Church will sponsor Health Expo

People will learn how to live longer and better

Credit: Tracy Farnham | The News Herald

Gwen Maples, left, Don Maples and Pastor Barry Mahorney prepare for the Seventh-day Adventist Church-Sponsored Health Expo from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Collet Street rec center in Morganton.

By: Tracy Farnham | Morganton News Herald
Published: May 14, 2010

MORGANTON --

Health Expo sponsored by the Morganton Seventh-day Adventist Church will provide stress relieving shoulder massages, answer questions about aging and longevity and and provide information about adding years to your life.
The event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday will be at the Collett Street recreation center.
There will be health screenings, including blood pressure checks and measuring body mass and lung capacity. The results may point participants to specific areas of health concerns. Certified nurses will staff counseling sessions.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church community hope residents will come to the expo and gain insight into their personal health, take charge of their lives and focus on becoming healthier by adopting lifestyle changes.
Gwen Maples a member of the church and a retired health educator, said, "There is a long history of research, including a study by Loma Linda University in California, that the life expectancy of our church members is four to eight years longer on average. I believe it is directly related to our life habits."
Her father, Don Maples, will be 91 this August. He was part of the original Loma Linda University study group in the early 1960s.
"My wife and I were teaching school there," Don Maples explained. "We filled out the form and were part of the study."
He was born near the current site of the Morganton Seventh-day Adventist Church. His family moved to the area in 1915 and was instrumental in purchasing the land to build the church.
Pastor Barry Mahorney has researched the local Seventh-day Adventist Church's history and said, "It's been exciting to know one of the family members of those who pioneered the work in this area."
Growing up in Burke County, Maples attended the Seventh-day Adventist Church and dietary rules.
"I remember my parents used to kill a chicken now and then," Don Maples said. As an adult he adopted a plant-based diet strictly and never smoked cigarettes.
His mother lived to be 99, he said.
"Science is now supporting what we've been teaching for 150 years," Maples said.
Faithful Seventh-day Adventists adhere to Bible-based dietary practices and their nutrition focus is on the use of a plant-based diet, including grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and only "clean" meats referenced in the Bible's Old Testament.
In addition, temperance or abstinence from tobacco, alcohol and drug use is followed.
Finally, exercise, rest and trust in God define the life-style that has added four to 10 years of life for Seventh-day Adventists in California, according to results of the 30-year-long Loma Linda University study.
The Morganton Health Expo will introduce the NEWSTART program designed to enhance wellness. The acronym stands for Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunshine, Temperance, Air, Rest and Trust in God. Everyone who attends Sunday's expo will receive additional information on NEWSTART.
Both medical and non-medical volunteers and lots of free handouts will help answer common medical questions and offer suggestions for simple preventative measures to reduce or prevent disease.
The Harvard step test and the Alameda County computerized health-age appraisal will provide information for personalized recommendations about how to increase vital years.
Each participant will receive a personal health logbook to record the results of the various assessments.
"We will provide counseling that can help them go over these numbers," Maple said. "Our goal is to make people aware that you're not going to live as long as you hope to, but ... easy, simple, free how-to's can help them be in a better state. I believe this. It is what I grew up with."
Mahorney and his wife are participants in the current 2006 study funded by the National Institute on Aging. He said they researchers are trying to isolate more factors that contribute to a long life.