Most people know Gandhi as the leading Indian freedom fighter and the man responsible for securing Indian independence. However, Gandhi was also a prolific writer and thinker. He expressed his views in many fields.

One of Gandhi’s favorite subjects was diet and nutrition. Throughout his lifetime he experimented with a variety of diets. He tried meat-eating, vegetarianism, fasting, restricting salt, and yes…even a raw food diet.

While he was imprisoned for two years by the British, Gandhi spent time laying out his views on diet and traditional remedies in a short book called “Key to Health.” This book went on to become Gandhi’s most popular and widely read work. It was translated into English under close supervision by Gandhi himself.

The full version of this text is available online for free here. Below, I have outlined some of the principles and lessons that Gandhi stressed:

• Disease is an attempt by the body to get rid of the toxins. These toxins can be eliminated by fasting, eating and drinking natural food, and cleansing of the bowels by enemas.
• Fresh green and leafy vegetables should be eaten everyday.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables should be eaten when they are in season and preferably raw.
• A certain amount of fat is necessary and nourishing to the body. Oil is not as nourishing as ghee (clarified butter).
• Starchy foods should be eaten when dry so as to allow for more chewing and flow of saliva.

Many of the principles that are at the core of the vegan and raw food diets today were laid out in this text by Gandhi. In the second half of the book he includes information about various health remedies which use earth, air, water, and sun. He swears by the effectiveness of his remedies. Although I have not tried these, I definitely will be looking into them.

–Ro