Adventists founded health care institutions based on the principles of health outlined in the Bible’s story of creation. Unlike the common thought of the day, they believed health care should treat the disease rather than just the symptoms. Adventists began to advocate the benefits of diet, exercise, water, adequate rest and trusting in God. This makes sense to us today, but more than 150 years ago it was a radical new approach.

The idea of preventing an illness before it started was unique to the medical industry, as doctors would often prescribe drugs that were equally as dangerous as the disease they promised to treat. Living an active lifestyle that followed the health principles the Seventh-Day Adventists promoted was proving to keep people healthy — not only physically — but also spiritually and mentally, and was a much safer and more promising solution for well-being than the popular treatments of the day. 

The whole-person health principles found in the CREATION Life program have been featured in National Geographic, CNN, The Today Show, Good Morning America and The Blue Zones, a New York Times bestselling book that describes the lifestyle habits of the world’s longest living people.

A significant contribution that Seventh-day Adventists have made to the effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle can be found in the publications based on the Adventist Health Studies. Begun in 1958, these studies have covered the topics of diet, air pollution, religion and health, and have gained sponsorship from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the World Cancer Research Fund.