Maximilian Bircher-Benner

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Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner (August 22, 1867 – January 24, 1939) was a Swiss physician and a pioneer in nutritional research. At his sanatorium in Zürich, a balanced diet of raw vegetables and fruit was used as a means to heal patients, contrary to the beliefs commonly held at the end of the 19th century.

He is best known for the invention of the muesli cereal, although his invention differs significantly from what is today known as muesli.

Bircher-Benner changed the eating habits of the late 19th century: Instead of much meat and white bread, he postulated eating fruit, vegetables and nuts. But not only controlled nutrition, but also spartan physical discipline were part of his ideas. At his sanatorium, the patients had to follow a somewhat monastic daily schedule including early bedtime (21:00), physical training and active gardening work. His theory of life was based on harmony between the human being and nature. Some of his ideas originate from observing the daily life of shepherds in the Swiss alps, who lived a notably simple, but healthy life.

In parallel to Bircher-Benner in Europe, John Harvey Kellogg worked in the U.S. and followed another, but somehow similar theory of the healthy diet.