Did Steve Jobs Eat Only Apples?: Unpacking the Myth of His Extreme Diets

December 21, 2025 •

4 min read

According to his official biography by Walter Isaacson, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs did not eat only apples but did famously go through phases of eating just one or two foods, such as apples or carrots, for weeks at a time. His diet was a lifelong series of extreme, restrictive experiments rooted in his philosophical beliefs, not a simple apple-only regime.

Quick Summary

Steve Jobs never ate only apples but practiced an extremely restrictive fruitarian and vegan diet for much of his life, often focusing on a single food for weeks. This peculiar eating habit was linked to his minimalist philosophy, fasting, and a misguided belief it would purify his body. His diet influenced Apple's name and later became a factor in his health struggles.

Key Points

Jobs didn't only eat apples, but often ate only a few foods for weeks. He went through phases of restrictive eating, sometimes focusing on just apples or carrots, but his diet was not exclusively apple-based.
He was a fruitarian and vegan at different times. His diet evolved from vegetarianism to stricter forms like fruitarianism, influenced by books on diet and healing.
Fasting was a regular practice for him. Jobs would undertake prolonged fasts, believing they produced a sense of euphoria and increased vitality.
His diet influenced his flawed hygiene theories. He wrongly believed his clean diet meant he didn't need deodorant or regular showers, much to the dismay of his colleagues.
He initially used diet to treat his cancer. Following his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, he tried to heal himself with an extreme vegan diet instead of surgery, a decision he later regretted.
His diet is linked to the naming of Apple. The company's name was reportedly inspired by a visit to an apple orchard during one of his fruitarian phases.
He was a notoriously picky eater. Even in his later years, Jobs was a difficult and selective eater, often rejecting many dishes prepared for him.

The Roots of Steve Jobs' Dietary Obsessions

The perception that did Steve Jobs eat only apples is a simplification of a much more complex and erratic reality. Jobs’s dietary habits were not just a preference but a deeply philosophical endeavor. His obsession with purity and minimalism extended from his product designs into his eating habits, influencing his food choices throughout his life.

His journey began during his college years, after reading Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé, which spurred his decision to become a vegetarian. However, his fascination deepened with the book Mucusless Diet Healing System by Arnold Ehret, a 19th-century German healer. Ehret’s theory posited that consuming only fruits and starchless vegetables would prevent the formation of harmful mucus in the body. This doctrine led Jobs to embrace the fruitarian lifestyle and undertake prolonged fasts.

The Fruitarian and Fasting Phases

Jobs’s biographers, including Walter Isaacson, recount his periods of intense dietary focus. These were often short-lived but intense phases of eating. For instance, in his 20s, he was a strict fruitarian for several years and during one period, inspired by a visit to an orchard, he decided on the name Apple for his company. It was during these phases that he would sometimes eat only apples or carrots for weeks on end.

Beyond restrictive eating, Jobs was also a dedicated practitioner of fasting. He would engage in prolonged fasts, sometimes lasting for days or even a week, believing it brought him a sense of euphoria and heightened vitality. His daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, noted that these food obsessions were part of a larger life philosophy where asceticism could lead to greater harvests.

The Health Implications of Extreme Dieting

Jobs’s unusual diet also led to some less-than-desirable consequences. He held a misguided belief that his fruit-heavy diet would prevent body odor and obviate the need for deodorant or regular showers. His colleagues, however, often noted his unpleasant smell, a testament to the flaws in his theory. More tragically, his dietary beliefs played a role in his health struggles.

Upon his 2003 diagnosis with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, Jobs initially refused his doctor’s recommendations for surgery. Instead, he attempted to heal himself with a strict vegan diet and alternative therapies like juice fasts, a decision he later came to regret. This decision delayed conventional treatment, potentially worsening his prognosis. His wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, later tried to reintroduce proteins and other nutrients into his meals to support his health, but his extreme pickiness made this difficult.

A Comparison of Jobs' Dietary Phases


Dietary Phase	Influences	Key Practices	Duration	Outcome
Early Vegetarianism	Diet for a Small Planet	Eliminated meat	From teenage years	Foundation for his lifelong dietary experiments.
Fruitarianism	Mucusless Diet Healing System	Exclusive fruits/nuts; mono-food weeks	Periods in his 20s	Influenced Apple's name; linked to misguided hygiene beliefs.
Prolonged Fasting	Philosophical asceticism	Fasting for days to a week	Throughout his adult life	Reported euphoria; contributed to extreme eating patterns.
Post-Cancer Diagnosis	Rejection of modern medicine	Strict veganism, juice fasts	9 months after diagnosis	Delayed conventional treatment; later regretted.
Late-Life Eating	Medical advice (partially)	Continued pickiness; occasional fish	After surgery	Continued struggle with maintaining weight and nutrition.

Conclusion: The Man Behind the Apples

The story of Steve Jobs eating only apples is a fascinating myth, but the reality is more complex. His diet was a window into his deeply obsessive, perfectionistic, and at times misguided personality. While the apples were real, they represented a broader pattern of seeking purity through extreme and restrictive means. His dietary journey, from philosophical inspiration to its tragic role in his health decisions, is a poignant part of his story, revealing a man who, despite his visionary genius, was deeply human and flawed. The simple story of a man and an apple captures the public's imagination, but the full picture reveals the intricate connection between his personal obsessions and his public life.

For a complete picture of Steve Jobs's dietary and personal life, consider reading Walter Isaacson's comprehensive biography.

The Lasting Legacy of the Apple Myth

The myth endures because it perfectly encapsulates Jobs's public persona: a minimalist visionary with a singular, almost spiritual, focus. This narrative is more compelling than the reality of an inconsistent and often unhealthy eating pattern. The simplicity of the apple story parallels the design ethos of the products he created, but it ultimately hides a more complicated truth about his relentless search for purity, and its sometimes damaging consequences.

The Connection to Apple's Name

The link between Jobs's fruitarian diet and the company name solidifies the legend. While some suggest other origins for the name, Jobs himself acknowledged the connection to his diet and time at an apple orchard, adding another layer to the apple lore surrounding the tech icon. This connection reinforces the public association between Jobs and the fruit, even if his actual diet was far less consistent.

Frequently Asked Questions

The rumor that Steve Jobs exclusively ate apples is a myth. While he did go through periods of intense focus on a single food item like apples or carrots for several weeks at a time, his overall diet varied and included other fruits, vegetables, nuts, and periods of fasting.

No, his extreme diet and fasting did not extend his life. His rejection of conventional medical treatment for his pancreatic cancer in favor of a diet-based approach ultimately led to a delayed surgery that he later regretted.

For much of his adult life, Steve Jobs followed a vegetarian or vegan diet, with specific periods of being a fruitarian, a subset of veganism that emphasizes eating only fruits, nuts, and seeds.

Yes, according to his biography, the name Apple came to him after returning from an apple farm while on a fruitarian diet. He liked that it sounded 'fun, spirited, and not intimidating'.

There is no scientific consensus that his diet directly caused his pancreatic cancer. Some researchers have suggested that a very high intake of fructose, common in fruitarian diets, could contribute to pancreatic cancer, but this link is not definitively established.

Jobs initially rejected mainstream medical treatment for his cancer, including surgery, and attempted to heal himself with his restrictive vegan diet and other alternative therapies. He later regretted this decision and underwent surgery.

Yes, his eating habits were consistently described as strange and obsessive. His biographer and those who knew him documented his tendency towards extreme restriction, unusual food combinations, and periods of fasting.