The November 2005 issue of National Geographic magazine features the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Study in an article titled “The Secrets of Living Longer.”

Written by Dan Buettner and photographed by David McLain, the article interviews residents of Okinawa, Japan; Sardina, Italy; and Loma Linda, Calif., who, according to the article, “live longer, healthier lives than just about anyone else on Earth.”

In his column, “From the Editor,” National Geographic editor-in-chief Chris Johns writes: “We yearn to live if not forever, then at least for a very long time.... Historical figures, like the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, searched for the fountain of youth, convinced that it held the secret to staying young.

“Perhaps he was on to something: The Seventh-day Adventists of Loma Linda, Calif., who rank among America’s longevity all-stars, promote drinking at least five glasses of water a day.... Answers, complex but fascinating, can be found in our article.”

Buettner made several trips to Loma Linda, interviewing a number of individuals about their lifestyle.

Linda Valley Vista resident Marge Jetton, age 101 (featured in the October issue of the Recorder), is featured prominently in the article, as is Gary Fraser, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Public Health and School of Medicine. Fraser is principal investigator for the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Study.

Photographer David McLain spent numerous days in Loma Linda taking literally hundreds of photographs.

His photographs include a two-page spread featuring Jetton, filling up her automobile with gasoline at a self-serve station. Jetton was married for nearly 77 years to James A. Jetton, M.D., a 1934 graduate of the School of Medicine.

Others pictured in the article are Ellsworth E. Wareham, M.D., emeritus professor of surgery, who at 91 still assists with heart surgery; Scott Smith, former associate pastor at the University Church in Loma Linda, and now a first-year student at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry; and the Rawson family of Colton.

Buettner writes that from 1976 to 1988, the National Institutes of Health “funded a study of 34,000 California Adventists to see whether their health-oriented lifestyle affected their life expectancy and the risk of heart disease and cancer.”

The study found that consuming beans, soy milk, tomatoes and other fruits lowered the risk of developing certain types of cancers.

Buettner writes: “In the end, the study reached a stunning conclusion, says Gary Fraser of Loma Linda University: The average Adventist lived four to 10 years longer than the average Californian. That makes the Adventists one of the nation’s most convincing cultures of longevity.”

The article also presents a brief history of the Seventh-day Adventist health message, noting that the Adventist Church expressly “forbids smoking, alcohol consumption, and eating biblically unclean foods, such as pork. It also discourages the consumption of other meat, rich foods, caffeinated drinks, and ‘stimulating’ condiments and spices.”

Buettner concludes his article with one last question, noting that after interviewing more than 50 centenarians on three continents, “I’ve found every one likeable; there hasn’t been a grumpy group in the bunch. What’s the secret to a century of congeniality?

“‘Well, I like to talk to people,’ she [Jetton] says. ‘I look at strangers as friends I haven’t met yet.’ She pauses to rethink her answer. ‘Then again, people may look at me and wonder, Why doesn’t that woman keep her mouth shut!’”