Authored by Axay Shah, Founder at RawFoodiest
I am 67 years young. I have finished eight marathons and I am training for my ninth. And I run without a watch.
I am not against technology. For years, I tracked every mile on my phone app. Distance, pace, time. Then one morning I simply did not turn it on. My running did not get worse. It got better. I enjoyed it more.
That small moment taught me something the health tech industry needs to hear: the best health product is the one that makes you need it less.
The Engagement Trap
Much of consumer health technology is built on the same model as social media. Daily active users. Streaks. Notifications. Success is measured by how often you open the app.
But health works totally the opposite way. A healthier person should need less help over time, not more. When a product’s business model depends on daily dependence, and the user’s goal is independence, the two are pulling in opposite directions.
You can see the result everywhere: people who own smart rings, fitness watches, sleep trackers and nutrition apps yet feel more anxious about their health than ever. They have more data and less self-confidence. The tools meant to empower them have quietly become supervisors.
Training Wheels Are Meant To Come Off
When I started running at age 50, I had never run a single mile. My phone app was genuinely useful at that time. It showed me how far I had gone and kept me honest about progress. It was a set of training wheels on a bicycle.
But training wheels are designed to come off. After a while, I knew my miles by feel. I knew my pace by my breath. The data had stopped teaching me and started watching me. A slow morning began to feel like a failure, when really it was just a slow morning.
Once I stopped measuring every run, I started enjoying them again. I listen to my body now, and it turns out my body had been talking all along.
Three Principles for Building Self-Reliant Health Tech
For founders and product teams in health and wellness, here is what I would build into every product.
- Design for graduation. Build an exit into the product from day one. Measure success partly by how many users no longer need daily check-ins because they have learnt the skill. A good language app is proud when you can speak without it. Health tech should be the same.
- Teach the signal, not just the number. A metric on a screen is only useful if it helps people understand what they feel. Connect the data to real sensations: energy, hunger, sleep, breath, mood. The goal is a user who can read their own body when the device is in a drawer.
- Reduce decisions, do not add them. Every notification is a decision. Every reminder is a task. Tired, busy people do not need more inputs. They need fewer. The most valuable feature might be the one that removes something from the user’s day.
My Own Evidence
At 50, I was running on empty after thirty years in the diamond and jewellery business. I had low energy and no idea how to get it back. In 2009, I made two major changes. I started running, and I switched to a 100% plant-based raw food lifestyle.
I also did something unusual. I kept my medical records, and I made them public. Today, 21 years of my own health records are open for anyone to read, on my website and in my book. At 67, I take no prescription medication and have no chronic disease.
I share this not as advice, but as one documented case of self-reliance. The most powerful health tool I ever used was a simple rule and a willingness to listen. My records matter to me, but I review them periodically, not hourly. That rhythm is a model worth copying: meaningful measurement at the right intervals, not constant surveillance.
The Business Case For Needing Less
Some founders will worry that self-reliance is bad for revenue. I spent more than forty years in business, and I believe the opposite.
Trust is the most valuable asset any company can hold. A user who graduates from your product with real skills becomes your loudest advocate. They recommend you to friends, followers and family. They return when life changes. They trust your next product.
Subscription models can still work. Periodic check-ins, education, community and honest progress reviews all create value without creating dependence. Users who leave because they are thriving are far better for a brand than users who leave because they are bored and disillusioned.
Technology As a Teacher, Not a Landlord
The health tech industry has an extraordinary opportunity. It can help millions of people understand their bodies better than any generation before them. But only if it is designed to hand that understanding back.
Technology should be a teacher, a guru who gives knowledge for life, not a landlord who shows up on the first of every month to collect rent. The best measure of a health product is not how often someone opens it. It is whether they can close it, lace up their shoes, and trust themselves.
Axay Shah is the author of IN NATURE WE TRUST, a Kirkus Starred Review title, and the founder of RawFoodiest. He started running at 50, has finished eight marathons, and has lived on 100% plant-based raw food lifestyle since 2009. He has published 21 years of his own medical records. A businessman for more than forty years, he lives in Los Angeles.
