I guess by now we all know what muesli is, but maybe what we don't know is where did muesli originate and what are the muesli benefits, we will try to explain that in a moment.

Muesli consists principally in uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. It was developed in 1900 by Swiss physician and one of the first nutritional experts of the modern era Maximilian Bircher-Benner (1867-1939), as a natural way to maintain the health balance of his patients in the Zurich sanatorium where he worked. This was the first pillar of something that later on got the medical term of "Ordnungstherapie" and about which we will talk later on.

I have to admit I was a little bit reluctant the first time I tried muesli, back then as a child, the feelings of curiosity and fear were mixed, however curiosity was higher than fear and I ended up trying muesli in the extraordinary peace and tranquility of the garden of a summer rural house in Tuscany, a region in the northwest of Italy where farmhouses and villas are part of the day to day landscape and time has a different meaning. Back then I didn't know that some forty years later I would be writing an article about muesli benefits after getting so addicted to its flavor. Image: Jester House muesli by Jessica Spengler under Creative Common license (CC BY 2.0).

AVENA SATIVA 

Family: Poaceae
Genus: Avena
Common name: Oat

Many are the properties and health benefits of walnuts. Among others we already mentioned in previous articles how walnuts lower cholesterol levels, are a rich source of vitamin E, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, phytosterols, polyphenols, carotenoids, and melatonin.

Some active constituents found in walnuts is the fight against neurodegenerative disease and their consumption significantly reduced the incidence on MDA-MB 231 human breast cancer. Image left: Wet walnuts by Erich Ferdinand under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0).

Now, a study performed by Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, shows how walnut leaf extracts were found to contain active constituents that were effective against several cancer cell lines [5].

JUGLANS REGIA

Family: Juglandaceae
Genus: Juglans
Common name: Persian walnut, English walnut, common walnut, Juglans duclouxiana, Juglans fallax, Juglans kamaonica, Juglans orientis, Juglans regia kamaonica, Juglans regia orientis, Juglans regia sinensis, Juglans sinensis.

Scutellaria lateriflora (Blue skullcap), is a perennial herb indigenous from North America. The flowers are very small and have a very distinctive pale blue color. Blue skullcap is known in Europe and America for some of its properties, among which the most commonly known is its nervous sedative effects.

Other document uses of Blue skullcap includes its use for the treatment of kidney or urinary system disorders [4]. The Native Americans and Europeans used it also as a nerve tonic, sedative, and anti-convulsant [6]. Image: Hairy skullcap by Kerry Wixted under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0).

SCUTELLARIA LATERIFLORA 

Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Scutellaria
Common name: Mag dog skullcap, skullcap, Madweed [4].

None doubted that walnuts played an important role in our diets. Walnuts were also claimed to be able to lower cholesterol levels, a rich source of vitamin E, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, phytosterols, polyphenols, carotenoids, and melatonin. Another important role of some active constituents found in walnuts is the fight against neurodegenerative disease and able to lower cholesterol levels.

MELATONIN IN WALNUTS

Maybe the content of melatonin in walnuts played a leading role on its claimed properties to control stress levels, remember that melatonin is the so-called darkness hormone that has been since recently prescribed in Europe against sleep related disorders as insomnia. In Europe Melatonin is sold in shops without prescription but why to buy artificial Melatonin when we can have it from a natural source?

JUGLANS REGIA

Family: Juglandaceae
Genus: Juglans
Common name: Persian walnut, English walnut, common walnut, Juglans duclouxiana, Juglans fallax, Juglans kamaonica, Juglans orientis, Juglans regia kamaonica, Juglans regia orientis, Juglans regia sinensis, Juglans sinensis.