About NEWSTART
The history and science behind the NEWSTART health principles.
The NEWSTART Story
The NEWSTART program was developed at Weimar University (formerly Weimar Institute) in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. Founded in 1978, the program combines biblical health principles with modern lifestyle medicine.
The acronym NEWSTART stands for Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Temperance, Air, Rest, and Trust in Divine Power. These eight principles are derived from Scripture and the writings of Ellen G. White, and have been validated by decades of scientific research.
The program has helped thousands of people reverse chronic diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity through lifestyle changes rather than medication alone.
Loma Linda Blue Zone
Loma Linda, California, is one of only five Blue Zones in the world—regions where people live significantly longer, healthier lives. The Blue Zone designation was made famous by Dan Buettner and National Geographic in 2005.
What makes Loma Linda unique among Blue Zones is that its longevity is driven primarily by the Seventh-day Adventist community, who practice the NEWSTART principles as part of their faith:
- Plant-based diet: Adventists who follow a vegetarian diet live an average of 9.5 years longer (men) and 6.1 years longer (women) than their non-Adventist counterparts.
- Weekly Sabbath rest: The 24-hour rest period from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset provides stress relief and community connection.
- No smoking or alcohol: Complete abstinence from tobacco and alcohol dramatically reduces cancer and cardiovascular disease risk.
- Active lifestyle: Regular moderate exercise, outdoor activities, and purposeful living.
- Faith community: Strong social connections and trust in God provide emotional and spiritual resilience.
The Adventist Health Studies (AHS-1 and AHS-2), conducted by Loma Linda University, are among the largest and longest-running studies on the relationship between diet, lifestyle, and health outcomes.
The Ministry of Healing Foundation
Ellen G. White’s book The Ministry of Healing (1905) laid the groundwork for the NEWSTART program more than seven decades before it was formally established. In it, she wrote the famous summary:
“Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power—these are the true remedies.”
This single sentence encapsulates all eight NEWSTART principles, decades before modern lifestyle medicine confirmed their effectiveness.