The yeast I was thinking of is considered "nutritional yeast" and is not actually active.

The nutritional info regarding B-vitamins and protein is rather compelling. Here, I'll write it:

Total fat: .5g
Sodium: 5 mg
Potassium: 320 mg
Total carbohydrate: 5g
Dietary fiber: 4g
Sugars: 1g
Protein 8g
B1: 640%
B2: 570%
Niacin: 280%
B6: 280 %
Folic Acid: 60%
B12: 130%
Biotin: 8%
Pantothenic Acid: 10%
Phosphorous: 15%
Magnesium: 6%
Zinc: 20%
Selenium: 30%
Copper: 6%
Manganese: 6%
Molybdenum: 8%

I've never actually heard of any supposed benefit from dietary ACTIVE yeast.

With 1 net carb, 8g of inert protein, and all those vitamins, I can't figure what exactly would be causing allergies, or why it would be considered useless.

That, and my intuition is telling me a possible mistaken "allergy" associated with yeast (and one that I've experienced) could be from the abrupt introduction of Niacin which can give one an uncomfortable sensation of being hot and flushed.

I'm not trying to sell the idea, I'm just trying to get it straight in my mind from people who've looked into dietary stuff more.

Thoughts?

WOW - that IS a pretty compelling list of nutrients! Thank you Steven. Seeing those numbers, and assuming a dog can process and absorb most of it, I would think this supplement is far from useless. (That IS the type of yeast I was speaking about also, not the active kind you make bread with).

Don't know anything about allergies associated with it, but could this inactive form of yeast still cause yeast related problems/infections in a dog? - I'm thinking specifically in the ears, because Oscar had a yeast infection in his ears once and it coincided quite closely with us starting to supplement with brewers yeast... could have just been a coincidence, but we stopped feeding it for a while after that.

~Natalya

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

Don't know anything about allergies associated with it, but could this inactive form of yeast still cause yeast related problems/infections in a dog? - I'm thinking specifically in the ears, because Oscar had a yeast infection in his ears once and it coincided quite closely with us starting to supplement with brewers yeast... could have just been a coincidence, but we stopped feeding it for a while after that.

~Natalya

Nutritional yeast and brewer’s yeast are both from S. Cerevisiae, whether produced from sugar beets or hops.

I think Steven might indeed be correct about some humans experiencing the flush that comes from niacin saturation and attributing it to a nutritional yeast allergy.

But for dogs (and for humans who experience yeast problems, such as Candida albicans), ingesting yeast is a bad plan, IMO.

Yeast populates fast in the digestive tract. If it overpopulates, yeast dumps into the bloodstream.

Yeast thrives on grains and sugars. To a system that is not designed to process grain-heavy diets (dogs' systems), adding actual dietary yeast might be a trigger for yeast overgrowth.

So..... not only are the micronutrients in yeast easily available elsewhere, but the yeast itself might also be an efficient mechanism for increasing yeast infections, something modern diets already help to thrive in dogs.

Whether or not Adelle Davis was right or wrong about yeast for humans, I feel sure that brewer's yeast is a questionable ingredient in dog foods. It's a cheap byproduct in the form that is used in dog foods, and I believe that its cheapness is the only reason for its use.

Again, JMO.

What I'm still getting at is that the nutritional yeast from the health food store is not going to initiate a fermentation process. It will thrive on nothing. It's dead. It's plain old protein at this point, and a long list of nutrients. It's not the yeast cultures you'll get from a brewing supply shop, or a sealed pack of Red Star baking yeast.

And to say its undesirable because it's inexpensive or a by-product is not only a logical fallacy, but assuming these nutrients are digestably accessible (and I don't see why they wouldn't be), it would seem that would be an even greater reason TO consider yeast a valid supplement.

Alfalfa, for example, is relatively paltry:

Potassium 215 mg 6%
Total Carbohydrate 6 g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1.5 g 6%
Protein 2 g 4%
Vitamin C 15 mg 25%
Vitamin K 90 mcg 113%
Calcium 95 mg 10%
Iron 3.5 mg 19%
Manganese 0.5 mg 25%
Alfalfa

Yeast isn't something I'm defending because I regulstly use it (I don't), but it's never quite made sense to me as to why the inert form is maligned the way it is. It's no more likely to ferment than a grocery store egg is to hatch.

Good (and funny) points. (I'm picturing the dairy case filling up with newly-hatched chicks.)

OK, Steven is 100% correct and I am wrong wrong WRONG.

I have read two nutritional manual entries now, and 13 zillion web sites, and, while some web sites do maintain that "yeast is yeast," they are not authoritative.

Nutritional yeast (and brewer's yeast) can't trigger an overgrowth.

A lot of things can, and they have all been discussed here (antibiotics, poor or inappropriate diet, allergies, and more), but not nutritional yeast.

This does not mean that brewer's yeast is any more of a suitable dog food ingredient (it isn't, IMO), but Steven never said that. He said that in and of itself, it (and nutritional yeast) cannot trigger a yeast overgrowth, and he is correct.

As to whether it's something that an existing yeast infection feeds on, like sugar and other carbs, I don't know yet. I imagine it is, but I'll read more later.

So now I am on my way outside to eat worms.

Oh come now, Constance.

The ONLY reason I know about yeast is:

#1. My parents jammed it down my throat as a child. Vomit and yeast taste indistinguishable.

#2. I brew beer.

My life's mission has since turned into discrediting my mother....and drinking beer.

LOL!!!