Yes, Rye Bread Is Healthy, Especially When It's Whole Grain—Here's Why - Real Simple

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If you’re on the hunt for the healthiest bread choice, you may think whole wheat, sourdough, or sprouted loaves are your only options. But don’t forget about rye bread, which is full of both distinctive flavor and hearty nutrients. Of course, to make matters more complicated, there are many, many different types of rye bread to choose from—are you supposed to know which variety is healthiest for you? For the most part all rye bread is healthy, but here’s how to find one packed with the most nutrients per tasty slice, plus all the healthy benefits of eating it.

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What Is Rye Bread?

Rye (scientific name: Secale cereale) is a cereal grain grown from tall grasses similar to those that produce wheat. Rye bread is simply bread made from rye flour that comes from rye grains. Wheat and rye come from different plants, but they are related (and both grains contain gluten). While the rye is used to make a host of grain-based products—including liquors and other baked goods—bread is by far the most popular way to utilize it.

While this pungent, flavorful bread is a common variety in both Jewish and Scandinavian cuisines, it’s gained a loyal following more generally throughout the U.S., thanks to its unique taste and character. Some describe rye bread as having a sharp, sour, or earthy flavor, and imparting more zing than your average white or wheat bread. Rye also tends to have a denser texture than wheat breads due to the chemical makeup of rye grains, often resulting in a less dramatic rise when baked.

Types of Rye Bread

The flavor and color of rye bread depends on the particular type or style of bread. There are three main types of rye bread available:

Light Rye

This type of rye is typically not a whole grain bread—it’s made from just the endosperm of the rye grain, rather than from the whole grain with its three grain layers intact (bran, endosperm, and germ). The endosperm is the starchy inner layer that contains a much smaller percentage of vitamins and minerals compared to its nutrient-rich counterparts, the bran and germ. This refinement process also results in a rye that’s milder in flavor and lighter in color.

Dark Rye

While not always the case, dark rye is usually whole grain, made from flour that incorporates all three layers of the rye grain. Even though whole grain rye flour naturally tends to be darker in color, oftentimes bakers will add coloring agents like molasses, coffee, or cocoa to achieve its famously rich, dark color. The combination of these ingredients yields a more complex, tangy flavor compared to light rye breads.

Marbled Rye

As you might guess, marbled rye includes a mix of both light rye and dark rye dough, brought together to create an eye-catching, festive-looking loaf. While some bakers may make and then combine two separate doughs—one with refined, light rye flour and one with whole-grain rye flour—others will make a light rye dough base, divide it in two, and add coloring agents for the dark rye portion. It’s unlikely that a marbled rye bread will be 100 percent whole grain, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t fully whole grain marbled loaves out there, you just need to scour the label or ask your baker.

Pumpernickel 

Another deep, dark, earthy loaf made from the rye grain, pumpernickel bread is a traditional German bread typically made purely from the course flour from whole rye berries, and without any addition of wheat flour, which is sometimes used to bake other types of rye bread.

Is Rye Bread Healthy?

Rye bread is a healthy type of bread that’s an excellent choice for sandwiches, toast, tuna melts, croutons, and so much more. As with most grain products (e.g. breads and pastas), whole-grain varieties of rye bread will provide the most impressive nutritional benefits. 

Whole grain rye contains plenty of fiber, iron, calcium, zinc, potassium, selenium, manganese, copper, plant compounds, and B vitamins, including riboflavin, niacin, and B6.

Here's how these important nutrients found in rye bread work to support overall health, and why rye bread is a great addition to a well-balanced diet.

Immune System Support

Many of the nutrients found in whole grain rye bread support healthy immune system function, including fiber, plant compounds, zinc, selenium, and copper. The copper, plant compounds, selenium, and zinc in rye bread act as antioxidants that boost the immune system by reducing inflammation and fighting off harmful oxidative molecules, like free radicals, that are often contributors to illness and chronic disease. The soluble fiber found in rye bread acts as a prebiotic, feeding the healthy bacteria within the gut microbiome and helping it thrive. A thriving microbiome has been linked to a thriving immune system through its modulation of the immune response.

Digestion and Gut Health

The state of your gut microbiome is closely tied to overall gut health and digestive regularity, helping to combat common concerns like bloating and constipation. Eating a variety of plant foods high fiber, like whole grains, is an important nutritional pillar of supporting your gut health. In addition to its prebiotic soluble fiber content, the insoluble fiber in rye is also linked to better gut health by promoting digestive regularity.

Metabolic Function

Fiber makes a big impact when it comes to eating for a high-functioning metabolism. This is because this macronutrient slows down the process of digestion, encouraging a slower and less dramatic blood sugar response compared to that required for a low-fiber food. In fact, one 2017 randomized control trial found that rye bread intake positively influenced glucose levels and appetite regulation.

Heart Health

The potassium found in rye is an important electrolyte that helps regulate healthy heart rhythms. But it’s also rye's fiber again that’s to thank for supporting a healthy heart. Soluble fiber binds to dietary cholesterol in the gastrointestinal tract, removing it from the body instead of it getting absorbed into the bloodstream. This helps prevent harmful plaque build-up in the veins and arteries often responsible (at least, in part) for heart disease.

Strong Bones and Tissues

A diet that includes rye bread helps build healthy bones and tissues throughout the body. This is thanks to a swath of nutrients, like the calcium and manganese it contains, as well as iron that builds red blood cells and B vitamins that promote cell growth and repair.

How to Shop for the Healthiest Rye Bread

Here are a few smart things to look for when shopping for rye bread at the grocery store or local bakery:

• Look for a rye made with 100-percent whole grains. You can determine this by looking at the ingredient list—f you don’t see the word “whole” in front of the flour type listed, that’s an indication it is not whole grain. 
• Avoid loaves with added flavoring agents and/or sweeteners. These can include added sugars or other sweeteners, as well as cocoa, molasses, or simply cane sugar. To confirm the use of added sugars, look for the indented “added sugars” number under the total carbohydrates on the nutrition facts panel. While it can be tricky to find a zero-sugar rye loaf (and don’t bend over backward trying to find one), sticking to options with 5 grams of added sugar or less per slice is a great place to start. 
• Look for sourdough or sprouted grain ryes. Though not as common, loaves made through fermentation (i.e. sourdough rye) and/or with sprouted grains will really up the nutritional power, resulting in an even more digestible loaf with greater nutrient bioavailability.
• Reach for RD-trusted brands. Some great brands of rye bread to keep an eye out for include Angelic Bakehouse, Mestemacher, and Dave’s Killer Bread.

Enjoying Rye Bread at Home

Once you have your rye loaf at home, use and enjoy it anywhere you’d typically eat bread! There’s your everyday sandwich or open-faced toast: try a Reuben, turkey club, chickpea salad, egg sandwich, topped toast, tuna/patty melt, or BLT. But don’t let the culinary creativity stop there. Rye bread can be added to stuffings and meatballs, or made into croutons, breadcrumbs, and even crispy crackers.

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