Loma Linda A Blue Zone City

In 2005, Loma Linda was identified as a “Blue Zone” City – One of only five in the world!

The concept of “Blue Zones” grew out of the demographic work done by Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain outlined in the Journal of Experimental Gerontology, identifying Sardinia as the region of the world with the highest concentration of male centenarians. Pes and Poulain drew concentric blue circles on the map highlighting these villages of extreme longevity and began to refer to this area inside the circle as the “Blue Zone.”

Building on that demographic work, Dan Buettner, Blue Zones founder, pinpointed other longevity hotspots around the world and dubbed them “Blue Zones.” Dan has discovered five places in the world where people live the longest, and are healthiest: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California.

VISIT LOMA LINDA!

QUALITIES OF OUR BLUE ZONE

EACH BLUE ZONE LOCATION IS DIFFERENT – Similarities, yes. Loma Linda has definite characteristics. Blue Zone is a lifestyle.

Loma Linda, CA, is a small town in Inland Southern California. The city’s population is approximately 25,300 in a total land area of about 7.6 square miles.

Noted for being the only Blue Zone city in the U.S., Loma Linda has a proportionately high number of centenarians, or adults living past the age of 100 years old.

Loma Linda, unlike other Blue Zones, is known for having a substantial number of residents who follow the Seventh-Day Adventist faith. One local Adventist Church is well over 9,000 members strong and there are seven Adventist churches in the city. The Seventh-Day Adventist is a Protestant Christian church with a strong belief that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is Saturday. They also are committed to true rest on the Sabbath and commit to family, rest, and prayer from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. In addition, Adventists practice a vegetarian lifestyle, avoid smoking and alcohol, and honor the body as a gift with natural movement and exercise. Many residents work for the Loma Linda University Hospital (LLUH), a Seventh-day Adventist Organization, or have work associated with LLUH. The results of these components create a close-knit community with a tremendous emphasis on faith, health, motion, and senior community care.

Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones, 2008, believes that there are strong similarities amongst the Blue Zone communities, which include faith, health, motion, and senior community care. Buettner books focus on the lifestyles of faith, spirituality, movement, food choices, and community.

Loma Linda and the Adventists lifestyle of health and community

An Adventist Vision: Understand the Bible and Find Freedom, Hope and Wholeness in Jesus

Movement – Get outside! Adventist believe in honoring the body as a temple. This includes exercise and getting outdoors. Getting sunshine, being around trees, walking our hills. By the way, Loma Linda is Spanish for beautiful hill. The city also has over a dozen parks, numerous walking paths, and bike lanes.

Spirituality – Name a town where most businesses and government agencies are closed Friday night to Saturday night and open on Sunday! Honoring the Seventh-day tradition, most families adhere to a strict Sabbath of rest, no work. “That means no mowing the lawn, doing all the errands for the week, and other weekend chores,” said one city council member.

Food choices – Adventist chose a vegetarian and/or vegan lifestyle, no smoking and limited or no alcohol. Loma Linda has limited fast food, drive-thru restaurants and has two major grocery stores providing for health food choices and organic foods.

Community – A world renown hospital, a strong Adventist community, numerous community programs, and several community centers, including a very active senior community, Loma Linda doesn’t just talk the talk. Loma Linda has numerous community projects and promotes family activities.