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Pain d'Epices - French Honey Rye Cake
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Pain d'Epices – French Honey Rye Cake

In France, this kind of spice bread or cake is often called a “couque.” Traditionally, the rye flour and honey were allowed to ferment for as much as a month before the other ingredients were added and it was baked.

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Multigrain Energy Bars
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Multigrain Energy Bars

This bar is packed with whole grains and sweetened only with honey and naturally-occurring fruit sugars. The smooth flavor balance of peanuts, almonds, mildly tart fruit, and toasted oats isn’t overly sweet, but is sweet enough for a child to enjoy.

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Coconut Almond Granola Bars
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Coconut Almond Granola Bars

This nutty, crunchy, multigrain granola bar is packed with nutrients and sweetened only with honey.  The coconut flavor is intensified by the use of coconut oil, which research now shows may have health advantages over other saturated fats.

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Rye Bread Replaces Laxatives

In a recent Finnish study, rye bread proved more effective than laxatives in reducing mild constipation and improving colonic metabolism, without causing adverse gastrointestinal effects. Researchers at the University of Helsinki randomly assigned 51 constipated adults to five groups that consumed: rye bread, cultured buttermilk, rye bread + buttermilk, white wheat bread, and laxatives (as usual for participant). The rye bread proved most effective, cutting transit time 41% compared to laxatives.
Journal of Nutrition, January 2010; epub ahead of print

Rye Lowers Insulin Response, Improves Blood Glucose Profile

In the fight against diabetes and obesity, foods that produce a low insulin response and suppress hunger can be extremely useful. Scientists at Lund University in Sweden examined the effects on 12 healthy subjects of breakfasts made from different rye flours (endosperm, whole grain rye, or rye bran) produced with different methods (baking, simulated sour-dough baking, and boiling). This cross-over study showed that the endosperm rye bread and the whole grain rye bread (especially the “sourdough” one with lactic acid) best controlled blood sugar and regulated appetite.
Nutrition Journal. September 25, 2009; 8:42

Feel Fuller Longer With Rye

In a new study published by the Nutrition Journal, Swedish researchers report that eating rye at breakfast suppresses appetite over the next few hours much better than wheat. Attributing this to the power of rye fiber, particularly in rye bran, the researchers fed sixteen volunteers breakfasts including bread containing varying levels of rye, but all with the same caloric value. Those who ate the bread with the highest levels of rye fiber reported a lowered desire to eat in the hours between breakfast and lunch, while those who ate bread made with wheat flour felt hungrier earlier. Researchers concluded that the consumption of rye, whether through pure rye bran or sifted rye flour, created a feeling of satiety unmatched by wheat.
Nutrition Journal, August 26, 2009; 8:39. DOI:10.1186/1475-2891-8-39

Rye Bread Satisfies Longer than Wheat

At the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, researchers fed rye bread (with three varying levels of rye bran) and wheat bread to 16 people, then asked them to rate their appetite (hunger, satiety and desire to eat) for 8 hours afterward. [It’s not known if the wheat bread was whole wheat or refined wheat.] All through the morning and into the afternoon, the three rye bread breakfasts all decreased hunger and desire to eat, compared to the wheat bread control, with the rye bread containing the highest level of bran providing the strongest effect on satiety.
Nutrition Journal. August 26, 2009; 8:39

Rye Porridge More Satisfying for Breakfast

Scientists at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala decided to investigate whether whole grains keep people full and satisfied longer than refined grains – and whether specific types of whole grains are more satisfying than others. Working with 22 healthy adults, they fed their subjects either rye porridge or refined wheat bread for breakfast and then whole wheat pasta or refined wheat pasta for lunch. In both cases, the two options offered equal amounts of energy (calories). They found that the two pastas varied little in their subsequent effects on appetite, but that the rye porridge had “prolonged satiating properties up to 8 hours after consumption, compared to refined wheat bread.” (However, even though the rye breakfast made subjects feel full longer, it did not diminish subsequent food consumption.)
Food & Nutrition Research, 2008; 52. Doi 10.3402/fnr.v52i0.1809. Epub Jul 28.

Rye may Reduce Inflammation in People with Metabolic Syndrome

At the University of Kuopio in Finland, scientists assigned a group of 47 adults with metabolic syndrome to one of two different 12-week diets. The first group ate a diet with oat, wheat bread and potato (high post-meal insulin response) and the second group ate a diet with rye bread and pasta (low post-meal insulin response). The researchers found that the rye/pasta group showed less inflammation than the oat/wheat/potato group. Since inflammation may raise the risk of type 2 diabetes, the researchers concluded that choosing cereal foods wisely may be important to reduce diabetes risk, especially in those who already have metabolic syndrome.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. May 2008; 87(5): 1497-503.

Better Blood Sugar Control with Certain Whole Grains

Swedish researchers at Lund University have determined that certain whole grain products can help control blood sugar for up to ten hours. A team led by Anne Nilsson fed twelve healthy subjects test meals including different whole and refined grains, and found that barley and rye kernels at one meal had a long-lasting effect on controlling blood sugar extending to most of the day after the whole grain breakfast, or overnight with whole grains at dinner.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March 2008; 87(3):645-54

Rye Down-Regulates Some Risky Genes

For decades it was believed that genes determined destiny: if you’ve inherited genes that predispose you to heart disease, for example, you will develop cardiovascular disease. More recently, we’ve learned that genes have on/off switches: the potential may be there for your heart attack, but your diet and lifestyle may help you keep that switch turned off, by “down-regulating” the gene. Scientists at the University of Kuopio studied gene expression in 47 middle-aged adults who ate either an oat/wheat bread/potato diet or a rye/pasta diet for 12 weeks. They found 71 down-regulated genes with the rye/pasta group, including some involved with impaired insulin signaling, in contrast to 62 up-regulated genes in the oat/wheat/potato group, including genes that related to stress and over-action of the immune system, even in the absence of weight loss.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. May 2007; 85(5): 1169-70.

Sprouting Rye Increases and Protects Folate

Sprouting rye increases its folate content by 1.7- to 3.8-fold, depending on germination temperature, according to researchers in Finland who studied the effects of different processes on this key nutrient. The scientists also found that thermal treatments – including extrusion, puffing, and toasting – resulted in significant folate losses. However, when the rye was germinated (sprouted) first and then heat-processed, losses were minimized, showing sprouting to be a useful potential tool in safeguarding nutrients during food processing.
The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, December 13, 2006; 54(25):9522-8.

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