Conventional wisdom tells us whole grains are healthier than refined
grains, because an intact kernel of wheat, barley, rye or oat still
harbors the fibrous bran and vitamin-rich germ in its outer layers. When
grains are milled to make refined white flours, the outer layers come
off and these valuable nutrients are lost. But when Swedish researchers
picked apart a grain of rye, they found that what's on the inside is
just as good for you as what's on the outside.
Nutritionists at Lund University found that study participants who ate
bread made with refined white rye flour had better blood sugar and
insulin control immediately after a meal than those who ate bread made
with a combination of refined wheat (all-purpose white) flour and rye
bran. This came as a surprise because bran is one of the components of
whole grains that helps prevent spikes in blood sugar after a meal that
includes bread or other grain products.
This small study was part of a larger effort on the part of the European
Union known as the HealthGrain Integrated Project. The purpose of the
HealthGrain project is to discover which components of whole grains
grown in Europe are most healthful and useful for preventing chronic
disease, and then incorporate more of these components into grain foods
produced and sold throughout the continent.
Rye is a high-protein grain that is rich in vitamins, minerals and
fiber. In fact, dark, or "whole" rye flour has twice as much of the same
nutrients as whole-wheat flour and retains many of those nutrients even
after milling. What rye flour lacks, however, is gluten, a specific type
of structural protein that helps lightens the texture of baked goods. In
Germany and Eastern European countries, where coarsely textured breads
are more acceptable, rye is one of the most popular bread grains and is
used to make dark, dense loaves of both rye and pumpernickel bread.
In the United States, however, most of the rye bread we eat is made with
a combination of refined rye flour and refined wheat flour. It's a ratio
that results in a loaf that has more flavor and texture than regular
white bread but is still more mild in flavor and lighter in texture than
a typical European loaf of rye. The findings of the Lund study, which
confirm the results of earlier European and American studies linking rye
grain to better blood sugar control, suggests that both types of rye
bread confer important health benefits. Because there are many different
varieties of rye grain, however, more research is needed before anyone
can say for sure if one loaf of rye is as healthful as the next.
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EarthNSky Farm 34.498N 85.076W
SISU! (Finnish--There is no single word in English that encompasses
all that sisu means, but it combines the following ideas: guts, pep,
determination, stubbornness, perseverance, hardiness, stamina, go, do,
nerve, spunk, pluck, and grit. It's like "Just Do It!"& "Go for It!")
[Homestead] Rye, my favorite grain,
EarthNSky, 12/07/2010