Loma Linda, known as “Beautiful Hill.” A quiet, suburban area of families, seniors, and college students, this community, including Loma Linda University School of Public Health researchers, is striving “to make a person whole,” mind, body, and spirit, while extending this philosophy to its surrounding communities. ‘The Secret to Longevity:’ Flagler student’s deep dive into one of the world’s ‘blue zones’ – The Flagler College Gargoyle
Religious and Geographic Impact
Dr. Seth Wiafe, assistant professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, believes that religion plays a role in human longevity. believes that religion plays a role in human longevity. He notes that most who live to and beyond 100 recognize peace, God, relationships, and food as active contributors to their health, and that they are all connected because they are “born spiritual by nature.” Other researchers agree that religiosity affects overall wellness.
Buettner credits some of this work to Dr. Gary Fraser, Adventist Health Study. A Healing Tool? distinguished professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health and an investigator of the Adventist Health Study. According to Buettner, Fraser has discovered that individuals who attend religious service once a week live 4 to 14 years longer than those who do not attend regularly or at all.
“It is mostly the social and spiritual environment that contributes to Loma Linda’s longevity,” Buettner said in an interview.
“It is not as geographically defined [as other blue zones], it is more the cultural influence. The blue zone lies in their religion as opposed to a place.” Researchers and Adventists alike, such as Wiafe, are working to extend this sense of community and wholeness into other communities near or around Loma Linda.
During a 2010 National Health Summit, Wiafe raised the question, “How can we turn red zones into blue zones?”
This question has led him to Muscoy, California a town nearby and arguably a red zone, to make a difference.
As Wiafe notes, Muscoy has little to no streetlights or pavement for people to walk and exercise. In communities struggling to provide adequate living situations and proper nutrition, it can be difficult to seek longevity and adapt blue zone characteristics and
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Likewise, the Blue Zones Project strives to implement healthier environments and lifestyles throughout the United States. For example, the Blue Zones Project has spurred positive changes in beach cities in California, as well as within the states of Minnesota, Iowa, and Texas. Through the Blue Zones Power 9, the Blue Zones Project is striving to make being healthy easier by “reverse engineering longevity,” Buettner said in an interview.
The Power 9, adapted by areas of the world where people live longer, includes moving naturally, having a sense of purpose, having routines to reduce stress, eating meals in the late afternoon or early evening and not indulging the rest of the day, eating more plant-based, drinking not at all or moderately, attending faith-based services, fostering family connections, and choosing healthy social circles.
Faith-Based Diet
The majority of Adventists are vegetarian, bond through their spirituality, and come together for plant-based meals. These strong social connections encourage healthy behaviors and build a sense of community within Loma Linda, specifically. Research suggests that “Seventh-Day Adventists, in particular, live their religious beliefs through their lifestyle choices, through their healthy diets, through their exercise activities, and social and emotional connections,” Kelly R. Morton, PhD, MA | School of Behavioral Health (llu.edu) said. “Those social connections actually support those choices.”
Furthermore, Dr. Hildemar Dos Santos, associate professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, has always practiced the Seventh-day Adventist faith despite growing up in Brazil, a traditionally meat-based culture. “Eating meat was so into the [Brazilian] culture; that was tough,” Dos Santos said. “Adventists believe that our bodies physiologically were made to eat vegetables. Before God created the animals and man, he created the vegetables and fruits, for those to be food to sustain them.”
Seventh-day Adventists have created a culture promoting overall wellness. Specifically at Loma Linda University, it becomes easier to make healthier choices with plant-based food options and no alcohol or smoking on campus. The University’s Drayson Center, whose purpose contributes to quality of life, also offers health services to the community, for college students and seniors alike.
Extending Wholeness Into “Red Zones”
Wiafe notes that through GIS, the Geographic Information System, food deserts and “red zones” can be identified and help in building healthier communities. “In public health, you will hear many times about lack of resources,” Wiafe said. “In order for you to be able to make a promise and address the issues of people, you need to maximize your resources. We are using a system that will help us make better decisions, so that we can make better public health improvements in the lives of people. We want to avoid deserts of any kind, and the only way to do that is to map it out and that is where GIS helps us.”
Starting with a needs-based assessment, Wiafe and his students looked at the needs of Muscoy. Safety seemed to be the biggest interference with the health and wellness of Muscoy’s residents. “If we want to promote exercise, physical activity, and the place is not safe, they cannot walk around freely,” Wiafe said. “We teamed up with the county department where they had a program to address some of these issues. The following year, we did another follow-up assessment and what came up was nutrition. In other words, food safety.” Through these efforts, Wiafe is hoping Muscoy will be able to adapt blue zone qualities similar to Loma Linda.
“We try to model what Loma Linda looks like in those communities, and my hope is that over time, we will be able to achieve the blue zone,” Wiafe said. “I raised that question, ‘How can we turn red zones into blue zones?’ crying for help, if you will. This is not something that cannot be done, if we are able to work together as a team.” Loma Linda University’s motto, “to make man whole,” continues to be the driving philosophy in bringing wellness to dire communities.
“To make man whole means to see individuals and all of their facets,” Morton said.
“In order to make them whole and to bring them toward wellness, you have to see their emotional health, their spiritual and religious health, their psychological health, their physical health, their lifestyle health. Opening up all those components allows us to actually see the person and use all of those different facets of that person to move them toward wellness.”
Early Childhood Experiences Affect Wholeness
To measure the connection between lifestyle, diet, religion, and other various factors, Loma Linda University has conducted numerous studies on Seventh-day Adventists through the Adventist Health Study. More than 96,000 participants are included in the on-going study with more than 40 years of research. One of the studies published in 2020, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Depressive Symptoms, by Morton and a team of researchers at Loma Linda University looks at the connection between longevity and adverse childhood experiences.
“Adverse childhood experiences include physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and a lot of times poverty or having dysfunctions in the home related to drugs or alcohol,” Morton said. “People that have those early experiences actually have shorter lives. They die 20 years earlier than people who do not have those experiences. [Those experiences] actually change the threat centers of our brain, the amygdala, so that what happens is you are so attuned to threat that you see it everywhere.
Your stress hormones are constantly bathing your body and telling it ‘threat is out there.’
That degrades your organ systems and leads to early death.” Morton notes that the study found choosing a plant-based diet after adverse childhood experiences can lead to a longer life—a diet that many Seventh-day Adventists have adapted. “In that study, we actually found that if you have four or more adverse childhood experiences, which is guaranteed damage, and you chose a healthy, plant-based diet—that could actually help you live longer,” Morton said.
“Those that chose a healthy, plant-based lifestyle lived four to five years longer than the ones that did not make that choice.” Growing up Adventist and being presented with a set of values, such as a relationship with God, exercise, and a healthy, vegetarian diet can be positive reinforcers for longevity. “Like anybody, as a teenager or young adult you have to go through whatever treasure chest your parents gave you with tools and philosophies and decide what you want to keep and what you want to throw out. I had to ask if being Adventist was something that still matched the person I wanted to grow into.
I completely resonate with the idea of working towards wholeness,” Dr. Penelope Duerkson-Hughes, Associate Dean for Basic Science and Translational Research at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, said. One’s upbringing and environment can impact one’s adult experiences and the choices one makes. In struggling San Bernardino counties, making the healthier choice is sometimes not an accessible option in an environment also hindering movement and exercise. Someone raised as a Seventh Day Adventist could be more likely to continue the healthy lifestyle and loving atmosphere they experienced as a child, leading to healthier choices and contributing to overall longevity.
Ethics of Longevity Research – Bing video
As studies continue to examine longevity through participants’ data, researchers are ensuring ethical research is conducted.
“The research that I have been doing has a lot to do with the definition of health,” Duerkson-Hughes said. “When you are looking at DNA sequences and trying to figure out what that means for a person’s prospects, how to handle, communicate, disseminate, and manage that information is full of ethical questions. Lots of times when you search for one thing, you find things you weren’t looking for and knowing how best to communicate is full of dilemmas.”
All research conducted at Loma Linda University School of Public Health is reviewed with ethical considerations in mind. Morton specifically looks at all behavioral health studies on Loma Linda University’s campus, along with the help of other researchers. Consent is an ethical issue Morton emphasizes with participants. “I try to put on the hat of a participant or patient,” Morton said. “Does this patient feel pressured or vulnerable and how do we combat those things? I tend to look at it less as a researcher and more as a mom, a daughter, so people are never misled, even unintentionally.
I make sure it is truly in a language that they can understand. It’s not as easy as you may think.” Participants give blanket consent. Since the scope of the research can change over time, participants are able to withdraw from a study any time, along with all their data. “You want participants to feel they have a choice,” Morton said. “Everyone has a choice. They have a choice every single moment in the process, not just the day they decide. Our participants can continue to make that choice, even 17 years later, if that is your choice.”
Purposeful Wholeness Leads to Longevity.
Loma Linda is making a person whole; spiritually, physically, and mentally with the Seventh-day Adventist faith at the center of it all. “God’s purpose for us is to be connected with other humans as His creations and to be in charge and responsible for that creation,” Cristian Iordan, a pastor at Campus Hill Church, said. “The best people to take care of are people. You don’t need a degree in mental health or medicine to take care of other people.”
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