What was the diet of Nikola Tesla? A Look into His Peculiar Eating Habits

December 14, 2025 •

3 min read

Nikola Tesla, the brilliant mind behind alternating current, famously declared that his diet was the most important element of his life plan. He firmly believed the body was a machine that required specific, clean fuel, a philosophy that deeply influenced what was the diet of Nikola Tesla throughout his life.

Quick Summary

Nikola Tesla's diet was famously minimalistic, shifting to a mostly vegetarian, two-meal-a-day plan late in life. He favored vegetables, milk, and eggs for mental sharpness and avoided acidic-forming foods to maintain clarity and longevity.

Key Points

Two Meals a Day: Tesla practiced intermittent fasting by consistently eating only breakfast and dinner, believing it enhanced efficiency and digestion.
Progressive Vegetarianism: Though he ate meat in his youth, he gradually reduced his consumption, becoming mostly vegetarian later in life, citing ethical and health reasons.
Avoidance of Uric Acid: He deliberately avoided foods he believed produced excessive uric acid, such as meat and egg yolks, in favor of egg whites and vegetables.
Focus on Dairy and Vegetables: Milk was a staple of his diet, which he considered a "complete food," along with vegetables and fruits.
Minimalism for Mental Clarity: Tesla's eating philosophy centered on fuel, not indulgence, as he believed a light diet conserved mental energy for his work.
Boiled Foods Preference: Due to a serious illness in his youth, Tesla developed an aversion to germs and reportedly preferred his food boiled.
Rejection of Stimulants: He consciously gave up coffee, tea, and tobacco in favor of what he considered a healthier lifestyle.

Tesla's Austere Food Philosophy

Nikola Tesla's approach to eating was a meticulous extension of his scientific and disciplined lifestyle. For him, food was never about culinary indulgence but about efficiency, clarity, and conservation of mental energy. He viewed the human body as an intricate machine and believed that consuming clean, easily digestible fuel was paramount to its optimal performance and longevity. His dietary views, often considered eccentric by his contemporaries, mirrored his ascetic dedication to his work and his singular focus on higher intellectual pursuits. This philosophy led him to avoid overindulgence and heavy, rich meals common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, preferring simplicity and purpose over pleasure.

The Two-Meal-a-Day Regimen

One of the cornerstones of Tesla's diet was his strict adherence to a two-meal-a-day schedule, a practice that strongly resembles modern-day intermittent fasting. He firmly believed that skipping lunch was crucial for improving health, sharpening the appetite, and increasing mental and physical activities. He reasoned that the digestive process of a midday meal drew blood from the brain to the stomach, thereby impeding intellectual function. His schedule typically involved:

Breakfast: Consumed between seven and eight in the morning, serving as fuel for his deep work sessions that would last for several hours.
Dinner: Eaten between seven and eight in the evening, providing the body with materials to replenish itself during sleep.

Tesla maintained this routine for decades, famously stating, "I did not know what life was until I eliminated lunch".

The Evolution to Vegetarianism

Tesla's diet was not static throughout his life. In his youth, he ate meat, but over time, he gradually reduced his consumption, moving first to fish and then eliminating meat almost entirely. His reasons were both health- and ethics-based. He argued that the slaughter of animals was a "barbarous habit" and that plant-based diets were more economical and beneficial for both mental and physical performance. He believed meat and fish introduced excessive uric acid into the system, which he feared was a primary enemy of old age. While some critics have challenged the nutritional completeness of his later diet, Tesla himself championed the vegetarian lifestyle.

A Comparison of Tesla's Diet vs. His Era's Standard

Tesla's minimalistic approach stands in stark contrast to the eating habits of many of his contemporaries, particularly the wealthy, who often consumed lavish, multi-course meals.


Feature	Nikola Tesla's Diet	Typical Turn-of-the-Century Diet
Meal Frequency	Two meals (breakfast and dinner)	Three or more meals with heavy snacks
Protein Source	Egg whites, milk, small amounts of fish/chicken	Heavy servings of beef, pork, and rich meats
Vegetables	Abundant, often cooked into soups or stews with butter	Present, but often overshadowed by large meat portions
Stimulants	Abstinence from coffee and tobacco	Regular consumption of coffee, tobacco, and alcohol
Philosophy	Minimalist; fuel for mental clarity and longevity	Indulgent; symbol of wealth and social status

The Specifics of Tesla's Meals

Tesla's diet included a select list of foods that he believed contributed positively to his health and mental sharpness. Here are some of his preferences:

Breakfast: A glass or two of warm milk and lightly cooked eggs, specifically the protein-rich whites.
Lunch (Absent): He skipped this meal entirely.
Dinner: A vegetable soup, such as a cooked mixture of onions and celery with a large amount of butter, along with potatoes, and sometimes a small piece of fish or chicken.
Additional Items: Fruits (especially apples), honey, and bread were occasionally part of his intake. He valued vegetables for their vitamin and mineral content.

Conclusion: Tesla's Legacy of Intentional Eating

Nikola Tesla's diet was a reflection of his genius—intensely focused, unconventional, and grounded in a profound, if eccentric, understanding of how the body and mind interact. While modern nutritional science offers a more complex view of diet, Tesla’s core principles—eating mindfully, favoring whole foods, and avoiding overconsumption—resonate with many health trends today. His dedication to using food as a tool for enhancing mental performance rather than a source of excess is a fascinating historical footnote and a testament to his holistic approach to health and innovation.

For a deeper look into the inventor's life and mindset, a review of his autobiography can be highly insightful. My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, in his later years. He moved towards a primarily vegetarian diet, consuming meat very rarely, though he was not vegan as he consumed dairy products like milk.

He did, in a sense. He adopted a regimen of eating only two meals a day—breakfast and dinner—and believed that skipping lunch improved his health and efficiency.

For breakfast, Tesla would typically consume warm milk and eggs, specifically the egg whites, while often avoiding the yolks because he believed they produced too much uric acid.

His dinners were simple, often consisting of vegetable soup (like his favorite celery and onion stew cooked with a generous amount of butter), potatoes, and sometimes a small piece of fish or chicken.

Tesla avoided foods like egg yolks, meat, and some legumes because he believed they produced excessive uric acid, which he considered harmful for longevity and mental health.

Tesla gave up coffee and tobacco, but he reportedly drank small amounts of alcohol, believing it had some beneficial properties. He eventually reduced or stopped this as well.

His diet was a strategic choice to fuel his demanding mental work. He saw his body as a machine and prioritized clean, easily digestible foods to maximize mental clarity and energy.

Tesla particularly praised fruit, believing it was essential for digestion and balance. Apples were a favorite choice for dessert.