Is nutritional yeast high in tyramine?

Tyramine status

Safe

Find out whether nutritional yeast is high or low in tyramine, see its exact rating, and check its FODMAP, salicylate, oxalate and diet compatibility all in one place.

Related checkers

Compare nutritional yeast across criteria

HistamineModerate Histamine LiberatorsSafe FODMAPsAvoid FructansSafe GOSSafe FructoseSafe

Sensitivity notes

Why tyramine food checker matters

Tyramine is an amino acid that forms when proteins break down. It's found in aged, fermented, or spoiled foods. For people taking MAO inhibitors or those with tyramine sensitivity, it can cause headaches, elevated blood pressure, and other reactions.

Choose fresh over aged, fermented, or preserved foods
Eat protein foods fresh and store properly
Be especially careful if taking MAO inhibitor medications

Triggers

HistamineModerate

Histamine LiberatorsSafe

FODMAPsLow

FructansSafe

GOSSafe

FructoseSafe

PolyolsSafe

GlutenSafe

LactoseSafe

Dairy ProteinsSafe

NightshadesSafe

Salicylates

Oxalates

NickelSafe

SulfitesSafe

NitritesSafe

GlutamatesSafe

TyramineSafe

CaffeineSafe

LectinSafe

Low Fermentation

Diets

GlutenFit

InflammationAvoid

VeganFit

VegetarianFit

Paleo AIPAvoid

MediterraneanFit

DASH DietFit

EoE CompatibleFit

FODMAPsAvoid

Low FermentationAvoid

Priority ingredient notes

Serving size, prep, and portion notes for nutritional yeast

Nutritional yeast is deactivated Saccharomyces cerevisiae, dried into flakes that taste savoury and faintly cheesy, which is why it turns up on almost every dairy free recipe going. On our grades it is a mostly gentle ingredient with one real caveat: histamine is graded C, moderate, because it is a yeast, and yeast is one of the food groups histamine intolerant eaters are routinely asked to watch. FODMAPs sit at B, so a teaspoon behaves very differently from the heaped tablespoons a cheese sauce calls for. Everything else reads clean: gluten A, lactose A, dairy protein A, nickel A, sulfite A, and, unlike concentrated yeast extract, free glutamate is graded A rather than high. The other thing worth knowing is that the vitamin B12 nutritional yeast is famous for is added at the factory, not made by the yeast, so an unfortified brand looks identical in the bowl and does nothing for your B12. If dairy free cheese sauces sit badly with you and lactose has already been ruled out, the flakes themselves are the next thing to test.

Watch for

Histamine graded C. A teaspoon over pasta is a different proposition from the three or four tablespoons a vegan cheese sauce uses, and histamine reactions here are dose led / The B12 is fortification, not biology. Fortified brands are the reason it became a vegan staple, unfortified brands exist and are common in bulk bins, so read the nutrition panel before relying on it / FODMAPs graded B: fine in seasoning amounts, worth portioning if you are in an elimination phase / It is a yeast. That matters if you are avoiding yeast for reasons other than histamine, and it is graded E on the AIP column, where yeasts are excluded outright / Yeast is a high purine food, which is a genuine consideration if you manage gout, and it hides inside vegan cheese sauces, cheesy popcorn seasonings, dairy free pesto and plant based ready meals rather than only appearing as flakes you add yourself

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