Why Eat Rye Bread?
First of all, what is rye?
Rye is a cereal grain that resembles wheat but is longer and more slender in shape and varies in colour from yellowish brown to grayish green. It is available in whole form or a cracked grain. It is difficult to separate the rye grain therefore it usually retains a large quantity of nutrients in comparison to refined wheat flour. Rye has a very hardy, deep, nourishing taste. Rye is the key ingredient in traditional rye breads, such as Dimpflmeier Bakery’s. Since its gluten is less elastic than wheat and holds less gas during the fermenting process, breads made with rye flour are more compact and dense. As it is difficult to separate the rye grain, rye flour usually retains a large quantity of nutrients, unlike refined wheat flour. Rye is a very good source of manganese, dietary fibre, phosphorus and copper. Rye is one of the most recently domesticated cereal crops. Unlike some other grains that can be tracked back to prehistoric times, rye was not cultivated until around 400 B.C. It was first grown in this manner in Germany.
Why eat rye?
Rye is an excellent source of fibre. Rye fibre is richly packed with non-cellulose polysaccharides which have exceptionally high water binding capacity to give you a feeling of fullness. This makes rye bread a good choice for anyone looking to lose weight.
Eating foods in high insoluble fibre, such as rye bread, can help women avoid gall stones. Researchers think insoluble fibre not only speeds intestinal transit time but reduces the secretion on bile acids. Excessive amounts of bile acids contribute to the formation of gallstones. Rye grain is a rich source of magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral that acts as a co-factor for more than 300 enzymes. Some of these enzymes are involved in the body’s use of glucose and insulin secretion. Rye bread may be a better choice than wheat bread for persons with diabetes. A study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that bread made from wheat triggers a greater insulin response that rye bread does.
Where does rye come from?
Today the world’s most rye comes from the following countries: Canada, Denmark, Poland and Russia.
What is in your rye?