Nutritional Yeast
Why nutritional yeast is anti-inflammatory
Nutritional yeast is anti-inflammatory, and the reason is beta-glucan, the fibre that yeast cell walls are built from. It is the same yeast that raises bread, grown on molasses and then heated until none of it is alive. You are eating the dried cells, walls included, so the flakes carry a lot of that fibre.
Your body makes no enzyme for beta-glucan, so it reaches the large intestine whole. Much of the immune system sits in that stretch of gut, and some of its cells have receptors shaped to fit this fibre. That is how something you cannot digest still changes an immune response. In a six-week trial, people taking yeast beta-glucan in a capsule ended with more of the blood signals that calm inflammation and fewer of the signals that drive it. Those capsules hold the fibre on its own, and the flakes have not been tested the same way.
Check the label for vitamin B12. Yeast does not make it, so any tub that lists it has been fortified, and an unfortified one carries almost none. Read the ingredients too: blends sold as cheese seasoning stretch the yeast with salt, starch and flavourings.
Use it where grated cheese would go: pasta, popcorn, roast vegetables, soup. The flakes give the savoury taste without the saturated fat, which is why they are a step down from cheese on our inflammation scale. Heat does not harm the fibre. One caution: yeast is high in purines, which the body turns into uric acid, so keep servings small if you get gout.
Nutritional Yeast on the AIP diet
Nutritional yeast comes out during the elimination phase of the Autoimmune Protocol. AIP removes yeast in every form, brewer's and baker's included, because antibodies to this yeast turn up in some autoimmune conditions and the protocol drops anything that might keep the immune system busy. Coconut aminos, garlic powder and onion powder cover the savoury gap. Yeast is one of the foods people test again during reintroduction, and many tolerate it.
Benefits
- Beta-glucan fibre that the immune cells along the gut wall react to
- A complete protein, unusual for something used as a seasoning
- Rich in B vitamins, and most brands are fortified with B12
- Savoury enough to replace grated cheese, with none of the saturated fat
Watch out for
- High in purines, which the body turns into uric acid, a problem if you get gout
- Not a live culture, so it does not work like yogurt or kefir
- Unfortified tubs carry almost no B12, despite the reputation
- Cheese-style seasoning blends add salt, starch and flavourings
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Frequently asked
Is nutritional yeast inflammatory?
No, nutritional yeast is anti-inflammatory. Its cell walls are built from beta-glucan, a fibre your body cannot break down, so it reaches the part of the gut where most of your immune cells sit, and those cells react to it. The flakes are also a way to get a savoury, cheese-like taste without dairy.
Is nutritional yeast the same as brewer's yeast?
It is the same species, grown differently. Nutritional yeast is grown on molasses to be eaten, then dried. Brewer's yeast is what is left over from making beer, and it tastes bitter. Both are dead by the time you buy them, so neither will make bread rise.
Does nutritional yeast contain vitamin B12?
Only if it has been fortified. Yeast cannot make B12 itself, so any that a tub contains was added during production. Check the label, because unfortified flakes have almost none, and that matters if the flakes are meant to cover a vegan diet.
Is nutritional yeast allowed on the AIP diet?
No, not during the elimination phase. The Autoimmune Protocol takes out yeast in all its forms. It is usually one of the foods reintroduced later, and many people tolerate it, but in the strictest phase it comes off the list. Coconut aminos and garlic powder give a similar savoury lift.
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