Wouldn’t it be wonderful news for beer-lovin’ adults if a nice cold brew turned out to be the answer to all of their health problems? We can just hear the doctor now: "Got a cold? Have a Bud," or "Allergies acting up? Try a Heineken." A beer drinker’s dream—but not true of the brew. There’s no beer that will fulfill our nutritional needs. But there is a related substance, brewer’s yeast, that can help some of what "ales" us.
Available as a powder, flakes, or tablets, brewer’s yeast is a slightly bitter-tasting ingredient that’s used in brewing beer. It’s also a by-product of beer-making. The yeast itself—a tiny fungus—is grown on grain, usually barley.
brewer’s yeast is a rich source of many nutrients, including protein, some B vitamins, phosphorus, and chromium. The protein content of yeast accounts for slightly more than half of its weight.
It’s this variety and abundance of nutrients that have made brewer’s yeast such an enduring supplement, says Michael Janson, M.D., president of the American College for Advancement in Medicine, based in Laguna Hills, California, and author of The Vitamin Revolution in Health Care.
A Big Sweet Tooth
Yeast is a living, single-cell organism. It’s grown on anything sugary, including sugarcane sap, yeast extract, malt extract, or just a handful of salt and sugar, says Richard M. Walmsley, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the department of biomolecular sciences at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in England.
Like humans, a single yeast cell has a life span, but it will divide about 20 times before it dies. Within days, these 20 divisions and the divisions of all of the offspring give rise to millions of yeast cells.
There are many kinds of yeast. They all acquire their nutrients the hard way, says Michael J. Conboy, a researcher in the department of biological sciences at Stanford University. They require many of the same vitamins and amino acids that humans need, but because they often grow on foods that are lacking in certain nutrients, like grains and fruit, they are forced to manufacture their own amino acids and vitamins biochemically. In doing so, the yeast cells become a much more complete food for anyone who eats them, Conboy explains.
Among the many varieties of yeast are baker’s, brewer’s, and nutritional yeast. Baker’s yeast, the secret ingredient that makes bread rise, contains living cells and is also a good source of vitamins and minerals. The live cells are killed during the baking process, but the B vitamins that are accumulated by them are still present in the baked bread. The live cells in brewer’s yeast are also destroyed during the brewing process, but the dead cells still have nutrient value.
The terms brewer’s yeast and nutritional yeast are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are not exactly the same. Basically, nutritional yeast is any yeast grown for the specific purpose of being a food supplement, Conboy explains. While it might be a brewer’s yeast, it could also be yeast from another species.
Brewer’s yeast is used as a nutritional yeast when it’s grown in the presence of vitamin B12 and other nutrients. It can have a wide range of nutritional values, depending on the species of yeast and on what medium it was grown in, such as grain or sugarcane sap. Some yeasts are grown with a high chromium content, for example, while others have a high selenium content.
SUPPLEMENT SNAPSHOT
| Brewer’s yeast May help: Diabetes, hypoglycemia, high cholesterol, eczema, nervousness, fatigue, and constipation. Special instructions: Take on an empty stomach unless indigestion occurs; then take with food. Cautions and possible side effects: If you have diabetes or hypoglycemia, consult your doctor before taking. Do not take if you have candidiasis, gout, or high blood levels of uric acid. Use with caution if you have a known allergy to molds. Rarely, may cause occasional flatulence or digestive upset. |
Brewing Up Healthy Benefits
If we get most of the vitamins and minerals we need from our diets, is there any reason to make brewer’s yeast a regular supplement? Possibly not, says Dr. Janson. "But I like my nutrients to come from a variety of sources," he adds, noting that foods such as brewer’s yeast may contain undiscovered nutrients that do have some benefits. "Think of brewer’s yeast as an additional supplement, not as a replacement for whole foods and a comprehensive supplement program."
When it’s grown with vitamin B12, brewer’s yeast is the supplement of choice for some vegetarians, especially vegans (strict vegetarians who eat no meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or dairy products). "There are very few natural vegan sources of B12 except certain forms of brewer’s yeast," says Jennifer Brett, N.D., a naturopathic doctor at the Wilton Naturopathic Center in Stratford, Connecticut.
Many vegetarians take vitamin and mineral supplements rather than brewer’s yeast, Dr. Brett says. The doses contained in these supplements are known, while the amounts of specific nutrients found in yeast will vary. Each type of yeast has varying amounts, and the variations are also affected by how old the yeast is, she says.
brewer’s yeast also has been used to prevent and reduce the symptoms of diabetes. That’s because it contains chromium, a mineral that has been shown to regulate blood sugar (glucose), says Richard Anderson, Ph.D., lead scientist in the nutrient requirements and functions laboratory at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Maryland. Chromium works together with insulin to help transport blood sugar across cell membranes and into cells, where it can be burned for energy.
The chromium in brewer’s yeast may also help raise HDL cholesterol, the "good" kind, and reduce LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, says Dr. Anderson. Some of the chromium found in brewer’s yeast is thought to be glucose tolerance factor, a combination of chromium, nicotinic acid (a form of niacin), and amino acids.
If you’re supplementing with brewer’s yeast simply because of its chromium content, though, you might want to take a chromium supplement instead, suggests Dr. Anderson. "With brewer’s yeast, you don’t know what you’re getting, because the nutritional quality varies from batch to batch and supplier to supplier," he cautions.
Dr. Brett, however, has had success with prescribing brewer’s yeast to her patients who have a personal or family history of diabetes or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). She has found that her patients get much better long-term control of their symptoms when they take brewer’s yeast than when they take a chromium supplement. Why? "It’s possible that the nutrient is more bioavailable from the yeast, and therefore more effective," she says.
Since chromium may affect blood glucose and insulin levels, people with diabetes or hypoglycemia should consult their doctors before supplementing their diets with brewer’s yeast.
Brewer’s yeast has also been used to treat eczema, nervousness, fatigue, and constipation. Interestingly, some pet owners believe that brewer’s yeast somehow helps their four-legged friends repel fleas and ticks, although there is no scientific evidence that it works.
In general, brewer’s yeast has the strong taste of yeasty bread or sweet bread dough. Some people find that brewer’s yeast grown on sugar beets is sweeter and more appealing, says Dr. Brett. As flakes or powder, it can be stirred into juice, especially grape juice, and soups; sprinkled over salads, popcorn, cottage cheese, or yogurt; or added to casseroles and any dish made with tomato sauce. Heating makes the flavor of brewer’s yeast stronger, so it’s best to add it to foods as they are being served, advises Dr. Brett.
If you find the taste unpleasant, try taking the tablets instead, says Dr. Anderson.
