Yeast Compound May Battle Fat

Brewer’s yeast is made from a one-celled fungus called Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its hydrolysate form is a rich source protein and the B-complex vitamins. Hyung Joo Suh, from Korea University (South Korea), and colleagues enrolled 54 obese men and women in a ten-week long study in which subjects were randomly assigned to consume either 0.5 gm of yeast hydrolysate or dextrin  (the control compound) twice a day (before breakfast and dinner). The team observed that the participants who consumed the yeast hydrolysate experienced significant reductions in energy intake after six weeks, and maintained that level until the study ended. At the end of the study, the yeast hydrolysate group demonstrated marked reductions of body weight and body mass index (BMI), as well as beneficial changes in abdominal fat thickness.  Notably total abdominal fat was reduced by 17.3 cm2 in the yeast hydrolysate group, as compared to 7 cm2 in the control group.  The study authors conclude that: “Yeast hydrolysate can reduce body weight and the accumulation of abdominal fat without an adverse effect on lean body mass in obese adults, regardless of sex, via the reduction of energy intake.”