14 DAY TRIAL // Here’s one that’s bound to get some attention. Ashton Kutcher, the actor portraying Steve Jobs in an indie biopic that’s just made its Sundance debut, suggests Jobs’ pancreas problems may have been caused by his fruit-only diet.
The iconic Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was known to have refused cancer treatment in exchange for a vegan diet which mostly consisted of fruit. However, this may not have been the best approach.
At least this is what we’re led to believe by an interview with Ashton Kutcher, the leading actor in jOBS who wanted so badly to get into his character that he even took on the eating habits of the late Steve Jobs.
The diet reportedly ended up sending Kutcher to the hospital. The issue was his pancreas, according to USA Today. Jobs died in October of 2011 after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer.
“First of all, the fruitarian diet can lead to like severe issues,” Kutcher said after the film’s screening. “I went to the hospital like two days before we started shooting the movie. I was like doubled over in pain.”
“My pancreas levels were completely out of whack,” Kutcher added. “It was really terrifying … considering everything,” Kutcher added, seemingly referring to Jobs’ cause of death.
While Kutcher’s trip to the hospital with pancreas problems may well be pure coincidence, it is worth noting that excessive intake of sugar found in fruit can cause the rapid rise in insulin secretion by the pancreas.
However, it is known that the problematic nature of fruitarian diets is something to be considered in the long-term.
If not contraindicated by health conditions, such diets actually have a positive short-term (weeks or months) application as a weight-loss diet or as a healing/cleansing diet.