This post is in no way mean’t to be controversial, and if you respond to it in a controversial way then it’s totally up to you and the way you respond to things.  This post is mean’t to invoke a deeper thought process behind what caused Steve Jobs cancer and to learn from that experience in his life and hopefully benefit from it so that we can live healthier, cancer free lives.  As someone who has had multiple people in their family affected by cancer I understand that it is a touchy subject but I think with the right knowledge and application of that knowledge we can now prevent cancer and avoid the pitfalls of modern day ‘healthcare’ and treatment of cancer.

As a curious individual I thought it was interesting that Steve Jobs had pursued natural alternatives to treat his cancer.  He lived much of his life as a self-proclaimed ‘fruitarian’ and hippie.   He was very holistic and based a lot of his beliefs about life, health and diet around nature and eating only foods from earth. This is beneficial isn’t it? To some degree yes.  But what is a fruitarian?

A fruitarian is defined as “A person who eats only fruit.”  I’m not sure if this is what Steve Jobs was doing on and off in different periods of his life, but if he were, this would definitely affect blood sugar levels and the Pancreas.

Now, knowing this, do you think this is a healthy way to live? Only eating fruit? What about vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, sprouts, whole grains, rice, beans… etc? Do any of these have nutritional value to you at all?

There are many ‘dietary teachers’ teaching what you should eat and what you should not eat and are considered health specialists and advisors, but should we really be listening to them? isn’t everyone different? The problem with the ‘fruitarian’ diet is that if you only ate fruit you would CONSTANTLY be spiking your blood sugar levels and insulin levels.   This would be directly impacting the pancreas and causing it to be stressed, it is working harder to produce  Insulin is the hormone created by the Pancreas by the sugars in the food.  If your Pancreas is constantly being given a LOT of glucose then the Pancreas will be working very hard and your body will be in a constant state of high blood sugar levels.

What does this mean? It could mean a variety of things to your overall health and wellbeing.  Everyone is different and your genes, biochemical factors and many other factors play a role, but to have constantly elevated blood sugar levels is a state of imbalance within the body that creates an environment easier for disease.  When your body is at ease, otherwise known as ‘balanced’ your body will not become complicated with issues that it otherwise would be if it were imbalanced.

I remember listening to Steve Jobs Biography, (which was actually very interesting, I recommend it) and when he initially found out that he had Pancreatic cancer he asked “What is a Pancreas?” and when I heard this I thought to myself how absurd it was that he didn’t know what a Pancreas was yet he was eating a fruitarian diet that could easily pose a risk here.  I think that Steve Jobs was a brilliant innovator and a very smart man, but it seems like he ignored the implications of his extreme dietary decisions which ultimately led to him dying quite young.

It’s important to understand balance.  I believe that balance is the key to life.  I saw my grandfather die less than a month after he retired from Cancer, his choices led to this young death as well ultimately.  Cancer isn’t a flu, it isn’t caught by walking down the street, it’s an imbalance in the body developed over time from dietary habits, lack of exercise, stress, emotional trauma, lack of sleep etc… Cancer is developed.

Are we responsible cancer if we get it? I would have to say yes, if not us, who is? We are responsible for our health, our weight, our thoughts, our emotions, how often we stress, how often we laugh etc… Why wouldn’t we be responsible for something when it is negative and life threatening?

Another connection that I found interesting was that early in Steve Jobs life he skipped sleep often, he would skip a whole night of sleep and just talk for hours with friends or work.  There is a direct link between the lack of sleep and an increased cancer risk, you can learn more about this simply by doing a google search.

So what can we learn from Steve Jobs? The brilliant innovator and technologist? I think if he were to go back, and to rework his entire life, he would have more balance and pay more attention to his health and wellbeing.  As brilliant of an innovator that he was, he didn’t take care of himself and his health well enough to extend his legacy further as i’m sure he would have.

My recommendation is to find balance in your life, don’t be too strict about your diet, make sure you have a diverse health diet and make sure to sleep, get your rest.  Make your health a priority because how you experience life on a daily basis, the quality of life, as well as how long you live, the ‘quantity’ of your life, is dependent on how healthy you are.

With all of this being said, I have a lot of respect for him, he was a brilliant man and will be missed by many, his friends, family and the millions of people who use Apple products today.  R.I.P. Steve.

– David Benjamin