Muesli is a breakfast cereal made from raw or toasted oats, dried fruit, nuts, bran, wheat germ, sugar and dried milk solids. Versions of muesli can be found in most grocery stores, and it is usually eaten with milk or yogurt. Both its ingredients and the fact that it is most often eaten for breakfast make muesli a beneficial food choice.

Muesli was introduced around 1900 by the Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital, where a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables was an essential part of therapy. It was inspired by a similar "strange dish" that he and his wife had been served on a hike in the Swiss Alps. Bircher-Benner himself referred to the dish simply as "d'Spys" (Swiss German for "the dish", in German "die Speise"). Muesli in its modern form became popular in western countries starting in the 1960s as part of increased interest in health foodand vegetarian diets.Traditional muesli was eaten with orange juice and not milk.

Oats are a tasty and convenient way to eat healthily, and it has never been easier to enjoy oats whatever the time of day as there are so many oat products to choose from. From breakfast cereals and oatcakes to flapjacks, breads and biscuits - the health benefits of oats can be enjoyed throughout the day, in any number of tasty ways! All About Oats has a host of delicious recipes to choose from, including ideas for breakfast, snacks and supper dishes. These quick and easy recipes are a great way to make the most of oats. With so many different kinds of oats available from white oats to oatmeal it is really easy to include oats in your diet.

Eating a bowl of oatmeal in the morning can easily help you increase your intake of whole grains and help you meet the Dietary Guidelines' recommendation to make half of the grains you eat whole grains. Whole grains are beneficial not just because of their fiber, but also because they contain a variety of minerals and phytonutrients. Some of the phytonutrients include lignans, which may help protect your heart; plant sterols and stanols, which help normalize blood cholesterol levels; and antioxidants such as phenolic and phytic acids.

Since the mid 1960s, many studies have highlighted the effect of oats' soluble fiber (the same beta-glucans found in barley) on blood-cholesterol levels. On average, eating three grams of soluble (not total) fiber a day (the amount in two bowls of oatmeal or one cup of cooked oat bran) reduced cholesterol by six points in three months. Participants with the highest cholesterol levels saw the best response; those whose blood-cholesterol levels were over 220 mg/dL saw their levels drop by 8 to 23 percent. Those who ate the most oat bran benefited the most. Another study showed that in certain individuals, oat bran can be as effective as, and certainly much less expensive as, medication in curbing elevated blood-cholesterol levels.

Similarly exciting results have been seen in people with diabetes and those with high-normal blood-sugar levels. The soluble fiber in oats means slower digestion, spreading the rise in blood sugar over a longer time period. Some people with diabetes who followed a diet high in soluble fiber from sources like oats and beans have been able to reduce their medication. Oats have more to offer everyone. They