Yeast allergy suffers are forever on the watch for yeast-containing foods to avoid. Many wonder if vinegar is a problem if they are on a yeast-free diet.

There are many types of vinegar. They all have one thing in common: they involve fermentation with yeast. This is bad news if you have a yeast allergy. This is not the whole story on vinegar and yeast so keep reading.

Vinegar can be made from pretty much anything that can be fermented. Here are some examples of different types of vinegar:

• Apple cider
• Balsamic
• Beer
• Cane
• Coconut
• Date
• East Asian black
• Fruit
• Honey
• Job's Tears
• Kiwifruit
• Kombucha
• Malt
• Palm
• Raisin
• Rice
• Wine

The first stage in vinegar production is to ferment sugar-containing food into a dilute alcohol (ethanol) containing liquid. This first stage is very much like wine or beer production.

This first stage of malt vinegar production is similar to beer-making in that the barley must first be malted, turning starches into sugars, before fermentation can take place.

The second stage to vinegar production is to sour the based-based liquid with acetic acid bacteria.

Acetic acid bacteria is a range of bacteria types that metabolize alcohol and turn it into acetic acid.

Unlike the fermentation process, in which yeasts convert sugar into alcohol in the absence of oxygen, acetic acid bacteria require oxygen.

Distilled Vinegar

Distilled vinegar takes vinegar, made as described above, and distils it to concentrate the acetic acid and purify the vinegar.

Distilled vinegar is not guaranteed to be yeast-free, but has little (if any) yeast protein in it, depending on how carefully the distillation process has been conducted.

Vinegar and Avoiding Yeast

If you are on a yeast-free diet, it is generally advised that you avoid yeast.

To some extent this depends on the reason for your yeast-free diet. If you have a yeast allergy, any type of vinegar, with the possible exception of distilled vinegar, is likely to be a problem.

Some home remedies for a yeast infection include apple cider vinegar.

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