Nutritional Yeast

If you follow a vegan or a whole-foods, plant-based diet, you are most likely familiar with the delicious benefits of nutritional yeast. Nooch, as its friends like to call it, is often used to add a “cheesy” flavor to our dishes. This umami taste goes great with anything from soups and sauces to scrambled tofu. We can also just sprinkle it on our salads, beans, or popcorn. The sky is the limit, really, and the more acquainted we get to this delicious gift from nature, the more we find ourselves experimenting with it.

But, what is nutritional yeast? Well, it is a yeast, a single-celled organism that is part of the fungi family and related to mushrooms. Just like baker’s yeast and brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast also belongs to the species Saccharomyces ceravisiae, but it is heated and dried to deactivate the yeast, whereas baker’s and brewer’s yeasts are active.

Nutritional yeast is mostly grown on blackstrap molasses and sugar beets. However, it can also be grown on whey (dairy protein), so it’s a good idea to check the label and make sure that it says vegan before purchasing a new brand.  

The best part about nooch is that this yeast is indeed very nutritional. We’re not talking about the fortified versions that people often buy to get their vitamin B12. Sadly, fortified nutritional yeast is not recommended because it also has added folic acid, and folic acid, the synthetic form of folate, can lead to toxicity and even cancer, as you can see here. What we’re talking about is the non-fortified kind which is genuinely rich in nutrients like protein; fiber; vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6 and B7 or biotin, and minerals like iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium, and zinc.

Add nutritional yeast regularly to your foods and boost up your brain, your immunity, your thyroid, your reproductive function, your metabolism, your heart, your blood cells, your muscles, your bones, your children’s early development, and more! Try our personalized nutrition calculator below to see just how much nutrition you and your family can get from eating some of the top brands of unfortified nutritional yeast.