Yeasts are a form of fungi. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the yeast most often used for baking and brewing beer. Brewer’s yeast and Baker’s yeast are different strains of the species. There are multiple different strains, some are proprietary to different brewers. Saccharomyces ellipsoideus or S. Minor is a wild yeast that is found on fruits, especially grapes, and grains, and is used for making sourdough bread. Note that these are completely different from Candida Albicans, the yeast that causes vaginal yeast infrections, and that is subject of the controversial book “The Yeast Connection.” (Note: Don’t self-diagnose with Candidia. Read this article about the dangers of doing so. Always consult with a reputable GI or allergist when dealing with food allergies/ sensitivties. You may have an underlying medical problem that needs treatment.)
Some people have a sensitivity to yeasts, either due to the histamine content of foods that yeasts grown in, or to the yeasts themselves. It is fairly rare to have an Ig-E mediated allergy to yeast, though it is possible to be allergic to just about any protein, and there are documented cases in the medical literature of allergy to Saccharomyces cerevisiae. From what I have read, people with yeast allergies often have environmental allergies to molds and fungus. However, my daughter skin tests positive for a yeast allergy and negative for allergies to molds, once again proving that everyone is different and you just have to figure out what works and what doesn’t for you.
Let these lists act as a general guide for yeast and mold- containing foods. There are so many different yeasts and molds, and they are all around us. It is impossible to completely avoid them, the goal is just to reduce your exposure to them. Try some of our yeast free recipes.
Foods containing baker’s/ brewer’s/ wild yeasts
- Anything fermented (vinegar, alcohol, bean paste, soy sauce, etc.)
- Any baked good with baker’s yeast (pizza dough, bread, etc., including most sourdough breads)
- B Vitamins, unless stated that they are not from yeast
- Barley malt
- Beer
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Buttermilk
- Canned or bottled juices
- Cheese (all kinds)
- Cider
- Citric Acid (this used to be made from citus juice, but is now made from fermented corn)
- Dried fruits such as apricots, figs, or raisins
- Flavor enhancer (usually MSG, though it may also be yeast extract)
- Ginger Ale
- Grapes
- Jams/ Jellies
- Lactic acid (generally made from fermented corn or potatoes)
- Liquor
- Malt
- MSG (produced from fermentation of starch or sugar)
- Mushrooms
- Raisins
- Aged meats (sausage, bacon, etc.)
- Black tea
- Grapes
- Malted barley flour
- Olives
- Peanuts and peanut products
- Preserved or pickled foods
- Root beer
- Soy sauce, miso, tamari
- Strawberries
- Tempeh
- Vinegar (and foods containing vinegar, such as olives, mustard, ketchup, etc.)
- Wine
- Yeast extract (autolyzed, hydrolyzed)
- Yeast spreads such as Vegemite or Marmite, etc.
Does yeast cause sinus infections.
Everytime i eat pizzas or chinese with black bean sauce and have few beers. i get a serious sinus condition.
I’m not a doctor, so I can’t diagnose you.
From my own experience, however, I have a friend with a mold allergy who has this type of response to mold in foods like cheese.
I would suggest seeing an allergist to help you with this. (Or maybe just knocking off the beer and pizza for a while, and see if it impoves first.)
Good luck!
Reading the list of foods containing the yeast allergen, I react to most of them. Sometimes I get a rash on my arms and wrists, I feel short of breath, I seem to get migraines.
i read in many sites coffee is to be avoided when following a yeast free diet, can anyone tell me why? i love my two cups of coffee in the morning. i´ve replaced my usual coffee (mixed roasted with sugar i believe) for one natural (roasted without sugar) as i am cutting out all sugars from my diet for at least two months.
Coffee beans are fermented as part of the curing process, I believe. As is black tea.
The real reason for the avoidance (and I don’t know anything about yeast free diets) may be that coffee is high in natural histamine, which may aggravate allergy symptoms or cause migrane headaches in some people.
Does vinegar contain baker’s yeast? Or brewer’s?
The baker’s/brewer’s split is not very scientific of me. There are acutally many sub-species of yeast, all of which have different scientific names. Oue eperience has been that yeasts used in fermentation processes, such as winemaking or vinegar, caused a reaction in our child, but bread yeast did not. So that’s the dichotomy I am using on this site.
Hope this helps.
I am allergic to yeast, particularly Brewers and Bakers yeast (says the allergist) and indeed ingesting both creates a series of odd symptoms including feeling dizzy, out of body, and profuse vomitting. I recently spoke with a breadmaker who suggested I try her sourdough, which she claimed she baked with a sourdough starter and it may not cause me to be ill. Amazingly, I ate a sourdough dinner roll for the first time in years and didn’t experience symptoms. Later ingestion caused a mild reaction, but as the article-writer stated, I also have fermentation and mold allergies/sensitivities. My goal is to find out which sourdoughs seem to have no impact on my system, and in which amounts, because that simple item potentially can open up an entire world of food to someone with severe yeast allergies.
Hi –
I can’t remember the brand name, but there is a brand of bread out there that I have seen in some health food stores that may help. I believe it is made in Canada, and it is usually sold from the freezer section (at least that’s where I’ve seen it).
Sourdough bread usually has a mix of bacteria and yeasts in it — creating a wild sourdough starter is basically a process of collecting spores from the air, and most bakeries have plenty of yeast floating around in them. But this one company’s bread is made from a starter that is all bacterial. It says on their label that they have it tested by an independent lab to confirm that there is no yeast in it.
I hope this offers a grain of hope. (no pun intended)
According to these companies web sites, their breads are yeast-free:
French Meadow bread
Food for life bread – Ezekiel 4:9
I’ve read on another web site that Kashi cereals are yeast-free, but I couldn’t confirmation of this on that company’s web site. I have sent an email asking for clarification.
If I find any other brands, I’ll post them. (I’ve just been diagnosed with an allergy to baker’s yeast and have started doing the research to locate alternate food sources.
LaBrea bakery sourdough doesn’t affect me and I have brewer’s/baker’s yeast allergies. It’s also one of the more simply-made breads I’ve ever seen.
Only a handful of ingredients, no yeast, just “sour culture”
According to these companies web sites, their breads are yeast-free:
French Meadow bread
Food for life bread – Ezekiel 4:9
I’ve read on another web site that Kashi cereals are yeast-free, but I couldn’t confirmation of this on that company’s web site. I have sent an email asking for clarification.
If I find any other brands, I’ll post them. (I’ve just been diagnosed with an allergy to baker’s yeast and have started doing the research to locate alternate food sources.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I think I’ve had French Meadow bread and it was really good.
I am researching food allergies that might apply to a dog. Should I assume that selenium yeast might be problematic? I looked up what it was, but it was a bit confusing….I’m not sure why it’s often included in dog foods, but now I’m wondering if it could be the cause of my dog’s allergies.
(Sorry – double post, but I realized I didn’t provide my email address and I WOULD like to see any comments. I may forget to come back here to follow up…
Unfortunately I don’t know much about dogs, although as a child I had a dog who was allergic to fleas, so I do know that dogs can have allergies just like humans. A quick search through my local phone book found several alternative-medicine vets in my area. I think seeking out someone like that would be your best bet in tracking down your dog’s allergies. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Hello. I am in desperate need of any help you can provide. I have a 14 month old son that has had diarrhea for 6 weeks… has had ALL kinds of testing done and nothing was found. I decided to take him to an allergist and found out he is allergic to Baker’s Yeast.. but the doctor really only told me that he can’t have buns, biscuits, rolls, pastries, doughnuts, cakes/cake mixes and cookies. But that doesn’t tell me about regular sandwich bread, what about muffins? pancakes/waffles? vanilla wafers? graham crackers? club crackers? The doctor did say he CAN have saltines and pastas… but surely it can be as limiting as it seems… or is it?? Basically, how do I find out what has Baker’s Yeast by looking at the list of ingredients on the foods? They NEVER say “Baker’s Yeast”… so how do I know??? This is soooooo complicating
HELP (if possible)!!
I have been diagnosed with a bakers yeast allergy as well. It’s been my experiece that autolyze yeast extract also causes reactions for me. The form is being used in place of MSG as a flavor enhancer. I now read every label in the grocery store before I buy. Most frozen meals and sauces and gravy sold in jars also contain it. I have to read labels on salad dressings and other packaged/processed food. If some for of yeast is an ingredient, I will not buy it.
Just to add, there is bakers yeast in dried egg powder. Not certain if its in all dried egg powder, but the main ingredient is dried egg, bakers yeast and citric acid.
Recently I took a blood test to identify food sensitivities and discovered I am highly reactive to brewer’s and baker’s yeast. Ezekiel bread does not affect me though.
Does anyone know if Bragg’s Apple Cider vinegar uses yeast to ferment?
I have suffered from yeast allergies for the past 17 years. Due to the symptoms I experience – gas, stomach pains, diarrhea- I thought I had IBS(irritable bowel syndrom). After trying the Adkins Diet, my sypmtoms when away. At that point, I realized it was connected to bread. An Allergy Doctor confirmed it. I’ve found a really great tasting yeast free bread made by Sami’s Bakery in Florida. I purchase this Millet & Flax bread from a local health food store. It can also be purchased online directly from the bakery……www.samisbakery.com.
I am 56 years old and about 7 years ago developed a reaction to yeast. Mostly from bread and wine (the two most perfect foods). I break out in hives on my face and have had a few episodes of a swollen upper lip. But most recently, the last few years, I have had sever face hives from what appears to be an allergic reaction to anything with yeast extract. Everything has yeast extract in it. Frozen meals, soup, soup broth, you name it. I have not found anyone else that has this problem. Curious if anyone out there has the same symptoms.
My daughter is also allergic to yeast extract. I am wondering if you have had allergy testing for this allergy. It may be a “true” allergy, in which case, given the severity of your symptoms, you need an Epi-Pen. Or it may be that you are sensitive to the high levels of naturally-occuring histamine in the yeast extract (though the most common symptom for that type of sensitivity is migranes, not hives and swollen lips).
I urge you to see an allergist if you haven’t already. Having your lip swell is one of the symptoms of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening.
Thanks fro the feedback. I have been to an allergist. A huge waste of time. Basically he didn’t believe that it was yeast, and didn’t even have any yeast to test me against. He tried all the standard stuff, but at the end said there wasn’t any magic pill for food allergies anyway, the best course of action is avoidance.
I have found lately that the rash I am getting on my face is also being triggered by anything fermented. Soy sauce, balsamic vinegar is the two newest things to trigger an episode. The other symptom I get with each episode is achiness, irritability, and lack of energy. I have not had the swollen lip symptom in a about 5 years, just the face rash and aches and pains. Trying to avoid yeast extract is becoming a real chore though, as it is in so many things.
By the way I do get an occasional migraine, but usually triggered by too much coffee, chocolate and stress.
I have an allergy to Baker’s and Brewer’s yeast as well but it presents as digestive issues rather than hives or vomiting (massive bloating). Within hours I’m miserable and it stays that way for days. I also get mouth sores (cankersores) that I’ve yet to be able to get rid of. I’ve been yeast free for about 2 months after massive elimination diets. I tried gluten free (my sister is a Celiac), dairy free, etc. Finally hit upon yeast and home run!
I’ve found that French Meadows is absolutely amazing. I love it and it doesn’t cause issues. I’m sure I have sinus issues with coffee but I’m not ready to cut that out yet. I can drink wine with no digestive issues, but beer, no way-it’s bad news. I can eat cheese, though I don’t hardly eat much of it, but grapes are out of the question. I feel icky after eating those. Still finding new foods that don’t work…
But again, love the French Meadows. I find it here in CA in Whole Foods markets. If they don’t have it in stock, they will order it for me. Haven’t seen it elsewhere yet…