the deal with yeast
I've seen a bunch of questions and comments on the site about yeast – whether or not it's good for you, how often you should eat it, etc. Some of the recipes out there in the vegan world have yeast in them, but I don't use yeast in my recipes in The Kind Diet. For most recipes that call for it, you can try omitting it. They are often just as good without it.
I asked my friend, the amazing Christina Pirello, who is a macrobiotic chef, author, and all around rockstar, to help me get to the bottom of the deal with yeast. She cured her terminal leukemia with a macro diet. I've written about Christina in my book, and a couple of her recipes are in there too.
Here are my thoughts on yeast:
Nutritional yeast is super yum and has a cheesy taste. Lots of vegans get excited about it because they feel it is a good source of b-12, but superheroes and the macro community feel like it's a bad guy, so I avoid it.
When I first went Macro I had low signs of Candida. Yeast can create more yeast in the body if you are struggling with Candida like I was, so I started to avoid it. I feel so much better without yeast in my life. If I have bread, I get the yeast-free kind. French Meadow makes great yeast-free breads. And most sourdough breads are made without yeast. Just be sure to check the label.
I don't get all psycho about yeast though. If something has yeast in it, I try my best to avoid it, but for instance, if I was at a party and someone made something to eat with yeast and it looked amazing, I would definitely eat it. If you are a flirt or a full-on vegan, enjoy the yeast, but if you want superhero status, be mindful to limit your intake.
You don't have to eat yeast just because you need b-12 (see page 76 of The Kind Diet to learn why you need b-12). You can take a b-12 supplement once or twice a week, which will get the job done.
Here is what Christina has to say about it:
In macrobiotics, it can be recommended to avoid yeast because a lot of people are ill and need to strengthen their digestive system. It is believed that yeast can inhibit digestion, because it can create expansion in the digestive tract at a time when people need to strengthen digestion. That said, there is nothing wrong with yeast if you are healthy and strong and well... no reason not to use it. I use it in small amounts in some of the breads I bake to create lightness... usually in combination with a sourdough starter so I get the best of both worlds... the fermented benefit of sourdough but the lightness of yeast, plus sourdough allows me to use less yeast. But in truth, there is no problem with yeast if your health and digestion is strong.
I think that like most other 'issues' in macrobiotics, all the concerns and no-no's have been handed down to healthy people from a diet that was designed to help ill people regain their health. If you are healthy and well and eating a diet of unprocessed, seasonal, organic (where you can) whole food, prepared elegantly and simply in accordance to what you need in your life, then there are very few limits you need to worry about. Sugar is one of them, since we eat so much of it... but yeasted breads on occasion, nutritional yeast, no worries. In excess, yeast can weaken and compromise digestion, but you would need to eat a lot of it.
Regarding b-12: There are no vegetable sources of b-12... not miso, tempeh, pickles, nada... no matter what counselors say. The b-12 that exists in miso, tempeh, etc. is called b-12 analog, and is not usable by the body. So to get proper amounts of b-12, you must supplement, because you would need a lot of nutritional yeast to get what you need, and I think that can cause more health issues in the intestines...in large quantities...than regular yeast. The only really strong sources of b-12 are animal products and sub lingual supplements and shots.
But before you start thinking about eating meat again because you're worried about B-12 deficiencies, re-read Chapter 2 of The Kind Diet, which is all about how nasty meat is for you, and all of the health problems that eating meat causes. Just because meat has B-12 in it, doesn't mean that being vegan isn't natural for humans. Before the commercialization of agriculture, we could get plenty of B-12 from the soil and water on the veggies that we would pull from our gardens. See page 76 in The Kind Diet to learn more about that.
A big thank you to Christina for that info. Here are my closing thoughts on the subject:
I am still going to buy yeast-free bread, and try to avoid products that involve yeast, but I will be more forgiving with it, and will try yummy recipes once in a while that have yeast in them (like the recipe I'm going to post later today!). I can't wait to try it, and can't wait to share it with all of you. So from now on I will be more relaxed about yeast than I used to be"¦ but it will still be sort of a treat for me, not an everyday food.
What are your thoughts on the yeast issue?
33 comments
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I have an allergy to both brewers and bakers yeast and I have never felt better and more energized in my life than when I gave them up. Honestly, whenever I eat a sandwich with some really amazing french bread, no matter how great it tastes, I need a LONG nap afterwards.
To answer some of the questions below - she's not talking about Brewers yeast, because that is found in vinegar which she uses in a TON of her recipes. -
There is a nutritional yeast called "Engevita yeast condiment". The package says that it's free from candida albicans yeast. Hopefully it means that, even if you suffer from candida, you'll be able to eat it! :D
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Hi Angela,
There have been a series of informative posts under "Calling All Candida Sufferers". You can check out my Notes under my Profile to see my lists of anti-candida foods and supplements.
Good luck!
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Alicia,
You had a link to a Candida site. It is my understanding that if someone suffers from a Candida overgrowth, they are to eat meat products and low carb grains. Do you or anyone have any suggestions on how to be a vegetarian or vegan and eliminate candida overgrowth? It is all confusing to me. Thanks.
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I was also wondering about Brewer's Yeast. I'm a vegan and like to sprinkle it on air popped popcorn to give it a "cheesy" taste! I LOVE that to snack on, but I'm wondering if I need to stop eating that! I'm trying to become a Superhero, but very slowly.....4 days on and then 3 days I'm a regular vegan. I can always snack on my weekends, when I'm just a regular vegan, not a Superhero, but I was really wondering if Brewer's Yeast has to be eliminated from my diet if/when I become a full fledged Superhero.
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I was under the impression that yeast-free breads actually still contain yeast since they are made with sourdough. Sourdough may be made without the addition of actual yeast, but it is still picking up yeast from the air, isn't it? I have heard conflicting things about this... what's your opinion?
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@Danielle - the difference between living plants and living animals is the somewhat significant fact that it takes far less energy to create a plant (versus an animal that eats loads of those plants, several times a day - or even worse an animal that eats an animal that eats an animal that eats plants....). Plants regenerate, proliferate, and are perfect for eating at the end of their lifecycle, and we can store their seeds, eat their seeds, and replant their seeds. Obviously we have to survive on something in order to be responsible care takers of the Earth, so why not choose the simplest, cleanest, and most efficient option when given the choice?? -
What about brewers Yeast? I am 37 weeks pregnant, and I am going the route of a home water birth with my incredible midwife and Doula. I have a fruit shake every morning with a scoop of brewers yeast, and I have to admit I feel awesome shortly afterwards. Does this count as one of the bad yeasts?-Mellissa -
Chlorella is a natural source of b12 as well as being a complete protein and a source of 19 amino acids. ChlorEssence by Sequel Naturals is a good one. (Discovered this by reading Brendan Brazier's "The Thrive Diet"
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A good supplement that I use is Nature's Plus Source of Life Energy Shake. It is vegetarian and dairy free (not vegan because it contains kelp and bee pollen). It has lots of B6 and B12 (even more than the recommended daily allowance), plus protein and a long list of other good stuff! It is a seriously good power shake. I blend it with a cup or two of water every morning to make a low-sugar smoothie. It's bright green, but it tastes great! It's also good with fruit and/or soymilk. This is the only vitamin or protein supplement I take now.
You can read the ingredients and nutrition facts here:
http://www.naturesplus.com/products/productDetail.asp?criteria=search&searchVar=30595&productnumber=30595&category=15 -
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Can anyone recommend a good B12 Supplement? I believe in her book, Alicia recommends one that dissolves under your tongue? -
swadam,
If you want soy that's GMO free be sure to buy USDA certified organic. GMOs are not allowed in organic products. -
One of the best treatments for yeast infections (other than prevention in the diet, of course) is garlic.
For yeast infections south of the border/below the belt/where the princess lays, I found that if you wrap a clove of garlic in a gauze piece long enough and make something like a tampon, insert it, and leave it in for 12 hours, it will help tremendously. In fact, the unmentionable tear-jerking symptoms that normally accompany yeast infections will go away after about half an hour. Don't ask me how I know that or if I'm going through it at this very moment. Don't ask!
I was raised on popping an antibiotic whenever I coughed. After 18 years of that, I went on the birth control pill for another 7 years. I didn't realize I was setting myself up for the onset of many frustrating ailments: eczema, yeast infections, UTIs, fungal infections, cold sores, allergies, endometriosis, etc.
Thanks to the internet, more people turning to alternative medicine, more vegetarians and health conscious people willing to share their wealth of information, I've been able to arm myself with knowledge regarding holistic health.
Visit my posts under my Notes in my profile for info on candida battling diets.
I agree that a bit of yeast isn't bad, but we live in an age now where we're reading all about people in their late 20s and early 30s developing allergies. All the bad practices in industrial farming, pharmaceuticals, the environment are manifesting in new, frightenly chronic ways. I hope the positive movement Alicia's Kind Life is creating will create a nice turn in the world because WE NEED IT!!! -
I have also seen the benefit of a yeast free life! Last year I was really suffering with gastric issues and in general not feeling good. My doctor recommended a yeast free diet for 30 days. I cant say it was easy - but I cant say it was hard either - just takes planning. But I feel sooooooo much better! Now i really avoid yeast and products with yeast in tthem - but am not so strict about fermented products. As for the nutritional yeast, I dont use it myself, but I do make homemade dog food and I add some to that food. I just use a sublingual b-12 - super easy!!
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Thank you for posting this! This answers so many of my questions. I was wondering, what is the deal with the yeast? Is it good, is it bad? Do I need to buy it? I was JUST about to buy some in the market and then a little voice in the back of my head told me I don't need it. I guess my body was talking to me and I'm really glad I read this, because I struggle wtih yeast infections sometimes (sorry if that is TMI) so adding yeast to my diet wouldn't help that area. Don't know why I didn't think of that before but it makes sense! -
This is great that you've touched on this topic. Alicia, I'm wondering if you had any symptoms that was a result of Candida? I have been diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis - a muscle weakness disease and since I started treating my yeast - I see huge results. I even see myself now treating this with my diet changes. I also baked my first sourdough starter bread just recently. Yum. I could get used to doing this once a while. But a Candida diet is very hard to keep up - I did well for a few months but lately I've slipped and my symptoms came back. Huh. Now I see how the two relate...
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My partner is an enthusiastic vegan baker who makes sourdough bread, cinnamon buns, poppyseed rolls, coffee cakes, etc. He tells me that natural sourdough starter has naturally occurring wild yeast and bacteria in it. We've noticed that these freshly milled breads are much more agreeable to our systems that even the "artisan/organic" bread from most commercial bakeries.
Commercial yeast (the stuff you can buy for baking or see listed as "yeast" on the ingredients list) usually has an additive called sorbitan monostearate (491 - emulsifier/stabilizer) or stearic acid (570 - anti-caking agent) which may or may not be vegan depending on its source.
Learning to bake with natural sourdough starter can take some time but it's really good stuff. -
This discussion was posted just in time for my own personal discovery- that yeasted breads do not seem to agree with me. I had a lot of bread at parties and what not earlier this week and I feel like my stomach is going to explode! This does not happen when I eat Ezekiel products. And this discussion confirms that yeast needs to be limited, at least for me:).
Shuba -
Alicia:
I watched a special on our local channel last night about GMO's. It was said that GMO's are in
ALL soybeans because the farmers bought the US government concept program in 1992. Can you check with your people to find out if there are any brands of Tofu and Soy milk that are GMO free. Thank you so much. Superhero on Maui/Susan -
To have good digestion what you really need is good bacterial balance in your gut. The ratio should be 85% beneficial bacteria to 15% bad. Most Americans have that ratio reversed. Probiotics are hugely important in getting that balance back in order, I would say possibly more so that yeast. Most people who have Candida issues are able to resolve it by adding high quality probiotics to their diet. 85% of your immunity is in your gut, so it's really important to take care of it. A high quality organic probiotic superfood can be a great addition to your diet.
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Sabrina, someone probably said that to you because yeast is a living organism. a living, simple organism, just as plants are living organisms. ive had many debates with an omnivore who tried to convince me that eating plants was just as bad as eating animals because they are all alive (obviously, we need to eat something!). they used yeast as an example in this sort of "conversation".
i have actually had a Candida infection in my esophagus, so this is a very interesting post for me. the doctors didnt do anything about it but put me on antibiotics for two weeks. that was the end of the Candida issue. they never explained to me how i got it, which worries me especially since it is a sign of immunodeficiency disorders. thanks to alicia's post, i will try to avoid yeast products even more!
i do realize that we need B-12, and sometimes i make a product called Mac-N-Chreese (pronounced "trees"). although it is processed, it is a good substitute for mac and cheese and is made with a lot of nutritional yeast. i have it about once a month when im feeling too lazy to make a real meal. -
Most B-12 Vitamins out there do come from Animals but there is a few products that have a Vegetarian B-12 which is produced differently. Check this out http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/vegansources
The Companies that sell Nutritional Yeast are http://www.bobsredmill.com/nutritional-yeast.html
and http://bragg.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15&products_id=127
Both are Vegetarian formulas, I've been researching because I don't want any animal products at all.
I don't think they come from animals but the word vegetarian makes me wonder until I know more will let you know.
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Someone once told me that Yeast isn't vegan. I found that hard to believe, however Yeast isn't the best for your body it still makes pizza crust super yummy so I won't write it off just yet.
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