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Rye is one of the most important grains alongside wheat for making bread. Rye flour is considered healthy because it contains important minerals, vitamins and fiber. Rye products are suitable for diabetics to reduce weight and balance cholesterol levels.
Table of contents
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- Characteristics
- Rye – an overview
- ingredients
- A grain with vitamin E
- Medical effect
- Gut health and blood sugar
- Rye pollen for benign prostate syndrome
- Rye rolls and rye bread with sourdough
- Mixed rye bread and whole grain rye bread
- Bake rye bread
- Rye flour types and whole grain rye flour
- Rye and wheat in comparison
- History of medicine
Characteristics
- Scientific name: Secale cereale
- Common name: grain (regional)
- Family: Sweet grasses (Poaceae)
- Distribution: The origin of the wild form is probably in Western Asia, the Caucasus and Turkey. Rye is primarily grown in cooler climates.
- Plant parts used: The grain, the germs
- Ingredients: Pentosans (mucilage), sterols, amino acids (including lysine), fatty acids, fiber, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc and folic acid, B vitamins and vitamin E
- Areas of application: promoting digestion and intestinal health, supplying vitamins and minerals, balancing cholesterol, balancing hormones, reducing weight, nutrition for diabetes
Rye – an overview
- Rye is more resistant to frost, disease and nutrient deficiencies than wheat and was the only bread grain in northern latitudes for many centuries. Winter rye can tolerate severe cold better than any other grain.
- Rye is still used today primarily to make bread, to a lesser extent also as animal feed, and to produce alcohol.
- Rye dough is darker and firmer than wheat dough and has a more intense flavor.
- Rye contains easily broken down fiber, which lowers cholesterol and glucose levels in the blood and promotes intestinal health.
- Rye is particularly suitable for diabetics and for weight loss.
- Rye is more affected than other grains by the toxic ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea. This used to trigger mass illnesses known as the “Antonius Fire”.
ingredients
Rye provides a wide range of valuable vital substances: pentosans and the amino acid lysine, as well as sterols. In terms of minerals and trace elements, the grain offers larger amounts of iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese and zinc and vitamins especially B1, B3, B5, folic acid (B9) and vitamin E.
Whole rye grains provide a particularly high amount of fiber, which promotes digestion. There are also amino and fatty acids.
A grain with vitamin E
Rye contains a high proportion of vitamin E. Vitamin E is considered an antioxidant by scavenging free radicals and thus protecting the body's cells from harmful oxidation and aging processes. It has a protective and strengthening effect on skin and hair.
It strengthens the hair roots and connective tissue and thus prevents the development of cellulite. It also helps maintain the skin's natural moisture. It also balances the hormonal balance.
The vitamin supports the functions of the nervous system. In addition, it supports digestion. Vitamin E is a “bridge builder”: It enables cells to work together and the biochemical processes in bones and muscles. Vitamin E therefore contributes to the health and strengthening of muscles and bones.
Medical effect
Rye reliably supplies the body with valuable ingredients for a healthy diet. The grain contains, among other things, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese as well as many B vitamins and vitamin E.
Potassium is necessary to regulate the body's fluid balance. It lowers blood pressure and keeps heart functions healthy. Iron is necessary so that the body receives enough oxygen and blood can be formed.
The organism needs magnesium to build nerves and muscles. It also strengthens concentration. In addition, rye provides zinc, which is important for the immune system to work. Manganese supports connective tissue. The body needs the B vitamins it contains to ensure metabolic functions.
Rye is an important grain for bread production and has a variety of positive effects on our health. It is often preferable to wheat. (Image: ploegerson/unsplash/own editing heilpraxis.de)
Gut health and blood sugar
As a whole grain, rye contains valuable fiber. These ensure a lasting feeling of satiety and thus counteract cravings and binge eating. They work on digestion by ensuring that food stays in the stomach longer and the volume of the stool increases.
Feeling full longer and digesting more slowly can help you lose weight. Since the fiber also helps prevent blood sugar from rising too high, rye is also suitable for use in diabetes.
Rye hardly causes blood sugar levels to rise – the glycemic index is significantly superior to that of wheat: for wheat bread it is around 70, for rye bread it is only around 58.
A Swedish study in middle-aged subjects in 2018 came to the following conclusion, among other things: Evening meals based on whole grain rye have a positive effect against diabetes, which is probably due to the processing of fiber in the intestine.
Fiber binds bile acids and balances cholesterol levels. Both counteract various risks of illness. The fiber is indigestible, but at the same time serves as a food source for microorganisms in the intestine. They enrich the intestinal flora and have a positive effect on intestinal functions, for example by preventing constipation.
Another Swedish study found in 2022: A diet containing fiber-containing rye products as part of a diet led to changes in the intestinal microbiome that were associated with weight loss and metabolic risk factors. The results of the study would strengthen the evidence that intestinal bacteria could be a cause of the health-promoting effects of whole rye and cereal fiber. However, further specific studies would be required to prove a causal connection.
A high concentration of pentosans (mucus) also slows down the feeling of hunger because they bind water and swell. This makes us feel full. These mucilages also promote cell health and stabilize cell walls.
Rye pollen for benign prostate syndrome
There is promising evidence from clinical trial results that rye pollen extracts show promising effects in patients with benign prostate syndrome. However, the study situation is not yet sufficient and the results are too heterogeneous to draw final conclusions (Nieber, 2016)
Rye rolls and rye bread with sourdough
Rye bread and rye rolls are generally good for intestinal health. Rye products with sourdough are particularly suitable for strengthening intestinal functions. Here the glycemic index is even lower and fat burning is even better.
Lactic acid bacteria in sourdough break down sugar compounds and form lactic acid from them. This has a positive effect on the intestinal flora and has a prebiotic function. This means they promote the proliferation of beneficial bacteria. These bacteria then act against flatulence, diarrhea and bloating and relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
They also break down soluble fiber and ensure the formation of short-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids regenerate and strengthen the intestinal mucous membranes. Certain lactic acid bacteria counteract inflammation by warding off the pathogens that cause irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea and certain metabolic disorders.
Mixed rye bread and whole grain rye bread
Rye flour is produced by grinding the grain from rye. With whole grain rye flour, the whole grain is used, including the sprout and husk.
Wholemeal rye flour is mainly used to bake bread, either as pure wholemeal or as mixed bread together with other flours (multigrain), which do not necessarily all have to be wholemeal flour. It tastes intense and has a dark color.
The bitter taste is less suitable for sweet pastries. Rye flour is found in savory cakes and quiches, often combined with vegetables. Rye flakes are used for muesli and porridge.
More than just whole grain bread, rye flour is used in mixed breads. These make up the majority of bread produced in Central Europe. In Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse they are called gray bread. They are baked with sourdough or yeast and consist primarily of a mixture of wheat and rye flour. Mixed breads taste milder than pure rye breads and have a softer crust.
Mixed rye bread contains more than 50 percent rye flour, mixed wheat bread contains more than 50 percent wheat flour. Breads with more than 90 percent rye flour are called rye breads. The more rye there is in mixed bread, the longer the bread stays fresh and the stronger it tastes. More wheat, on the other hand, loosens up the bread and ensures a milder taste.
Bake rye bread
Without acid, rye flour cannot form fermentation gases and collapses into a flat cake when baked. If a bread dough contains more than 20 percent rye flour, it must be additionally leavened. The microbes in sourdough ensure this. They produce lactic acid and acetic acid.
Without sourdough and only with yeast, you have to help so that the dough rises. You can add buttermilk, natural yogurt and/or apple cider vinegar. The dairy products provide the lactic acid that is produced by the microbes in the sourdough.
Rye flour types and whole grain rye flour
Flour is milled from the pure endosperm, i.e. without the germ and outer layers. Depending on the degree of grinding, flour types are differentiated. For rye flour these are types T 815, 997, 1150, 1370 and 1740. The higher the degree of grinding, the higher the number of the types and the darker the flour.
Whole wheat flour…