Shake up your wake up - why breakfast is so important

Here is some great advice from the shakeupyourwakeup.com team. They say eating breakfast has many positive benefits on our whole wellbeing but all too often we don’t realise the difference it can make to how we feel. If you are a breakfast skipper, ask yourself the following questions and you may find it’s worth shaking up your morning routine and finding time for breakfast:

Q: Do you get hunger pangs around 11am and regularly reach for the biscuit tin?
It has been shown that people that start the day with a healthy breakfast are more likely to be within their ideal weight range than those who skip breakfast.

Solution – Something as quick as easy as a bowl of muesli can make all the difference to how often you reach for a snack in the morning and help you manage your weight.

Q: Do you find it difficult to concentrate in the morning?
Several studies have shown that eating breakfast can have a positive impact on your concentration levels.

Solution – Even a simple slice or two of wholemeal toast can help your concentration levels, whether you enjoy it at home or at work.

Q: Do you get stressed and grumpy in the morning?
Research suggests that breakfast eaters are less depressed and have lower levels of stress than breakfast skippers.

Solution: One of the most popular breakfasts for cheering people up is a bacon sandwich but if you are really short of time grab a cereal bar or English muffin on the way to work, it can make a difference to how you feel all morning.

Q: Did you sleep well but still feel like you need more energy?
Remember it will have been several hours since your body has had any fuel, so after a night’s sleep energy stores and blood sugar levels need to be topped up.

Solution – Start the day with a wholegrain breakfast of porridge, muesli or toast that will release plenty of energy slowly throughout your morning, as well as providing many vital nutrients too.

An apple a day...

An apple a day keeps the doctor away…. here are three super appley benefits to us humans:

1. Lowers the risk of cancer

It has been proven that ‘free radicals’ are a contributing factor to the onset of cancer. Eating foods rich in ‘antioxidants’ reduces the amount of free radicals in the body and therefore keeps you more healthy. And guess what… apples are super rich in antioxidants and protect the body from such diseases. Apples also contain a flavonoid called quercetin, which has been shown in numerous studies to have anti-cancer properties.

2. Good for your tummy and digestion

Apples contain lots and lots of pectin. Pectin is a soluble fiber which creates a healthy digestive system. Apples are great news for people who have trouble with irritable bowel syndrome or are getting over a bout of diarrhoea because the presence of this substance in apples is considered some of nature’s best medicine.

And as a final bonus - foods rich in pectin help to reduce bad cholesterol, thus reducing the risk of heart diseases.

3. Helps you to reduce weight

The pectin in apples also generates a sense of completeness when you eat one, which means it is more filling and suppresses the desire of frequent eating. The feeling of fulfilment reached after eating apples helps to reduce the intake of frequent food, therefore helping to reduce weight. A Brazilian study in 2009 found that women who ate three apples per day lost more weight while dieting than women who did not eat apples while dieting.

So, why have I gone on about these wonderful fruits today, well real Swiss bircher muesli contains about 50% apple! 

Find out the super benefits of Muesli

Breakfast is arguably the most important meal of the day and if you are searching for the perfect breakfast then look no further than a hearty bowl of real Swiss muesli. But why?.. you ask... well because it:

1. Boosts concentration and energy levels
Eating high fiber foods like oats, yogurt, fresh fruits and nuts are low calorie compared to snack foods like breakfast cereals and snack bars. They provide needed nutrients in your diet, which helps you feel less hungry for longer and provides you with more energy.

2. Improves your overall nutrition
Eating muesli will enhance your overall nutrition, and also help to regulate cholesterol. Breakfast is essential to body metabolism and can prevent the risk of heart disease such as arteriosclerosis.

3. Breakfast eaters are known to exercise more
The other benefit of eating breakfast is being able to consume more food. People who normally skip breakfast consume more snacks throughout the day, and have a heavy dinner. For that reason, it is advisable to eat a balanced breakfast that incorporate fiber, fruit and protein. Recent studies indicate that people who eat breakfast exercise more since they have adequate energy to do so.

4. Rejuvenates the body
The high calorie intake during breakfast allows your body to function better, meaning it helps you become less hungry during the day. The body burns more calories in the morning and the metabolism reduces near nighttime.

5. Loosing weight
For people are keen to shed few pounds, eating a healthy breakfast like muesli l is the best solution. A good balanced breakfast will improve your metabolism, which significantly burns more calories.

The greatest disadvantage of not having breakfast is that it lowers your blood sugar, which increases your cravings for food during the day. As a result, this tends to hinder weight loss and might even lead to weight gain.

An evening snack

Muesli that's been warmed up on the stove with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Just super yummy.

Oat-y facts

• Oats are a great source of B vitamins, particularly thiamin, riboflavin, B6 and folate, as well as vitamin E.
• Oats are low in sodium and a good plant source of iron and potassium. 
• The inclusion of oats in your diet can help reduce cholesterol.
• Oats are a wholegrain food. People with a healthy heart tend to eat more wholegrain foods.
• Oats are low GI foods. This means they can control blood glucose levels by reducing post-meal rises in blood glucose levels and providing a steady release of energy.
• A survey in 2006 showed that a massive 56 per cent of people did not know that oatcakes contained wholegrain, whilst 44 per cent were unaware that porridge oats were a wholegrain.

Why are oats so good for you?

Oats can help reduce cholesterol, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and can have a positive impact on blood pressure. That was the message from Dr Derek Stewart of SCRI as he helped launch the ‘All About Oats’ campaign to promote the health benefits of eating oats.

Dr Stewart, head of the Quality, Health and Nutrition programme at SCRI – Scotland’s leading crop research institute – recently completed a review which found significant scientific evidence to support the health benefits of eating oats.

Some of the key health benefits of oats identified by the review include:

• can help reduce cholesterol
• can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
• can influence blood pressure
• oats are low GI foods providing a steady release of energy
• oats provide soluble and insoluble fibre that can support probiotic bacteria and influence gastrointestinal health
• oats can enhance the human immune system though the action of β-glucans (the active ingredients in oats).

Although sales of oat products, such as porridge and oatcakes, increased by seven per cent from June 2006 – 2007 compared to the previous year a recent survey showed 35 per cent of those questioned didn’t know what nutrients were found in a bowl of porridge.

The ‘All About Oats’ campaign aims to change that by highlighting oats as a good source of B vitamins, iron, potassium and various antioxidants and phytochemicals including β-glucans. It includes an ‘All About Oats’ website containing health facts, recipes and useful information on oats.

The campaign has been set up by the Scottish Oats Group in collaboration with Home-Grown Cereals Authority and Scotland Food and Drink. SCRI is a member of the Scottish Oats Group.

Today's yummy muesli...

Mmmm muesli. So here is this morning's muesli offering:

• some oat, barley and rye flakes
• grated Granny Smith and an apple from my garden
• handful of blueberries
• sprinkling of raisins
• cup of milk
• nutty nibbles for added crunch
• squeeze of a lemon
• drop of agave syrup

and..... VOILA

Muesli - why has it always got wheat in it?

This was a question asked by Mary Rooks, posted on the River Cottage website

"Dear Hugh
                        After watching your lovely recipe for muesli, I thought perhaps you can help with a modern problem. Perhaps next year. When I first ate muesli, it was always based on oats, and was very nice. Sometime over the last 20-30 years it has got harder and harder to find this - even Alpen, which was standard, has long ago put lots of wheat in, and it is horrible, it is hard. You probably have to use hot milk to make it eatable. I know people who hate muesli, and I am sure this is why.

Nowadays I have to search hard for special ranges, and I can find one suitable variety at my local Co-op, but otherwise have to go to Health Food Stores which are much further away. I wonder if some time, you can raise the profile of this issue? You would be doing Britain a great favour if you publicised the problem. Perhaps you always make your own, so have not come across this. But ask any supermarket shopper and they will confirm my findings - usually wheat is listed before oats in the ingredients.

Yours hopefully
Mary Rooks"

I thought it was a very interesting and perceptive point... and will be responding to it over the next few days.

Modern Muesli - Myth or Misrepresentation?

Modern muesli is a sham: unless you use the original formulation. You can see why if you compare Dr Bircher-Benner's original (and genuine) recipe comprised of lemon juice, rolled oats, water, sugar, milk, ground almonds and 95% freshly grated apple - i.e. the bulk of the ingredients is fresh apple. The contemporary collection of chaff, fluff and sulphured fruit masquerading as muesli is just "so much colon fibre," as Colin Thomson - maker of Essene bread, once so aptly described it.

Dr Bircher-Benner's Swiss clinic was renowned for rescuing the ignorant from their folly. In those days, fresh fruit was regarded as bad food. Why? Because of it's laxative qualities. Bowel motions more often than once, perhaps twice a week were regarded as unhealthy and unseemly. The good Swiss doctor knew well that one fundamental law of biology which said that all living organisms will die in their own waste if unable to get rid of it. And he knew that humans were not exempt.

So all those who were ill with constipation, (auto intoxication as Ross Horne called it), but who didn't really know why, and who were wealthy enough to afford it, trod the trail to Switzerland. The clinic then faced two obstacles: getting these people to eat the fruit they'd hitherto eschewed and persuading them that the incipient and frequent visits to the toilet were really quite normal!

To disguise the fruit, Dr Bircher-Benner invented muesli. La Dolce Sopreta (Italian - the sweet surprise) and 'fruit porridge' were two synonyms used. There were variations on the basic recipe, but the 95% plus of fresh fruit never changed. Muesli was served as an appetiser before every meal. This was also to suppress digestive leucocytosis, an immune system response to the entry of cooked food first, into an empty stomach.

Who was Dr Bircher?

Maximilian Oskar Bircher was born in Switzerland on August 22, 1867. After studying medicine in Zurich, the young doctor opened a general practice in Zurich's industrial quarter.

During the first year his practice was open, Bircher-Benner fell ill with a slight case of jaundice.

It is said that by eating raw apples, the doctor was soon healed. Bircher-Benner became more and more convinced of the healing power of raw fruits and vegetables. Between 1895 and 1900 he conducted numerous nutritional experiments with raw vegetables on himself, his family and even the patients who seemed appropriate. He finally developed the dish that has become a classic around the globe, Bircher Muesli.

In November 1897, Bircher-Benner opened a small private clinic for dietetics and physical healing methods on the Asylstrasse in Zurich. In 1904 the newly qualified doctor of medicine, who was finally housed in the villa district on Zurichberg, opened a new sanatorium in a sunny southwestern location. It was called "Vital Force," which is a key term from the German lifestyle reform movement which states that people should pattern their lives after the logic determined by nature, thereby living in harmony with nature. The clinic's reputation soon spread outside Switzerland and patients included princes and industry moguls, musicians and literary figures.

The new nutritional value teachings of Bircher-Benner were a stark contrast to the usual dietary notions, according to which the value of foodstuffs was measured by its protein and calorie content. According to Bircher-Benner, food should no longer be just a means to satiate hunger or feast upon, more importantly it should keep the body healthy. Meals should contain little or no meat with potatoes, dark bread, milk and milk products.

Dr. Bircher-Benner died on January 24, 1939 at the age of 72. He did not live to see the opening of the "People's Sanatorium for a Lifestyle Based on Nature." Thanks to the donation of a patient, this sanatorium, run according to his ideas, was opened in the same year in Zurich. In addition, the "Vital Force" Sanatorium was renamed as the "Bircher-Benner Clinic" in his memory in 1939.

What is the original Muesli?

The original Bircher Muesli recipe is proportionately the opposite of most muesli available in today's supermarket varieties, calling for far more fruit than grains. One serving based on the original recipe consists approximately of:

• 1 tablespoon rolled oats, soaked in 2–3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cream
• 200 grams apple (about one large, preferably a sour variety), finely grated and mixed with the above directly before serving
• optionally top with 1 tablespoon ground hazelnuts or almonds

The original recipe used sweetened condensed milk instead of cream, a compromise due to hygiene concerns regarding fresh milk products in 1900 (bovine tuberculosis etc.), before pasteurisation and refrigeration became commonly available. The original recipe also advised to soak the oats in water overnight as raw oats need a lengthy soaking to soften them before eating. This long soaking time is unnecessary with modern rolled "quick oats", which the manufacturers already soften through a steam treatment. While phytic acid is an anti-nutrient and strong chelator of important minerals, it is removed during the steam process, making muesli desirable, given its positive antioxidant qualities.