Bircher burner max

The physician Max Bircher-Benner (1867 - 1939) already dealt with naturopathy, hydrotherapy and dietetics during his studies in Vienna, Berlin, Dresden and Zurich.

Through the treatment of a woman with a stomach ailment, Bircher-Benner came up with the idea of developing a raw food diet, which he had previously tested in a "self-experiment" after suffering from hepatitis. The best-known component of his diet is Bircher muesli, which is a wholefood product (see below).

In 1903 he published the paper "Grundzüge der Ernährungstherapie auf Grund der Energetik". Bircher-Benner assumed that the radiation of the sun is the visible expression of the cosmic power of creation and order. Every living being in nature is said to be permeated by this life energy, which maintains its biological order. Plants are informed of the radiation of life directly from the sun via photosynthesis; humans and animals must obtain the majority of it from food. Another thesis was that raw food is more valuable than cooked food and vegetable food is more valuable than meat.

His theses met with broad criticism from orthodox medicine, or contradicted the prevailing views on nutrition. Bircher was expelled from the Zurich Medical Association because of his treatment measures with the reason "he had left the scientific field - and was no longer acceptable!

In addition to his dietary guidelines, Max Bircher-Benner also developed a so-called order therapy for his patients, which was intended to create order on the plate, order in the body and in the mind.
Following a strictly adhered to plan, he prescribed outdoor exercise, gymnastics, air baths and hydrotherapy. Bircher-Benner described his sanatorium, called Lebendige Kraft, as a "school of life" and an "effective instrument against the degeneration" of the population through "unnatural" lifestyles. A prominent patient was Thomas Mann, who in a letter in 1909, however, described the sanatorium as a "hygienic prison" and was inspired here for his novel The Magic Mountain.

The original Birchermüesli, "d'Spys" is composed as follows:

1 tablespoon of oatmeal, 3 tablespoons of water,

1 to 2 apples with skin and core grated,

Juice of half a lemon, 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk.

Prepare everything fresh, mix and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of grated nuts over it. Birchermüesli, which became a byword for healthy eating across all language barriers, was not considered an addition to the diet, but a full morning or evening meal.

1. Beer AM (2016) The history of natural medicine. Koffler Pressure Management. Dortmund. ISBN: 978-3-00-052760-9