Rye

Rye is notable for FODMAPs, oligosaccharides, gluten, oxalates and nickel. Clear on histamine, tyramine, salicylate, sucrose, lactose, sorbitol and fructose.

Yes — rye is high in FODMAPs. Rye is the fructan-richest of the everyday cereals as they are actually eaten, which is as bread: it measured above wheat, and barley was not among the breads tested. That is also why it is sold as a fibre-rich bread: the same chains that ferment badly here are the ones the label counts as fibre. Traditional rye sourdough, fermented long enough, measures lower than the fast-risen version. Whelan puts a number on the rank: measured as bread, rye came out the richest of those tested, 1.94 grams of fructan per hundred against 0.61 at the bottom of the range.

Yes — rye is high in oligosaccharides. Rye holds more fructan than the other everyday cereals measured as bread, which is the same fact its label states as a high fibre content. Fructans are counted as dietary fibre - the health claim and the problem are the same molecule. Whelan puts a number on the rank: measured as bread, rye came out the richest of those tested, 1.94 grams of fructan per hundred against 0.61 at the bottom of the range.

Yes — rye is high in gluten. Rye contains gluten, and its secalin behaves like wheat gliadin in coeliac disease. Rye bread is often assumed to be a wheat alternative; on this axis it is not one.

Rye contains moderate levels of oxalates. Rye carries oxalate in the same place wheat does - the outer layers - and rye is almost always eaten wholegrain, because a white rye flour makes a bread nobody wants. The grain that is rarely refined is the grain that keeps its bran. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.