December 30, 2021

Nutritional Yeast: Ways to Use it and Reasons Why You Should

Among the names of recently popular blended vitamin and mineral supplements, “nutritional yeast” is one you’ve definitely seen before.

Widely used in the form of flakes or powders, nutritional yeast has quickly become an alternative for foods like cheese, and even more famously for seasoning ingredients like salt and pepper, thus earning its name as “seasoning yeast” in various countries.

But its savory taste and texture aren’t the only good qualities, it also provides a variety of beneficial vitamins and minerals to improve your health.

Let’s take a deeper look into nutritional yeast and everything it has to offer.

What is Nutritional Yeast?

Yeast has been a crucial element of the human diet for centuries. It plays a vital role in bread, alcohol, and numerous other foods. But recently, a specific type of yeast has gained quite a lot of traction due its health-boosting nutrients. Nutritional yeast as it is popularly known, contains nutrients that can clean a person’s immune system, provide massive amounts of energy, and offer various health benefits.

There are two variations of yeast that are available for purchase in the form of a protein powder or flakes:

Fortified Yeast:

Fortified nutritional yeast is the type in which vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B-12, folic acid, and potassium are artificially added to increase its overall nutritional content.

Unfortified Yeast:

non fortified nutritional yeast is the type that is only made up of the naturally present vitamins and minerals that are produced in it’s production process, like vitamin B-6, zinc, and iron.

Is Nutritional Yeast Beneficial?

Nutritional Yeast has numerous benefits, one of which is vitamin B12. B12 is a nutrient that helps keep your body’s blood and cells healthy. It is an important vitamin that a high population is deficient in, mostly due to inadequate dietary intake.

In addition to B vitamins, nutritional yeast contains copper, magnesium, manganese, and though the yeast is low in calories, its packed with dietary fibers.

It is ideal alternative to foods like cheese, for vegetarians or people with lactose intolerance, as it contains no dairy products, wheat, soy, or starch. Nutritional yeast also doesn’t use artificial flavors or colouring and is very low in saturated fat.

Nutrients in Nutritional Yeast

Yeast is a great source for proteins, minerals and vitamins. On average, a one-quarter of a cup of nutritional yeast typically includes:

Calories: 50-60 grams

Fat: 1 gram

Protein: 8 grams

Carbohydrates: 5 grams

Fiber: 3-4 grams

85 milligrams of vitamin B-1

70 milligrams of vitamin B-2 or riboflavin

90 milligrams of vitamin B-6

Other than these nutrients, nutritional yeast also contains calcium, iron, and vitamins B-3 and B-12.

How Can You Consume it?

Since nutritional yeast comes in the form of flakes or powders, it can easily be added to any dish as a delicious seasoning ingredient. It typically has a cheese-like flavor.

One thing to remember when using nutritional flavor is that it because it has a dry and flaky texture, it is best to combine it with a bit of liquid or use it in moist foods.

Some ways to consume nutritional yeast are: