Each tablet contains: Saccharomyces cerevisiae 500 mg, providing 60 mcg Vitamin B1(thiamine), 20 mcg Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), and 125 mcg Vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid). Other Ingredients: Croscarmellose Sodium, Magnesium Stearate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Silicon Dioxide, Stearic Acid.
Brand name products often contain multiple ingredients. To read detailed information about each ingredient, click on the link for the individual ingredient shown above.
In 2004, Canada began regulating natural medicines as a category of products separate from foods or drugs. These products are officially recognized as "Natural Health Products." These products include vitamins, minerals, herbal preparations, homeopathic products, probiotics, fatty acids, amino acids, and other naturally derived supplements.
In order to be marketed in Canada, natural health products must be licensed. In order to be licensed in Canada, manufacturers must submit applications to Health Canada including information about uses, formulation, dosing, safety, and efficacy.
Products can be licensed based on several criteria. Some products are licensed based on historical or traditional uses. For example, if an herbal product has a history of traditional use, then that product may be acceptable for licensure. In this case, no reliable scientific evidence is required for approval.
For products with non-traditional uses, some level of scientific evidence may be required to support claimed uses. However, a high level of evidence is not necessarily required. Acceptable sources of evidence include at least one well-designed, randomized, controlled trial; well-designed, non-randomized trials; cohort and case control studies; or expert opinion reports.
Finished products licensed by Health Canada must be manufactured according to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) as outlined by Health Canada.
Below is general information about the effectiveness of the known ingredients contained in the product Brewer's Yeast 500 mg. Some ingredients may not be listed. This information does NOT represent a recommendation for or a test of this specific product as a whole.
INSUFFICIENT RELIABLE EVIDENCE to RATE
INSUFFICIENT RELIABLE EVIDENCE to RATE
Below is general information about the safety of the known ingredients contained in the product Brewer's Yeast 500 mg. Some ingredients may not be listed. This information does NOT represent a recommendation for or a test of this specific product as a whole.
POSSIBLY SAFE ...when used orally and appropriately, short-term (7845,16117). A specific dried, inactive brewer's yeast preparation (EpiCor, Embria Health Sciences) has been used with apparent safety at a dose of 500 mg once daily for 12 weeks (92821,92822). A specific living brewer's yeast strain CNCM I-3856 has been used with apparent safety at a dose of 500-1000 mg daily (standardized to 8 billion colony-forming units per gram) for up to 12 weeks (95611,105170,111108). There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of the long-term use of brewer's yeast or about the safety of using brewer's yeast topically.
CHILDREN:
There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of brewer's yeast as a probiotic or postbiotic in children of any age.
Cases of bacteremia have occurred rarely in preterm infants given other probiotics (102416,111610,111612,111613,111850,111852,111853). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning about cases of serious infections caused by probiotics reported in very preterm or very low birth weight infants under 1000 grams (111610). Similarly, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not support the routine administration of probiotics to these infants due to conflicting data on safety and efficacy (111608).
PREGNANCY AND LACTATION:
Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.
LIKELY SAFE ...when used orally and appropriately for up to 15 months (155,4347,4350,4351,4352,4353,4354,7140,7646,7652),(12763,14334,14379,14380,14381,72194,72198).
CHILDREN: POSSIBLY SAFE
when used orally and appropriately in children of most ages (4347,4356,14334,72145,92806,98734,103451,107603,107605,111102)(111103).
There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of Saccharomyces boulardii in preterm infants with a birth weight under 1000 grams. Cases of bacteremia have occurred rarely in preterm infants given other probiotics (102416,111610,111612,111613,111850,111852,111853). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning about cases of serious infections caused by probiotics reported in very preterm or very low birth weight infants under 1000 grams (111610). Similarly, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not support the routine administration of probiotics to these infants due to conflicting data on safety and efficacy (111608).
PREGNANCY AND LACTATION:
Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.
Below is general information about the interactions of the known ingredients contained in the product Brewer's Yeast 500 mg. Some ingredients may not be listed. This information does NOT represent a recommendation for or a test of this specific product as a whole.
Taking brewer's yeast with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.
 Details
Clinical research shows that taking chromium-containing brewer's yeast can decrease levels of blood glucose in diabetic patients being treated with antidiabetes drugs (37157).
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Theoretically, taking antifungals with some brewer's yeast products might decrease the effectiveness of brewer's yeast.
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Some brewer's yeast products contain live yeast. Therefore, simultaneously taking antifungals might kill a significant number of the organisms (4363).
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Theoretically, taking brewer's yeast with lithium might cause additive effects and side effects.
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Some brewer's yeast products contains lithium (37179).
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Theoretically, taking brewer's yeast with MAOIs might increase the risk of hypertension.
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Brewer's yeast contains tyramine. Taking brewer's yeast with MAOIs might increase the risk for hypertensive crisis (2).
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Theoretically, taking antifungals with Saccharomyces boulardii might decrease the effectiveness of Saccharomyces boulardii.
Details
S. boulardii is a live yeast. Therefore, simultaneously taking antifungals might kill a significant number of the organisms (4363).
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Below is general information about the adverse effects of the known ingredients contained in the product Brewer's Yeast 500 mg. Some ingredients may not be listed. This information does NOT represent a recommendation for or a test of this specific product as a whole.
General
...Orally, brewer's yeast seems to be well tolerated in most patients when used short-term.
Most Common Adverse Effects:
Orally: Flatulence, migraine.
Serious Adverse Effects (Rare):
Orally: There is concern that brewer's yeast may cause fungemia in some people. It may also cause anaphylaxis in sensitive individuals.
Gastrointestinal ...Orally, brewer's yeast can cause intestinal discomfort and flatulence in hypersensitive individuals (2). Anal irritation and abdominal pain have been reported rarely (105170).
Immunologic ...Allergic reactions to brewer's yeast can occur in hypersensitive individuals. Symptoms include itching, urticaria, local or general exanthemas, and Quincke's edema (2). Rarely, anaphylaxis may occur. In one case, a 33-year-old male experienced dyspnea, chest tightness, and throat tightness shortly after ingesting a few sips of craft beer brewed using brewer's yeast. The patient took diphenhydramine, and symptoms improved prior to his arrival in the emergency department. While the patient had no history of hypersensitivity to other beers from the same brewery, a positive skin test and oral challenge suggested that he was sensitive to the specific strain of brewer's yeast uniquely used only in the offending beer (111107).
Neurologic/CNS ...Orally, brewer's yeast can cause migraine-like headaches in sensitive individuals (2).
General
...Orally, Saccharomyces boulardii is generally well tolerated.
Serious Adverse Effects (Rare):
Orally: There is concern that Saccharomyces boulardii may cause fungemia in certain patients.
Gastrointestinal ...Rarely, oral use of Saccharomyces boulardii has caused gastrointestinal complaints, such as abdominal cramps, flatulence, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite (98731,107608).
Immunologic
...Rarely, oral use of Saccharomyces boulardii has been associated with fungemia in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients (1247,4357,4358,4360,7329,14459,72121,72126,72142,92809,95357,95363)(96277,105171,107604,107607).
Numerous cases of Saccharomyces fungemia have been reported in critically ill intensive care unit (ICU) patients, particularly those with indwelling or central venous catheters, those receiving enteral feeding, or those receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics. Most infections occurred when packets of Saccharomyces were used or when Saccharomyces capsules were opened at the bedside (12776,12777,14459,95358,95360,95362,95363,105171). Admission to the ICU and extended length of stay increase the risk of developing Saccharomyces fungemia (107604). In a hospitalized 1-year-old patient with severe malnutrition and multiple invasive devices, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fungemia developed 2 days after receiving a probiotic containing S. boulardii 200 mg twice daily for 4 days (96277). In addition, there are two case reports of S. cerevisiae fungemia in hospitalized and intubated older patients with COVID-19 who had been given S. boulardii for diarrhea (105171).
The true incidence of fungemia is difficult to determine with S. boulardii. Most clinical laboratories are unable to differentiate between S. boulardii and S. cerevisiae, which might come from other sources (7353). In two case reports of patients in the ICU, there was a 100% alignment of fungal ribosomal DNA ITS sequences between the strains found in the blood of the infected patients and the strains of S. boulardii that had been administered (105171). In a large analysis of hospitalized patients, the incidence rate of Saccharomyces fungemia was 0.11% of those given S. boulardii and did not occur in patients not given this probiotic. Packets or capsules opened at a distance from the patient in the hospital were included in this analysis (107604).
Positive Saccharomyces cultures have also been obtained rarely from other sites, such as the abdominal region and the oral or respiratory tract (107607).
An elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate may occur when S. boulardii is used to treat Crohn disease (7646), but this effect may be a natural part of the disease process.
