The Hemp Connection [Search results for Vegemite] 

My friend Steven recently returned from a vacation to Australia. He shared this photo of vegemite ice cream! It reminded me that our friends Down Under have a culinary love affair with a food our vegan readers should become better acquainted with. That is, brewer's yeast.

Vegemite (also known as Marmite if it is produced in the UK, New Zealand, or South Africa, and Cenovis if made in Switzerland) is a dark paste made from brewer's yeast leftover after the brewing process. It's most commonly eaten as a spread on bread, as shown in this photo.

Some of the more common descriptions of Vegemite's taste include: salty, bitter, like beef bouillon. One friend described as"Australian miso". It's never really taken off in the United States, but my friends from places where it is common do seem to"Jones" for it when they've gone awhile without a fix.

Nutritionally, Vegemite is an incredible powerhouse! It is very high in thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid, all vitamins which women with PCOS need more of. Kraft, maker of Vegemite, has a website with some interesting recipes for the adventurous reader, including this one for a roast pumpkin and leek risotto. I may have to buy some myself just in the name of trying that one!

One of the things I like about Vegemite is that it is actually made from the leftovers of the beer-making process. In short, leftover yeast cells are processed and combined with salt, celery extract, and onion extract to make the popular black paste. So it's green as well as nutritious, meaning everyone wins!

If you happen to be reading this from Vegemite's home turf, be on the lookout for a new product released just last month. My First Vegemite, actually designed for children, is 50% lower in sodium. It's also fortified with vitamins B6 and B12, which makes it even more attractive to vegans, who have a hard time finding sources of vitamin B12 that are compatible with their food philosophy.

While nutrition purists may insist that Vegemite is too salty, I maintain that in moderation, and used in other recipes, it has its benefits. Amazon.com has not yet picked up this new product but I did find it on eBay.

I'm not an expert on this food, but I'm told Vegemite's cousin Marmite, which is actually available at the local Fresh and Easy, is milder in flavor and also contains vitamin B12 which the original Vegemite does not. That IS available on amazon.com if you're not close to Australia, Fresh and Easy, or other store catering to expat Aussies.

I'm still wrapping my head around vegemite ice cream…though my adventures with jalapeno beer (local), reindeer sausage (on a trip to Alaska), and elk steak (on a ski trip to Steamboat Springs) were far from disappointing. Hmmmm…may I'll have to scheme a business trip to Australia and do some in-depth journalism…

To our many Aussie readers, thank you for your visits! I see you on our stats and I appreciate your visits. I've actually been timing new posts to show in concert with YOUR early evenings, not ours. I hope you find us helpful, mates…be sure to ask questions when you have them! And if you have ideas for how to use your food that we newbies might appreciate, please share!

To our vegan readers, stay tuned. More on brewer's yeast tomorrow. You REALLY need to become friendly with this nutritional gem.

Yesterday I wrote about Vegemite, an Australian yeast-based food with a whole lot of nutritional power.

Can't wrap your brain around that? Consider nutritional yeast, a cousin to this food that is more readily available and equally as nutritious.

This type of yeast is cultured with sugars for about a week, then packaged to sell.

What may interest many of you: it's gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free. Long-time vegans will tell you it also contains that vitamin so elusive to vegans, vitamin B12. Be careful, however, the only reason it appears in nutritional yeast is because it is fortified and not all brands include it. Read your label!

Interestingly, nutritional yeast also contains chromium, something that is thought to be deficient in PCOS and again, is not easy to find in food.

Nutritional yeast is also a complete protein. One ounce has 14 grams, 80 calories, and just 1 gram of fat.

It tastes a little bit like parmesan cheese; I've enjoyed it on popcorn and I can see it being used in a lot of ways where parmesan is traditionally used.

I found a great nutritional yeast product at Natural Products West that is perfect for you vegans who miss your cheese! It's called Queso, by Food for Lovers, and it's just like nacho cheese, only made with nutritional yeast. Two tablespoons contains 20 calories and 2 grams of protein. A great improvement on the old nacho stuff!

Heads up, however, this product DOES contain wheat so it is not gluten-free.

Food for Lovers is based in Texas, and can be found in quite a few stores there, as well as a few locations in other parts of the country. Here's an ordering link where you will soon be able to get it. Amazon has set up a signup so you can be notified when the product is ready to order.

This post is interestingly timed, given what I wrote a few days ago about the importance of melatonin in maintaining fertility. The chemical pathways for both melatonin and niacin get their start with the amino acid L-tryptophan.

When a strong pro-inflammatory process is predominant, and the body wants to make more melatonin, it may do so at the expense of having enough ingredients to also make niacin…perhaps explaining why large doses of niacin have been found helpful to correct the lipid abnormalities associated with inflammation.

I've blogged before that people who eat more vegetables do sleep better and this may be one reason why. It gives your body what it needs to fight inflammation so that melatonin can be used to help you sleep!

For both vegans and omnivores, niacin is relatively easy to find. Mother Nature likely designed it that way because it's so important for fighting inflammation. The times you're most likely to get into trouble is if you're a chronic restrictive eater/dieter, or you're eating primarily processed carbohydrates.

See how you do with your niacin foods this week — it will be good for reducing inflammation, promoting sleep, and with the PCOS Diva's menus, pretty darn tasty!

liver, heart and kidney
chicken
beef
fish: tuna, salmon
milk
eggs

avocados
dates
tomatoes
leaf vegetables
broccoli
carrots
sweet potatoes
asparagus
nuts
whole grain products
legumes
saltbush seeds
mushrooms
brewer's yeast
Vegemite (from spent brewer's yeast)

One of the more frequent searches bringing readers to our blog is"vegetarian" and"fertility"…and"vegetarian" and"pcos". I've also noticed when doing Fertility Friendly Food Tours at Whole Foods, that a disproportionate percentage of women attending these classes, are vegetarian. And, in my individual counseling, it's not uncommon to learn during an assessment that if a client is not currently vegetarian, she was at some point in her life.

So I wasn't surprised to find this study reporting that women with PCOS tend to be deficient in vitamin B12.

I often teach that PCOS is a counterintuitive illness. By that, I mean that what often needs to be done is the opposite of what you might think. In this case, rather than immediately assuming that the most important strategy is to restrict food choices because your appearance suggests overnutrition, it may actually be to add foods back into your diet to correct underlying deficiencies.

This B vitamin is found almost exclusively in animal products, including fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and milk products. It is also found in some fortified breakfast cereals, but if you're avoiding carbohydrates as well as trying to be vegetarian, you're likely not getting enough vitamin B12 in your diet.

Some fermented soy products, namely tofu, tempeh, miso, and tamari, may contain vitamin B12, if the bacteria, molds, and fungi used to produce them were vitamin B12 producing. This is a project I'll look into and blog about in a later post.

Finally, some nutritional yeast products also contain vitamin B12. Lucky for you Aussies reading this blog, that means Vegemite and Marmite, made from yeast extracts, can be excellent choices to include in your diet!

It is possible to obtain vitamin B12 by taking a vitamin supplement, but the amount of the vitamin that is actually absorbed through the digestive tract may be very low. For this reason, physicians who note a low vitamin B12 level may recommend an injection, to bypass the digestive tract.

Women over 14 years of age, if not pregnant, should be consuming 2.4 mcg of vitamin B12 per day. They should aim for 2.6 mcg per day when pregnant, and 2.6 mcg per day when breastfeeding.

It's clear, if you don't do vegetarian eating in a thoughtful, proactive way, it carries considerable health risks. As you've seen before in this blog, inCYST believes that healthy vegetarian eating is about what you DO choose to eat, more than what you DON'T choose to eat.

It is a good idea, if you're vegetarian, or ever have been, to ask your physician to check your vitamin B12 levels. A low status is easy to correct and that can be part of your strong foundation for managing your PCOS and improving your mood, insulin function, and fertility.

Kaya C, Cengiz SD, Satiroğlu H. Obesity and insulin resistance associated with lower plasma vitamin B12 in PCOS. Reprod Biomed Online. 2009 Nov;19(5):721-6.