Nutritional Yeast: What Is It, What Are The Health Benefits + How Do I Eat It?

Nutritional yeast — is the food trend healthy or hype?

It's healthy, according to dietitian and founder of "The Nutritious Life," Keri Glassman.

"Nutritional yeast is yeast, just like you would have yeast to make bread or beer," she explains, "but it does come 'dead,' unlike yeast if you're making bread, for example."

Basically, this means that nutritional yeast is not "active."

"It has a nice nutty, cheesy flavor," according to Keri, which is why many vegans use it in the place of cheese.

"It is a complete protein," the dietitian says, "but it also has lots of vitamins and minerals, specifically the B vitamins and B12."

"B12 is mostly found in animal products and it's important for a healthy nervous system, energy metabolism, the formation of red blood cells," she continues.

Since vegans don't eat animal products, nutritional yeast is a popular way to get that B12 — but you don't have to be vegan to use it, of course!

Keri says you should always read the labels carefully, because not all nutritional yeast is fortified the same. So if you're looking for it for that B12, you want to make sure it actually contains B12.

"I eat cheese, but I still add this in as another healthy ingredient," Keri continues.

You can sprinkle nutritional yeast on popcorn, add it to sauces or have it on roasted veggies like brussels sprouts with a little bit of balsamic vinegar.