Rye and Health

Rye (Secale cereale) is an important food grain, especially in Northern and Eastern Europe, where rye bread is often used daily. Other food products made of rye include mixed-flour breads, crisp bread, flakes, porridge, muesli, and biscuits, as well as pasta and other specific dishes. Rye grain is very rich in dietary fiber, which is concentrated in the outer grain layers but also present at rather high quantities in starchy endosperm. Rye is traditionally used as whole-grain bread, bringing all the grain constituents into the human food; in addition to nutrients, it contains many phenolic compounds such as lignans, phenolic acids, and alkylresorcinols, as well as micronutrients (minerals and vitamins), and sterols.