Rye sourdough is among the healthiest breads you can eat: High fiber content and long fermentation process come with many benefits. Keep reading to learn more.
Control Blood Sugar
Rye bread is high in soluble fiber, which helps slow the digestion and absorption of carbs and sugars through the digestive tract, leading to a more gradual rise in blood sugar levels. Rye’s high level of fiber gives the bread a lower glycemic index (GI) compared to other grain products.
GI is a measurement of how much a set amount of food has the potential to raise your blood sugar. The lower the GI of a particular food, the more slowly you digest it, with the desirable side-effect of only gradually increasing your blood sugar and insulin. This is what you want.
On the other hand, a high GI is bad due to the blood sugar yoyo-effect that it creates, which works like this: The high GI causes blood sugar to spike way too fast, thereby triggering a rapid release of insulin, which in turn causes your blood sugar to quickly go down again, like a yoyo. This yoyo-effect causes a sudden drop in your energy and the unhealthy desire to eat yet again, even though you just had a meal. Over time, after constantly going through this yoyo motion, your body may not be able to lower blood sugar effectively, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. Eating rye bread helps you prevent that.
Aid Digestive Health
Rye bread can help improve digestive health in several ways. First, it is a good source of fiber, which helps your bowel regulate its movements. Soluble fiber absorbs water which keeps stool soft, making it easier to pass.
Rye bread can help those with gluten sensitivity. Gluten is a protein which is found in wheat, rye and barley, which can cause unpleasant digestive symptoms. The lengthy fermentation process of rye sourdough breaks down some of gluten's indigestible proteins, thereby making the bread easier to digest. Anyone with gluten sensitivity should always seek medical advice, but anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that those with a sensitivity to gluten may find that they can eat rye sourdough without problems.
Other benefits
Compared to wheat bread, rye bread has a much higher content of helpful nutrients such as zinc, vitamin B, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and so on. There’s more detail about the nutritional values of rye in this previous blog post: Why Rye is Better Than Wheat
Due to rye bread’s high fiber content, you feel satisfied for longer and eat less, which helps you control weight. Finally, the lengthy fermentation process allows for the development of real flavor that stands on its own feet.
Where to find it
Unfortunately, most so-called "rye bread" in the USA doesn't deserve the name, because it barely contains any rye. This is due to the fact that the US hardly grows any rye grains. Germany, on the other hand, is the largest rye producer in the world. A German rye bread routinely consists of 30-40% and more of rye, whereas that share in the US is more around 1-5%.
If you are looking for authentic German rye sourdough bread, we have you covered. All our breads contain significant amounts of rye grain. Our Farmer's Bread, for example, has a 39% rye content. Click here for details. You can order our breads online. We ship nationwide.
Is your rye bread pure rye? I am allergic to all other grains.