{"id":39120,"date":"2025-09-23T18:03:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T18:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/39120\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T18:03:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T18:03:07","slug":"3-longevity-habits-from-a-96-year-old-doctor-who-still-drives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/39120\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Longevity Habits From a 96-Year-Old Doctor Who Still Drives"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Dr. Ira Eliasoph retired from ophthalmology<\/a> at 92, he still felt energized enough to do the work.<\/p>\n

“When I quit, it was not because of any feebleness on my part; I could still do the surgery without having the shakes,” Eliasoph, 96, told Business Insider. “The young residents were more nervous than I was.”<\/p>\n

Since retiring from a 70-year medical career that involved a naval rescue and celebrity patients, Eliasoph focused on painting, driving to see his friends, and participating in the SuperAgers Family Study<\/a>, which tracks longevity traits<\/a> in people 95 and up.<\/p>\n

Eliasoph said his father, Dr. Benjamin Eliasoph, a renowned physician<\/a> who pioneered the design of the oxygen tent in 1921, was his hero. He also learned a lot about health from his father, who put Eliasoph on a low-fat diet<\/a> when he was 6 years old.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been careful with my diet all these years, and also not being a risk taker,” Eliasoph said.<\/p>\n

He’s taught his four children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandsons a few simple rules: To listen to their bodies and keep a handle on stress<\/a>. “The only real emergency is if the house is on fire,” he said. “But otherwise, pretty much everything can wait a few hours or another day.”<\/p>\n

It’s led to a long, rich life. “I’m glad that my brain seems to be clear,” Eliasoph said. “I’ve had a couple of difficulties with some surgeries, whatever, but I’m fine.”<\/p>\n

Career passion and hobbies keep his mind sharp<\/p>\n

\"Ira<\/p>\n

Eliasoph in 1954, when he was a US Navy medical officer.<\/p>\n

Ira Eliasoph<\/p>\n

From a young age, Eliasoph had a penchant for discovering new things and challenging himself, a key part of longevity<\/a>. “Curiosity and observation every day are essential,” Eliasoph said.<\/p>\n

At summer sleepaway camp, he was eager to learn how to swim, ride a horse, row a boat, paddle a canoe, and shoot a rifle.<\/p>\n

Following in his father’s footsteps, Eliasoph entered the medical field, first studying general surgery before pursuing ophthalmology at NYU and Mount Sinai. “I chose a field that suited my talents and interests,” he said, which kept him engaged and excited throughout the years.<\/p>\n

He looks back on his career with pride. In 1955, he participated in a risky, lifesaving mission<\/a> as a US Navy medical officer. He also published peer-reviewed papers and developed new surgical instruments for ophthalmic surgery.<\/p>\n

Related stories<\/p>\n

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know<\/p>\n

Since retiring<\/a> a few years ago, Eliasoph has spent his time painting and drawing, hobbies he’s had since childhood, and writing his memoir and a biography of his father.<\/p>\n

He eats sweets in moderation and takes supplements<\/p>\n

Sticking to his father’s low-fat diet, Eliasoph eats high-protein<\/a> meals like turkey dinners and corned beef hash, which include plenty of vegetables like green beans and sweet potatoes.<\/p>\n

He also limits his sugar consumption<\/a>. To satisfy his sweet tooth, he usually has “two or three teaspoonsful” of ice cream or Woodford pudding, a classic blackberry dessert.<\/p>\n

He also takes supplements<\/a> every morning. “Vitamin C, to me, is essential,” he said, noting the “long history of scurvy.” He also takes vitamin B12<\/a>, which helps form new red blood cells and stave off memory loss, and folic acid<\/a>, a synthetic form of vitamin B9 that promotes brain function, every day.<\/p>\n

Independent but connected<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

Eliasoph with his cat Bandit, whom he got in 2015.<\/p>\n

Ira Eliasoph<\/p>\n

Eliasoph has regular phone calls with his son and three daughters, who all live far away. His physically closest relative is his stepson, who lives a mile away. Several times a week, he said his stepson and wife come over with takeout food.<\/p>\n

“I have been self-reliant and independent from early life,” Eliasoph, who lives alone, said. However, he still credits strong family ties<\/a> for his longevity.<\/p>\n

During the week, Eliasoph also socializes by driving 20 minutes to a beach club he used to go to with his late wife. He spends time with friends he used to play tennis with \u2014 a sport he had to give up after an injury two years ago.<\/p>\n

Having a pet<\/a> also keeps him happy. He got his cat, Bandit, after having major surgery in 2015. “Little Bandit has been great,” Eliasoph said. “Don’t need a psychiatrist.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Dr. Ira Eliasoph retired from ophthalmology at 92, he still felt energized enough to do the work.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[84,29932,4894,29926,29927,103,61,60,29929,29928,29931,1699,2283,15591,29930,3066,5403,742],"class_list":{"0":"post-39120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-brain","9":"tag-career-passion","10":"tag-day","11":"tag-eliasoph","12":"tag-father","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-longevity-habit","17":"tag-low-fat-diet","18":"tag-medical-field","19":"tag-ophthalmology","20":"tag-painting","21":"tag-part","22":"tag-several-time","23":"tag-surgery","24":"tag-week","25":"tag-year"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}