More About Brewer's and Nutritional Yeasts
On the Up-and-Up
Anyone who’s spent time baking, brewing or fermenting is familiar with yeast. Most of us know yeast as an ingredient that’s added to baked goods to make them rise (also known as leavening), or as an integral component of the beer-brewing, wine-fermenting, and cheese-making processes.
Yeasts are actually a large group of microorganisms that are classified as fungi, and they’re arguably one of the most researched groups of microorganisms in the world. Some yeasts have certain nutrients that make them beneficial for human consumption.
Yeast Likely to Succeed
There are well more than a thousand species of yeast, and not all of them are good for us, so a lot of historical trial and error was endured to identify the ones that are most beneficial for our needs. These efforts have yielded two particular types of yeast that are both good sources of nutrition.
- Brewer’s Yeast – As hinted in the name, brewer’s yeast is a by-product of the beer-brewing process that is produced through the cultivation of a particular species of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on malted barley. Once the fermentation process is complete the yeast is separated from the beer, dried via rollers, and then debittered for human consumption. Brewer’s yeast is a naturally occurring source of protein, as well as several vitamins and minerals. We offer brewer’s yeast in both powder (Brewer's Yeast Debittered) and tablet (Brewer's Yeast 650 mg) forms.
- Nutritional Yeast – What is nutritional yeast, you ask? Like brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast is produced via the fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but instead of malted barley the yeast is grown on enriched, purified cane and beet molasses under carefully controlled conditions. Unlike brewer’s yeast, which is a by-product of the brewing industry, nutritional yeast is classified as a primary-grown yeast and may be more suitable for certain individuals. NOW® Nutritional Yeast is available in powder (Nutritional Yeast Powder).
NOW® Yeast Products
Not all yeasts are created equal. NOW® yeast products are carefully screened for identity and purity. We test for the presence of unwanted microorganisms to ensure that all of our premium quality yeast products are safe for their intended use.
It’s worth noting that NOW yeast products do not contain live yeast organisms. Our yeast products are manufactured with heat-inactivated yeasts, so there’s no chance of them causing yeast overgrowth in the body. NOW yeast supplements are simply natural sources of nutrients.
As one of the few manufacturers in the natural products industry with an in-house microbiology laboratory we’re well-equipped to guarantee the quality and safety of our products.
