(22 August 1867 – 24 January 1939) was a Swiss physician and a pioneer nutritionist credited for popularizing muesli and raw food vegetarianism.

Other scientists of the time did not respond well to what Bircher-Benner referred to as his "new food science," but was sufficiently popular with the general public that he expanded his sanatorium practice.

[5] 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.

At his Zürich sanatorium off Bircher-Benner-Platz, the patients had to follow a somewhat monastic daily schedule including early bedtime (21:00), physical training and active gardening work.

Bircher-Benner also recommended his patients to sunbathe, take cold showers and use a medicinal bath developed by American physician John Harvey Kellogg.

[1] His theory of life was based on harmony between people and nature, a key component of a German lifestyle reform movement, and the reason he named his clinic "Vital Force.

[citation needed] Several brands of factory-made cereals based on Bircher-Benner's original recipe for wholegrain-fruit-and-nut muesli are widely marketed as popular breakfast and snack foods in Europe and North America.