Table of Contents
What are yeasts?
Yeasts are unicellular fungi. There are more than a thousand species. The best known ones have been used for thousands of years to leaven bread and to ferment alcoholic beverages. The typical bread yeast, of beer and wine is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This yeast is produced in large quantities by the food industry and is used in the most varied food sectors. It has the ability to ferment glucose and fructose producing carbon dioxide and alcohol and a fair variety of volatile compounds that give the characteristic odors and flavors to fermented products.
Yeast intolerance: what it is
Yeast intolerance should fall under the food intolerance chapter even if no reference is made to this condition in medical books or scientific literature. Food intolerances include:
- enzymatic reactions, that is, determined by the deficiency or absence of enzymes necessary to metabolize some components (lactose intolerance is an example);
- pharmacological reactions i.e. responses related to pharmacologically active food components such as vaso-active amines (e.g. tyramine, histamine and caffeine) contained in fish, chocolate and fermented products or to substances added to foods (e.g. dyes, additives, preservatives , flavorings);
- indefinite reactions that is responses on a psychological or neurological basis (for example “food aversion” or rhinorrhea caused by spices).
In recent years, thanks to the dissemination of information through unofficial channels (web and social networks) have been proposed restrictive diets (exclusion diets) based on alleged “food intolerance” diagnostic tests (Dria test, kinesiological tests, Vega test).
Symptoms
Most people report gastrointestinal symptoms. Often, however, these people suffer from a condition known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS of which yeast intolerance represents a sort of epiphenomenon. Symptoms include:
- alteration of the alvo (constipation, diarrhea, alternate alvus);
- abdominal bloating;
- He retched;
- meteorism;
- abdominal cramps;
- water retention;
- eczema;
- osteoarticular pains;
- tiredness;
- migraine.
More rarely, the symptoms are similar to those of a food allergy. In these cases, hives appear, itchy lips or tongue). It is essential to make a differential diagnosis in order to orientate in therapy.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is based on the medical history in which it will be investigated diet and on lifestyle. Attention must be paid to the exclusion of any organic disease. Since intolerances can manifest themselves with the typical symptoms of food allergies, it is essential to exclude that it is an allergy to which the risk of incurring anaphylactic shock is linked.
In the absence of an organic disease (gastroesophageal reflux from hiatal hernia, inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease) or food allergy, the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS, Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome) or functional dyspepsia or SIBO (intestinal bacterial overgrowth syndrome).
The critical aspect is represented by the absence of diagnostic tests officially recognized. This leads many doctors to argue that yeast intolerance as an adverse reaction to food does not exist.
What to eat
If after eating leavened foods you feel abdominal bloating and meteorism, it is likely that the leavening process has not been adequate. Particularly rapid leavening is obtained by adding alpha-amylases and improvers. These substances could be the cause of gas formation in the intestine. The advice is to eat naturally leavened foods. The bacteria present in the mother yeast, in addition to guaranteeing excellent leavening, are able to partially digest the protein component of the flours. The result is a leavened product characterized by great digestibility.
What to avoid
In case of yeast intolerance, the intake of the following foods must be suspended or limited:
- all foods that contain brewer’s yeast or chemical yeast (limit the use of foods fermented with mother yeast);
- blue and long-aged cheeses (molds present in cheeses belong to the category of yeasts);
- beer, wine, spirits and sugary drinks, all subject to fermentation;
- yoghurt;
- vinegar;
- pickled vegetables;
- preserves;
- granular bouillon cubes;
- canned tomatoes;
- smoked meat;
- kefir;
- chocolate;
- mushrooms and truffles.
Diet for yeast intolerant
The diet proposed in case of yeast intolerance is that which excludes the foods present in the above list or limits their intake. We therefore speak of exclusion diet. Any exclusion diet it should not be pursued indefinitely.
The disappearance of the symptoms occurs after a few weeks and at this point the indication is that of replenish excluded foods. One food is introduced at a time having the foresight to wait at least 5 days between one food and another. Only those foods that continue to cause disturbances should be permanently eliminated from the diet.
How to replace yeast
One way to replace yeast is to use baking soda together with an acidic substance (lemon juice, wine or apple vinegar, yoghurt). The mixture of bicarbonate and acid substance must be added to the dough at the end of processing, just before baking. If the mixing of these ingredients with the flours occurs at an early stage of processing, the leavening effect is lost.
The same goes for the bicarbonate-based formulations e Cream of tartar or bicarbonate and citric acid for food. Grandma’s cookie recipes often include ammonium bicarbonate or ammonia for sweets. The leavening power is lower than that of common yeast. A slightly bitter aftertaste remains.
Some dessert recipes do not include the addition of yeast. Instead, they predict that the egg whites are whipped separately and then added to the rest of the ingredients just before baking. In this case the air incorporated in the dough tends to expand during cooking in the oven. Water with added carbon dioxide acts in a similar way.
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