Can Nutritional Yeast Be Harmful to My Health?

ON Mar 9, 2010 at 10:54PM

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I'm a vegan so nutritional yeast is a normal part of my diet. However I have a friend who is always researching food (mostly Crohn's Disease) and she thinks that nutritional yeast could be dangerous for women. I don't use more than a tablespoon or two in a day. Is there any medical reason to think she's right and I should be cautious about how much nutritional yeast I use?

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Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D.
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Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D.

iVillage Health Editor-at-Large Madelyn H. Fernstrom, Ph.D., CNS, is the Today show’s Diet and Nutrition Editor as well as the... Read more

Everyone is different, but it sounds like you're doing fine with nutritional yeast, and I'd keep taking it. For those with digestive and bowel problems (and even sometimes without), nutritional yeast can be a problem, as it is often associated with excessive bloating and gas. You don't seem to have any issues with it, so in your case, it's a fine nutritional supplement.
 

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