How Two Icons Used Raw Foods as a Path to Transformation, And What My 16+ Years of Experience Taught Me
The Unexpected Connection
When Steve Jobs chose an apple with a bite taken out of it as his company’s logo, few people connected it to his fruitarian experiments. When Gandhi fasted for 21 days to stop communal violence, the world saw political protest, not dietary philosophy. Yet both these transformational figures understood something profound: food is not just fuel, it’s a pathway to higher consciousness.
As someone who has lived on Raw Foods for over 16 years, completed seven marathons, and guided many through the Raw Food Revolution, I only recently discovered through listening to their autobiographies that Jobs and Gandhi had explored similar paths. What amazes me is that we arrived at the same truths independently, they were pioneering a way of being that transcends the physical body, and I found myself walking the same path decades later without knowing their stories.
Gandhi: Raw Food as Sacred Resistance
“The groundnut, the banana, these are gifts from God. Why should man interfere with God’s work?” — Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi’s relationship with Raw Foods went far deeper than nutrition. For him, every meal was a moral choice, every fast a spiritual discipline, every fruit a connection to the divine.
Gandhi’s Raw Food Principles:
- Ahimsa (Non-violence): Raw fruits and vegetables embodied his belief in causing minimal harm
- Simplicity: Uncooked foods represented the simplest, most natural way of eating
- Self discipline: Controlling what entered his body was training for controlling his mind and spirit
- Economic justice: Simple eating meant more food for the poor and less exploitation of resources
Gandhi often ate nothing but fruits, nuts, and raw vegetables for months at a time. His experiments with Raw Foods weren’t about personal health, they were about aligning his physical existence with his spiritual mission. When he fasted, it was Raw Foods that he returned to, seeing them as the purest form of nourishment.
What Gandhi Understood: Raw Foods aren’t just about the body, they’re about creating harmony between our inner and outer worlds.
Jobs: Raw Food as Personal Optimization
“I’m a fruitarian and I will only eat leaves fallen by themselves from trees.” — Steve Jobs (during his Reed College years)
Steve Jobs approached Raw Foods with the same perfectionist intensity he brought to Apple products. For him, fruitarian diets were about achieving the ultimate optimization of human potential.
Jobs’ Raw Food Journey:
- Purity obsession: He believed eating only fruits would “cleanse” his body so thoroughly he wouldn’t need to shower
- Mental clarity: Jobs connected his dietary extremes to enhanced creativity and focus
- Control: Mastering his diet was part of mastering himself and his environment
- Transcendence: He saw extreme dietary discipline as a way to rise above ordinary human limitations
Jobs would spend weeks eating nothing but apples (hence the company name), believing this level of dietary purity would unlock superhuman capabilities. His colleagues at Apple often worried about his extreme weight loss during these phases.
What Jobs Understood: Raw foods could be a tool for pushing human potential beyond conventional limits.
My Independent Journey: Discovering the Same Truths
When I started my Raw Food journey on December 6th, 2009, I knew nothing about Gandhi’s dietary experiments or Jobs’ fruitarian phases. I was simply a curious person chasing truth.
For over 16 years, I lived this lifestyle, developed my “Life is Energy, Energy is Life” framework, completed seven marathons, and helped many transform their health. Only recently, while listening to Gandhi’s and Jobs’ autobiographies, did I discover that these iconic figures had walked remarkably similar paths.
The revelation was stunning: Without any knowledge of their experiments, I had independently arrived at many of the same conclusions. This wasn’t coincidence, it was confirmation that certain truths about human nutrition and consciousness are universal.
Where Gandhi Got It Right:
✅ Spiritual connection: Food is indeed a bridge between physical and spiritual existence ✅ Simplicity: The less we process food, the more life force it retains ✅ Compassion: Our food choices impact all living beings ✅ Discipline: Controlling what we eat trains us to control our thoughts and actions.
Where Jobs Got It Right:
✅ Optimization: Raw foods do enhance mental clarity and physical performance ✅ Experimentation: We must test and discover what works for our unique body ✅ Intensity: Half-hearted dietary changes produce half-hearted results ✅ Innovation: Challenging food conventions leads to breakthrough insights.
Where Both Missed the Mark:
Gandhi’s Limitation: His fasting was often about punishment and political pressure rather than sustainable nourishment. True Raw Food living isn’t about deprivation, it’s about abundance.
Jobs’ Limitation: His extremism became destructive. When he applied the same “alternative over conventional” thinking to cancer treatment, it may have cost him his life. Raw foods enhance health, but they’re not magic bullets that replace all medical intervention.
The Convergence of Independent Discovery
What fascinates me most is how three people, separated by decades and continents, independently discovered the transformative power of Raw Foods:
- Gandhi in his ashrams and political struggles
- Jobs in his Silicon Valley innovation labs
- Axay Shah in my Los Angeles transformation journey
None of us influenced the others’ initial decisions. We each found our own path to the same destination. This suggests that the principles we discovered aren’t personal preferences, they’re universal laws of human optimization.
The Universal Truths We All Discovered:
- Refined Sugar – The drug that hijacks our natural sweet receptors
- Refined Salt – The mineral that destroys our cellular balance
- Processed Oils – The fats that inflame every system in our body
- Dairy Products – Humans are the only species that drinks another species’ milk beyond infancy. Dairy creates mucus, has been linked to various cancers and diseases, involves animal cruelty, and contains addictive proteins that create dependency
- Grains – The modern modifications that our ancient bodies can’t process
All three of us, working independently across different eras, eliminated these poisons from our diets. Gandhi chose simple, whole foods. Jobs chose fruits in their most natural state. I developed a systematic framework “If It’s Not Made By Mother Nature, It’s Not Going On My Plate” to avoid all five. We didn’t coordinate our approaches, yet we reached remarkably similar conclusions.
My Raw Food Philosophy: Synthesis and Balance
After running seven marathons on Raw Foods, maintaining energy levels that amaze people half my age, and helping many to transform their health, here’s what I’ve learned:
The Axay Shah Approach – “5 Rules for Raw Food Mastery”:
Rule 1: If It’s Not Made By Mother Nature, It’s Not Going On My Plate
- This eliminates all processed foods automatically
- Gandhi and Jobs both followed this instinctively
Rule 2: Raw First, Not Perfection – Take First Baby Step & Evolve
- Unlike Jobs’ extreme approach, sustainability requires balance
- Gandhi’s community meals often included cooked elements
Rule 3: Local, Seasonal, Organic When Possible
- Gandhi understood this through his spinning wheel philosophy
- Jobs missed this connection to Place, Season, and Nature
Rule 4: Listen to Your Body, Not Your Cravings
- Both men practiced this, but Jobs sometimes ignored his body’s warning signs
- Gandhi was better at distinguishing between true hunger and emotional eating
Rule 5: Food as Fuel and Medicine, Not Punishment
- This is where I differ from both: Raw Foods should feel abundant, not restrictive
- Neither fasting nor extreme limitation is sustainable long-term
The Apple Logo: A Raw Food Revolution Symbol
When Jobs chose the apple with a bite taken out of it, he created an inadvertent symbol for the Raw Food revolution. The apple represents:
- Natural perfection: The fruit as nature designed it
- Knowledge: The biblical connection to awareness and consciousness
- Simplicity: One of nature’s most perfect foods
- The bite: Human consciousness engaging with natural wisdom
That logo has influenced billions of people to “Think Different” – perhaps it’s time we applied that same innovative thinking to how we nourish our bodies.
Lessons for Modern Raw Food Practitioners
Both Gandhi and Jobs offer valuable lessons for anyone considering a Raw Food lifestyle:
From Gandhi, Learn:
- Purpose beyond self: Your dietary choices can serve a larger mission
- Gradual progress: Transformation takes time and patience
- Community focus: Share your journey with others who support your values
- Spiritual integration: See food choices as spiritual practice
From Jobs, Learn:
- Experimentation: Try different approaches and track the results
- Intensity: Commit fully when you find what works
- Innovation: Question conventional nutrition wisdom
- Optimization: Use diet to enhance your performance and creativity
From Both, Learn to Avoid:
- Extremism that isolates: Don’t let perfect become the enemy of good
- Ignoring medical needs: Raw foods enhance health but don’t replace healthcare
- All-or-nothing thinking: Flexibility prevents failure, Raw First-Not Perfection
- Using food as control: Eat to nourish, not to punish or prove points
My Personal Results: 16 Years of Evidence
At 66 years young, after 16+ years of Raw Food lifestyle, here’s what I can report:
Physical Results:
- 7 completed marathons (training for my 8th)
- No medications required
- Energy levels that surprise people half my age
- Maintained ideal weight without counting calories
- Clear skin, bright eyes, strong immune system
Mental Results:
- Enhanced creativity (I’m also a poet and musician, Beekeeper)
- Improved focus and mental clarity
- Better stress management
- Deeper spiritual connection with universe
- Greater emotional stability
Lifestyle Results:
- Simplified shopping and meal preparation
- Reduced environmental impact
- Stronger connection to Nature & seasonal cycles
- More mindful relationship with food
- Enhanced appreciation for natural flavors
The Raw Food Revolution Continues
Gandhi used Raw Foods to free a nation. Jobs used them to fuel innovation that changed the world. But their stories also show us the pitfalls of extremism and the importance of balance.
The Raw Food revolution isn’t about becoming Gandhi or Jobs, it’s about becoming the best version of yourself. It’s about finding the sweet spot between Gandhi’s spiritual discipline and Jobs’ optimization obsession.
My Invitation to You:
If you’re curious about Raw Foods, start with one meal a day. If you’re already experimenting, focus on the Five Slow Poisons elimination rather than perfection. If you’re committed to transformation, remember that sustainable change happens gradually, with compassion for yourself along the journey.
The apple that Jobs chose as his symbol reminds us that the most profound technologies are often the simplest ones. An apple is still more sophisticated than any computer, billions of years of evolution packed into a perfect package of nutrition, energy, and life force.
Gandhi and Jobs understood this instinctively. Now it’s our turn to carry their insights forward, with greater wisdom about balance, sustainability, and the true purpose of optimal nutrition.
Remember: “Life is Energy, and Energy is Life.” Choose foods that enhance both.
I help people unlock the power of Raw Plant-Based nutrition through personalized coaching. Whether you’re looking to improve your health, boost your energy, or simply separate fact from fiction in the confusing world of nutrition I’m here to guide you.
Book a FREE 45-minute discovery call where we’ll:
- Assess your current health goals
- Identify the nutrition myths that might be holding you back
- Create a personalized roadmap for your wellness journey
- Explore how Raw Food coaching can transform your health
Don’t let another day go by believing outdated nutrition myths. Your heart, your energy, and your future self will thank you.
References and Further Reading:
- Gandhi’s Experiments with Truth – M.K. Gandhi’s autobiography detailing his dietary experiments
- Steve Jobs Biography – Walter Isaacson’s comprehensive look at Jobs’ life and dietary practices
- RawFoodiest.com – Ongoing blog and community for Raw Food practitioners
- The Five Slow Poisons framework – Detailed explanation available in Axay Shah’s educational materials
–Axay Shah
Raw Food Guru
IN NATURE WE TRUST™