Why rye is a cause for healthy celebration

Finland is celebrating a centenary of independence in 2017. So what better occasion to ask the population to vote on the national food? For many of us who live in the country, it was no big surprise when rye bread emerged as winner. With the average Finn consuming two or three slices every day, rye bread plays an iconic role in the staple diet.

From a healthy eating perspective, it’s a great starting point – as, according to The National FINDIET Survey, rye bread delivers 35% of daily fibre consumption. That’s also a good reason to make sure rye bread and rye in general remain integral to the Finnish diet and to encourage consumers elsewhere to consider rye as a rich source of dietary fibre.

No time to miss out

The development of innovative and appealing rye products is particularly important right now. New research from Sweden – another rye-eating country – suggests that the growing eating-out trend could compromise the importance of rye bread in the national diet. Young consumers, who typically prefer sweeter, milder-tasting rye bread than their parents and grandparents, are most likely to abandon rye bread for something else.  A wealth of scientific studies have documented what they would miss out on if they did.

In early summer, specialists from business and academia gathered at the international Power of Rye congress in Finland to hear the latest research findings. The message from the event’s 32 presentations was clear: rye is an indisputably healthy grain that contributes to a healthy digestive system, satiety and weight management and blood sugar balance.

On the trail of Rye Factor X

As new studies and analysis methods continue to investigate specific health benefits, it is now widely acknowledged that there is more to the nutritional content of rye than the fibre alone.