Organizing your foods and meals on Paleo can be a tricky matter. There are lots of benefits to the diet and just a few drawbacks. But one of the obvious drawbacks is all the foods that you once enjoyed, but are now not allowed.
The alternatives usually get a bad reputation, but we are here to change that. Just because you chose to live a healthier lifestyle doesn’t mean that you should miss out on your favorite foods – just because they’re not Paleo.
So we’re here today to help you make the transition if you’re a beginner, and help broaden the meal plans for the Paleo folks that are stuck.
The focus of this article is simple – Rye Bread.
The delicious warm sensation of fresh rye bread surely brings a nostalgic kick to us all, and it’s ridiculous to think that you’ll have to get rid of it.
So let’s ask the question: can you eat rye bread on Paleo?
Can You Eat Rye Bread On Paleo
If you haven’t figured it out yet, the answer is a simple NO.
The simplicity comes from the fact that no grains are allowed on the Paleo diet. That means rye, sourdough, or pretty much anything else you can find in the bread section at your supermarket.
The usual Paleo list of lean meats, fish, fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds just has no room for traditional bread. And that’s not a bad thing! There are many health risks with traditional bread (and many benefits for the alternatives) that will let you know about today.
So to find out about all that, we must first figure out what Rye Bread is, why it’s forbidden, and what’s great about the alternatives!
What Is Rye Bread?
Rye is a grass-grown grain that belongs to the wheat family. Just like its other family members, it can be used to make flour and bread, but it has other uses as well. Rye is famous for its usage in beer making, and even some whiskeys and vodkas – quite a versatile piece of wheat! But let’s get back to the bread.
Rye Bread is quite a legend in its own right. Throughout the middle ages, it was the bread of choice for many cultures. Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Russia – we could go on for ages. The point is that all of these countries have their version of Rye Bread.
One thing that they all have in common is that they made dense bread, that’s high in protein and low in fat. Farmers and workers loved the stuff, as it packs you full of energy for the whole day. With that said, like any traditional bread, it is a carb bomb! But more on that later.
What’s So Bad About Rye?
You must be thinking to yourself, well what’s so bad about Rye Bread if everyone’s been munching on it for centuries? Well, that’s the problem – the centuries.
The Paleo diet is one that focuses on the eating habits of humans from thousands of years ago. And one of the things that people of that time didn’t eat, was pretty much all grains. What is so bad about grains you ask?
Well, glucose is bad, that’s what.
Health Risks Of Rye Bread
This part of the article is going to have to go a bit deeper than Rye.
Rye has the same health risks as any other grain. This is why we’ve decided to give you a short lesson on why grains are really bad.
Sure you can say the humans of the paleolithic era didn’t eat it, but there’s more to eat. We have chosen that era for a good reason, and the absence of grains is a big part of it.
You should always know what food you’re putting in your body, and why you’re not putting in certain other foods. Knowledge is key to a healthy lifestyle – trust us on that one.
Rye Bread is one of the healthier options that you can get at the store. It is packed full of vitamins and minerals, gives you enough energy to go through the day with nothing but breakfast in you! But the problem isn’t the bread, it’s the rye.
A Carb Bomb
The main problem with any bread is the high level of carbohydrates.
And, yes, we know carbs give the energy that you need – but it’s not the energy you want.
The healthiest form of energy for your body comes from fats, healthy fats that is. For a long time, people were quite wrong about the whole energy thing.
But it’s not all belly fat and big cheek problems, it can get much more serious than that.
Grains are usually high in carbs and low in fat. Sure, Rye has the advantage of having a higher protein level than its bothers – but is that worth it? Once you have all those Rye carbs in you, the glucose starts the real havoc.
Glucose
Glucose is, depending on who you ask, the main suspect in many health problems of the modern human. The way it causes problems is simple. Give us a second and we’ll explain.
Glucose is sugar – and we don’t mean table sugar that people put in their coffee, but it is sugar. See, sugar is just a very simple form of carb and glucose is the one that goes into your bloodstream.
Now, in healthy people, it’s quite a simple problem to solve. Your blood sugar gets high, the body starts pumping insulin through your bloodstream, insulin kicks some glucose butt, end of the story.
But it’s not that simple if you keep pumping glucose in your veins non-stop.
Once this happens, your body just can’t handle it anymore. You can’t produce enough insulin and everything goes wrong from thereon.
Blood Sugar Risks
There are many serious risks of high blood sugar, and we won’t list them all right now. But it is important to get through how big of a problem this can be.
High glucose can affect your whole body much more than you think. Here are just a few things that can happen:
- Heart disease or even heart attack
- Strokes
- Kidney damage
- Eye Damage
- Skin Problems
You can probably see why the reputation of glucose is so extreme. These things can be life-threatening, but the problems can be stopped quite easily.
What’s not so simple is maintaining a healthy diet in the modern age. Glucose is everywhere and you can have quite a hard time staying away from it.
We mentioned it once already in the beginning, the alternatives have a bad reputation – and that’s unfortunate. But we can change that.
The Nutrition And Alternative Of Rye Bread
Finding a Paleo-friendly version of any food is a simple task. So we’re not going to give you all of them right now – just our favorites.
Let’s first take a look at the nutritional value of Rye Bread, so we have a good comparison.
Nutritional Values Of Rye Bread
| Calories | 259 |
| Carbohydrates | 48.3g |
| Sugars | 3.85g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5.80g |
| Fat | 3.30g |
| Protein | 8.50g |
| Calcium | 73.mg |
| Magnesium | 40mg |
The Alternatives
Our main alternative for Rye Bread is:
Almond Rye Bread
Almond rye bread is sometimes called dark rye bread. This is a simple recipe that uses Almond Flour, Brown Flaxmeal, Celtic Seasalt, and olive oil. This Paleo-friendly alternative has the same texture and taste that classic Rye Bread has.
If you fear that the almond will be too strong of a replacement, taste-wise, stop worrying. Almond flour has a mild taste, so the bread stays on the traditional side.
The benefits are there too, let us tell you:
| Heart Health | Diabetes Control |
|---|---|
| Almond flour is full of monounsaturated fat. This means that your cholesterol will be well under control. Low cholesterol has been proven to help prevent heart disease. | When compared to wheat flour, the almond alternative is very low in carbs and sugars. This means that all those risks we mentioned, pretty much disappear. This makes it an incredible replacement for traditional Rye Bread since the main problem is that darn glucose. |
German Paleo Rye Bread
Next to our first choice the next one we want to recommend is the german paleo rye bread.
Remember in the beginning when we said that every culture pretty much has a version of Rye Bread? Well, the Germans even have a Paleo version of the stuff!
This is a simple alternative that’s made from coconut flour and a LOT of nuts and seeds. Flax, Almonds, Chia, Pumpkin, Sesame… the list goes on.
This Bread Alternative is open for experimentation (like all recipes should be), so you can go ahead and make your own version!
Can You Eat Rye Bread On Paleo – Final Words
We know we brought you some bad news. If you are fond of classic rye bread, there is no way that you can incorporate it into your Paleo diet.
We hope that we at least made you think twice about the whole deal!
Paleo is a healthier option, though people usually don’t question why. All in all, you have many alternatives to Rye Bread. So just stay healthy, think about your meal plans well, and you’ll be fine!