Nikola Tesla: Stoic Philosopher and Keto Bro

NIKOLA TESLA: THE STOIC PHILOSOPHER

The internet is abundant with fake quotes attributed to genius inventor Nikola Tesla, who created the foundation for modern electrical distribution and remote control/wireless communications.

The real Tesla, while eccentric at times, was very different than even his biggest fanatics of today understand him. He was calm and calculating, and as a prudent scientist, he was constantly unsure of the world around him. His joyful curiosity was without limit.

Source:
Lecture at Franklin Institute by Nikola Tesla
Philedelphia, PA; Feb 1893

Source:
Kansas City Journal-Post
*Tremendous New Power Soon to Be Unleashed*
Sept 10, 1933 by Carol Bird
(Read it here for free)

Source:
Lecture Before the IEE by Nikola Tesla
London; Feb 1892

WHAT DID NIKOLA TESLA EAT?

While it is commonly known that Tesla was a vegetarian in his elder years, this was not true for all of his life. In a newspaper interview, Thomas Edison recalls the first time he met the young inventor in Paris. Impressed by Tesla’s work ethic, he invited Tesla to join their group for dinner at “The most expensive cafe in Paris.” Edison recalled Tesla ordering a steak, and when it came time for dessert Tesla said:

“Well, if you don’t mind, Sir… I’ll try another steak.”

(Source: Buffalo New York News; Wizard Here ‘Sage of Orange’ Tells About Tesla’s Enormous Appetite as Youth; August 30, 1896.)

John O’Neill authored Tesla’s first biography and was a personal friend of Tesla. He wrote that the inventor eventually transitioned away from meat to a diet of boiled fish for years before then transitioning into vegetarianism. Using other clues, we can determine that the elderly Tesla still ate small bites of fish and meat on rare occasions. At the age of 78, he told a news reporter:

”I partake liberally of fresh vegetables, fish and meat sparingly, and rarely.”
—Nikola Tesla
(Source: Kansas City Journal-Post
Sept 10, 1933 by Carol Bird
(Read it here for free).

Oatmeal and potatoes were among Tesla’s favorite foods until the very end, and so was honey. While this isn’t explicitly “keto” the inventor steered away from junk food and alcohol the older he became, always opting for a whole-food diet.

Even in Tesla’s vegetarian years, he would drink “Plenty of milk” and he likely practiced the now increasingly popular time-restricted intermittent fasting, saying he only eats “but two meals a day.”
(Source: Kansas City Journal-Post
Sept 10, 1933 by Carol Bird
(Read it here for free).

NIKOLA TESLA AND EXERCISE

Tesla lived to be 86, which was well above the average expected lifespan when he passed in 1943.

According to his memoirs, when living in Paris in his mid-20s, Tesla would every morning swim 27 laps around a pool and then walk an hour before coming into work at his job. Just a year previously, Tesla had suffered an extreme illness after arriving to work in Budapest (a reoccurrence throughout his life. See also: Tesla’s Words) and credited the help of an athlete friend for his full recovery.

That athlete friend seems to have set Tesla up for a lifetime of healthy habits, as even at age 78 he claimed:

"I believe in plenty of exercise. I walk eight or ten miles every day, and never take a cab or other conveyances when I have the time to use leg power. I also exercise in my bath daily, for I think that this is of great importance. I take a warm bath, followed by a prolonged cold shower.”

More than 100 years later, Tesla has shown himself again to be a man ahead of his time as he engages in several of today’s health trends.