He Quit Cooking at 50 and Ran 8 Marathons at 67
What a 16-year raw food experiment with zero medications and zero chronic disease, can teach the rest of us about energy, ageing well, and listening to our bodies.
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TL;DR
Axay Shah switched to 100% raw, plant-based food at age 50 and has the medical records to prove it works, zero medications, zero chronic disease, and eight marathons completed at 67.
Cooked food was once an evolutionary advantage; today it may be draining us of the very energy we need to live well.
Energy is a biological currency; when your body has enough, every system thrives; when it doesn't, everything rations.
You don't need to overhaul your diet overnight. Starting with 20-25% raw food and building slowly is a proven, sustainable approach.
Your body sends signals constantly. Learning to read them, rather than mask them, is the most practical health habit you can build.
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Introduction
Imagine turning 50, feeling fine by most people's standards, and deciding that "fine" isn't good enough. No dramatic health scare. No doctor's ultimatum. Just a quiet observation that something, energy, vitality, the spark of being fully alive, was slowly fading, and a refusal to accept that as normal.
That's exactly what Axay Shah did.
Now 67, Axay is the founder of Raw Foodiest and the bestselling author of In Nature We Trust: A Raw Food Manifesto for Energy, Healing and Longevity. He has lived 100% plant-based for over 16 years, backed by more than 21 years of documented medical records: no medications, no chronic disease, and eight completed marathons. He didn't arrive at this lifestyle through a health crisis or a guru's prescription. He arrived there as a self-described experimenter, a businessman who looked at his energy like a balance sheet and decided the numbers weren't adding up.
In this episode of The True Form Podcast, host Jack Graham sits down with Axay to unpack what raw food actually means, why humans are the only species confused about what to eat, and how every one of us can start reclaiming our energy today, no matter where we're starting from.
This conversation challenges a lot of what we've been told about nutrition, ageing, and the shortcuts we reach for. It's practical, grounding, and surprisingly simple.
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Lesson 1: Cooked Food Was a Brilliant Solution, For Half a Million Years Ago
What It Is
Cooking food was not always a problem. It was, for most of human history, a genuine evolutionary advantage that helped our species survive and grow smarter. The issue, Axay argues, is that we never updated the habit when the context changed.
Why It Matters
Understanding why we cook helps us question whether we still need to, at least in the quantities we do. As Axay explains it:
"At that time, it was good because food was in scarcity... our brain, even if a person doesn't do anything sitting on a couch, is still consuming around 20% to 25% of the energy of our body. So having those extra calories, we had an advantage over other animals."
Half a million years ago, fire and cooked food gave early humans a caloric boost that fuelled bigger brains. That was the bargain. Today, most households have a refrigerator full of food at all times, yet we're still eating as though scarcity is around the corner. The result, Axay says, is that we're running an "energy bankruptcy": consuming enormous amounts of food, absorbing relatively little of its nutritional value, and wondering why we're exhausted.
How To Apply It
Pause before eating and ask: Am I actually hungry, or is this a habit? Awareness of why you're eating is the first shift.
Notice what you eat in a day and roughly estimate how much of it is processed or cooked. You're not making changes yet — just observing.
Read the ingredients on one or two packaged foods you eat regularly. If the list is long and includes things you can't picture in nature, that's a useful data point.
Look at your energy levels two hours after different meals. Do you feel lifted or sluggish? Start building the connection between what you ate and how you feel.
Consider one meal this week that could be eaten raw or close to it, a handful of nuts, a piece of fruit, or a simple salad with a good dressing. No pressure, just an experiment.
Pro Tip: You don't need to believe the raw food philosophy to benefit from questioning your current eating habits. Curiosity is the only prerequisite.
Try This Today: Before your next meal, take 30 seconds to notice how hungry you actually are on a scale of one to ten. Just notice. That's the beginning of listening to your body.
Lesson 2: Energy Is Your Most Important Currency
What It Is
Axay's central idea, and perhaps the most memorable concept from this episode, is that energy is not just a nice-to-have. It is the biological equivalent of money: without enough of it, everything in your life becomes rationed.
Why It Matters
"Life is energy and energy is life."
It sounds simple, almost too simple. But Axay unpacks it in a way that reframes everything. If you don't have enough energy, your brain gets 80% of what it needs instead of 100%. Your heart keeps you breathing, but there's nothing left over for creativity, motivation, or joy. Your kidneys, lungs, and liver do the minimum. Cellular repair, the process that keeps you young, slows down.
Jack puts it plainly in the episode: "You can't improve your life without that energy... it all starts with that energy."
When you have surplus energy, on the other hand, everything changes. You get home from work and still want to go for a run. Your brain is sharp enough to start a project or learn an instrument. You show up better for the people around you.
"If you have enough energy, it means you have enough currency. Now you're not only maintaining the body, but you are actually doing over and above."
How To Apply It
Rate your energy at three fixed points each day: morning, midday, and evening. Use a simple 1-10 scale. Do this for one week without changing anything else.
Notice whether your energy dips match particular meals or habits. The mid-afternoon slump, for instance, is a common signal that something in lunch isn't serving you.
Ask yourself what you would do if you had 20% more energy right now. That answer tells you what's waiting on the other side of better nutrition.
Treat a consistent energy slump as a signal worth investigating, not a normal part of ageing or being busy.
Start directing food choices toward energy output, not calorie targets. The question changes from "How much should I eat?" to "What will actually fuel me?"
Pro Tip: Axay notes that at 67, he eats roughly 25% of what he used to consume, and reports 200% of the energy. The maths only makes sense when you account for absorption, not just intake.
Try This Today: Write down your energy level right now, and again two hours after your next meal. That single comparison is more informative than any calorie tracker.
Lesson 3: Start Small: The 20% Raw Experiment
What It Is
One of the most practical pieces of advice in the episode is this: you don't have to go all-in to start seeing results. Axay recommends beginning with just 20-25% raw food and increasing gradually as your body adapts and your tastes evolve.
Why It Matters
The biggest reason most people fail at dietary change is the cold-turkey approach, cutting everything at once, feeling terrible, and quitting within a fortnight. Axay's own transition took years. He started with some processed foods still in the mix, gradually replaced them one by one, and let his palate adjust naturally.
Jack echoes this in the episode: "You said as you grow into it. A lot of people might listen to this and go, I'm gonna give this a go, and then they just cut out everything and swap it all at once... to change so much is very hard."
This isn't about willpower. It's about sustainability. Change that lasts is change that's gradual enough for your habits, your gut, and your identity to catch up.
How To Apply It
Pick one meal per day to make mostly raw. Breakfast is often the easiest starting point; fruit, nuts, and seeds require no cooking.
Swap one processed ingredient for a whole food equivalent. Axay replaced a granola bar with almonds and walnuts. What's your version of that?
Replace a bottled sauce with a homemade alternative. Axay moved from jarred pasta sauce to a simple homemade salsa. Chopped tomato, onion, coriander, and lime juice take five minutes.
Keep easy raw snacks accessible, nuts in your bag or car, fruit on the bench. Convenience shapes behaviour more than intention does.
Every few weeks, add another 10-15% of raw food to your day. No timeline, no pressure. Just a direction.
Track where you feel comfortable and stay there for a while before pushing further. Axay notes that some people land at 60-70% raw and stay there, and that's a legitimate win.
Common Mistake: Trying to replicate your existing cooked meals in raw form from day one. Start instead with foods that are naturally great raw: fruit, good vegetables, nuts, seeds, and avocado.
Try This Today: Eat your next snack as a small handful of raw nuts or a piece of fruit instead of whatever you'd normally reach for.
Lesson 4: Raw Food Isn't Bland: It's a Different Kind of Flavour
What It Is
A persistent myth about raw food eating is that it means nothing but lettuce leaves and cucumber slices. Axay's actual daily eating is a lot more interesting than that, and understanding what he eats makes the lifestyle feel genuinely accessible.
Why It Matters
If you believe raw food is punishment, you won't stick to it. But Axay makes a compelling case that variety, texture, spice, and real satisfaction are all available without a stove.
"I ate sweet potato, regular potato, avocado, broccoli, whatever one vegetable I select, chop it off. Add some salsa, some chutney, black vinegar, yeast flakes, some seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, just throw a little bit. It is so delicious now. It is not just a bland salad."
His typical day looks something like this:
Morning: A small red banana (when hungry) or simply green tea
Lunch: A rotation of fruits; whatever is seasonal and available
Afternoon snack: Mixed nuts; almonds, walnuts, cashews, kept in the car for convenience
Evening meal: One chosen vegetable, chopped and dressed with salsa, chutney, black vinegar, nutritional yeast, and seeds
It's not a recipe book. It's a philosophy of choosing whole, unprocessed ingredients and making them genuinely enjoyable.
How To Apply It
Experiment with flavour without heat. Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, fresh herbs, chilli flakes, tahini, and tamari all add depth to raw dishes without any cooking.
Build your evening meal around one vegetable as the hero, rather than trying to create a complex dish. Simplicity works.
Use seeds generously. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds add texture, healthy fats, and protein to any raw meal.
Make a simple homemade salsa, diced tomato, red onion, fresh coriander, lime juice, salt, and keep it in the fridge to dress whatever you're eating.
Give your palate time. Axay notes that his tastes evolved over the years. What tastes bland today will taste rich and satisfying once processed flavours stop competing.
Pro Tip: Nutritional yeast (sometimes called "yeast flakes") is a raw-food staple that adds a savoury, almost cheesy flavour. It's also a good source of B vitamins.
Lesson 5: Monitor Yourself Like a Business Owner
What It Is
Axay's professional background as a businessman shapes how he approaches his health. He treats his body like a company: watching the numbers, noticing what's working, adjusting the strategy, and never flying blind.
Why It Matters
Most people make a dietary change and then hope for the best, with no real way of knowing whether it's working. Axay argues that monitoring, writing down sleep patterns, energy levels, digestion, and mood, is what transforms a random habit into an experiment with real results.
"You have to watch your bank balance. If you are not watching, you are going to be bankrupt very soon. So you don't know what is happening... Earlier, I used to sleep only six hours; now I'm sleeping eight hours. Whatever that difference is, you are seeing it. Write it down."
This approach also makes the process personal. Rather than following someone else's protocol, you're building an evidence base for your own body. What works for Axay may not work for you in the same proportions or the same timeline, and the only way to know is to pay attention.
How To Apply It
Start a simple health journal. A notes app on your phone is fine. No fancy format required.
Track at least three markers daily: sleep duration and quality, energy level (1-10), and digestion (comfortable or uncomfortable).
Note what you ate and when. You don't need to calorie-count; just a general record of meal content and timing.
Review your notes weekly, even for five minutes. Look for patterns: which foods leave you feeling sharp? Which leaves you foggy?
Adjust one variable at a time. If you change everything at once, you'll never know what made the difference.
Get blood work done annually and keep copies. Axay's 21-plus years of documented medical records are his proof, not just to others, but to himself.
Pro Tip: Axay pushed his doctor to check B12 and D3 levels, markers that are often overlooked in standard blood panels. If you're increasing plant-based eating, ask specifically for these.
Try This Today: Open your phone's notes app and write down today's date, your energy level right now, and how you slept last night. That's your first entry.
Lesson 6: Listen to Your Body, It's Been Talking the Whole Time
What It Is
The most practical tip Axay offers, and his answer to Jack's closing question about the one thing every person on Earth should do, is deceptively simple: start listening to your body. Not just noticing sensations, but actively investigating what they mean.
Why It Matters
We are conditioned to suppress signals. Headache? Take a painkiller. Tired? Have another coffee. Bloated? Ignore it and keep going. But Axay argues that every signal is data, and every time we dismiss that data, we're wasting the most sophisticated diagnostic tool we have access to, our own body.
"Our body has a lot of sensors. It gives you signals. But we are habituated to neglect it... A headache tells you something is wrong. Now, listening to your body means contemplating what happened. Why do I have a headache? Is it dehydration? Lack of food? Stress? Lack of sleep? There can be many, many reasons. But when you listen to your body, you have to figure out what the reason was."
He uses a striking metaphor: your body is like a loyal dog. Treat it well, and it will take care of you. Ignore it, and it stops trying to communicate.
"Your dog, if you don't treat your dog well, your dog is not going to treat you well. It is that simple. You treat your body well, your body is going to treat you good."
How To Apply It
When you notice a recurring symptom, fatigue, bloating, headaches, or brain fog, resist the urge to suppress it immediately. Pause and ask: What might this signal be telling me?
Keep a simple log of symptoms alongside your food and sleep data. Patterns often emerge within two to three weeks.
Before reaching for a pain reliever for a headache, consider whether you've had enough water, food, fresh air, or sleep first.
Pay attention to how your body feels after meals, not just during them. Discomfort two hours after eating is information.
When something feels off, research possible causes before assuming it's "just ageing" or "just stress." You are the expert on your own body; the goal is to become a better one.
Common Mistake: Assuming that feeling tired, sluggish, or unwell after eating is normal. It's common, but it's not normal, and it's worth investigating.
Mini Case: The Nephew Who Changed His Mind
When Axay started his raw food experiment in 2009, his nephew, a medical valedictorian on a seven-year scholarship, bombarded him with articles warning him to stop. His sister, six years his senior, worried he'd fall ill.
Axay's response? He read the articles, acknowledged the concern, and kept going anyway, with a simple rule: if he got sick, he'd stop.
He never got sick. He never went to a doctor for a food-related illness.
Years later, that same nephew, now a practising oncologist, told his uncle to keep doing exactly what he was doing. His sister's response: "I wish I could do what you are doing."
The lesson isn't that sceptics are always wrong. It's that long-term, first-hand evidence is worth something, and that a 16-year self-experiment with documented medical records is a meaningful data set, regardless of whether it fits neatly into a randomised controlled trial.
Quick Wins Checklist: What to Do in the Next 24 Hours
Track your energy at three points today, morning, midday, and evening, using a simple 1–10 rating.
Eat one snack raw: a piece of fruit, a handful of mixed nuts, or a few slices of avocado.
Swap one processed ingredient in today's meals for a whole food alternative (bottled dressing for lemon juice and olive oil, for example).
Start a one-page health journal entry: today's date, sleep quality, energy level, and what you ate. Just one page.
Drink a glass of water the next time you feel a headache or energy dip, and wait 15 minutes before reaching for anything else.
Look up your most recent blood work results and check whether B12 and D3 were included. If not, make a note to ask at your next appointment.
Closing Insight
What Axay Shah's story offers is not a strict prescription; it's a permission slip. Permission to question what you've always done. Permission to treat your own body as a credible source of information. Permission to start slowly, build gradually, and measure what's actually happening rather than guessing.
The idea that energy is a currency reframes everything. It shifts the question from "Am I eating healthily?" to "Am I producing enough energy to live the life I actually want?" That's a more honest question, and it leads to more honest answers.
You don't need to quit cooking tonight. You don't need to run a marathon. You need to start paying attention to the food on your plate, the way you feel after eating it, the signals your body sends, and what those signals are actually trying to tell you.
As Axay puts it, life is energy, and energy is life. Everything else follows from there.
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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