Jim Koch eats dry yeast

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i was just about to post it too. I want to know if anyone has tried this. I'm gonna test it out this weekend
 
Subbed. Really curious how it goes. Too chicken to try it myself. I'd be afraid of the aftermath when the yeast has to come out lol.
 
Yeast and yogurt. You better hope there is a toilet close by, cause that sounds like a colon cleaner.
 
from http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/20381/does-eating-yeast-stop-you-from-getting-drunk

Inside the stomach the pH is around 1-2, the activity of enzymes is typically strongly dependent on the pH. Outside of their optimal pH range enzymes generally work much slower or not at all.

Yeast ADH has a pH optimum in the neutral to alkaline range, at low pH values it is not active at all. The following two papers looked at the effect of pH on ADH and both observed that ADH was unstable at low pH values

From "The Role of Zinc in Alcohol Dehydrogenase: V. THE EFFECT OF METAL-BINDING AGENTS ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE YEAST ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE MOLECULE":

At acid pH, both activity and zinc of the enzyme are lost also (18, 19), but the effect of H+ ions on the structure of the enzyme differs markedly from that here described for chelating agents. Yeast alcohol dehydrogenase, 3.3 x 1O-5 M, when dialyzed for 24 hours in 0.1 M sodium acetate, pH 4.0, 0°, becomes polydispersed and precipitates on increasing the temperature by only 4°. Apparently, H+ ions critically affect sensitive groups of this enzyme in addition to those involved in activity and zinc binding.
From "Effect of pH on the Liver Alcohol Dehydrogenase Reaction":

We are unable to study the rate of hydride transfer at more acidic pH values because our enzyme preparation undergoes rapid loss of activity below pH 5.9
So the proposed mechanism of the higher alcohol tolerance is highly implausible. There could be an effect of eating yeast separate from ADH, or yeast could have isoforms that also work at lower pH. But as the only evidence in favor seems to be anecdotal I would doubt that eating yeast as a significant effect.
 
from http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/20381/does-eating-yeast-stop-you-from-getting-drunk

Inside the stomach the pH is around 1-2, the activity of enzymes is typically strongly dependent on the pH. Outside of their optimal pH range enzymes generally work much slower or not at all.

I don't doubt the authenticity of this research and i may still be wrong due to lack of understanding anything scientific but isn't ADH already the primary active enzyme (or whatever its referred to as) in the stomach that breaks down alcohol?
 
Wouldn't ingesting a lot of beer change the pH in the stomach? Maybe back into the optimal range where the ADH likes it?
 
I was wondering about this when I read it on Yahoo today. I think I would rather get drunk than to deal with the aftermath of the yeast. I drank some (we actually split a 5 gallon keg) of my buddy's homebrew and the next morning wasn't pretty. I didn't have a hangover either.
 
I don't doubt the authenticity of this research and i may still be wrong due to lack of understanding anything scientific but isn't ADH already the primary active enzyme (or whatever its referred to as) in the stomach that breaks down alcohol?


Alcohol readily passes through the stomach and intestinal linings into the bloodstream. Goes to brain, causes it's effects (like poor balance, coordination, etc), and is broken down in the liver. That's why it takes some time to recover from drinking - it's not instantaneous due to a set number of enzymes present in the body to break down alcohol and other drugs, and blood flow through the liver presenting alcohol molecules to said enzymes.

Some people can drink more without strong effects due to a couple reasons - more body mass (so alcohol is not as concentrated in the blood, but they also take longer to recover due to this dilution all effect), more enzymes (either through up regulation with habitual drinking or lucky genetics - enabling them to break down alcohol faster), or IBS and it just shoots through you without much absorption.
 
from what i have read ( it's pretty much all i did today at work) that ADH breaks down the alcohol molecule in your stomach. this keeps you from getting drunk/as drunk. the downside is that anytime alcohol is broken down it create acetaldehyde which is the poison responsible for many hangover symptoms. the reason i say this is the downside is that usually when we drink in excess we can kind of estimate from our drunkeness the severity of tomorrow's hangover, but in this case we wouldn't have that indicator.

The threat of waking up with a banging hangover that i wasn't expecting is far worse for me than having to hang out on the toilet all morning cuz i ate some yeast (if that's what it does).

To possibly further this discussion the enzymes responsible for breaking down acetaldehyde are glutathione which is primarily composed of cysteine (found in eggs). These enzymes break down the hangover causing poison into stuff your body can handle easier. your body depletes its own reserves of this very quickly.

I assume much smarter people than me have figured all this out and have researched a way around hangovers and drunkeness and found out that you can't avoid it. That's not to say i won't try this and report back!
 
Wouldn't ingesting a lot of beer change the pH in the stomach? Maybe back into the optimal range where the ADH likes it?
Not even close. The pH of the stomach is in the 1-3 range. YADH needs a pH of around 8.2. Those numbers might look close if you blanked on chemistry in high school, but that makes the stomach millions of times more acidic than the pH the yeast ADH needs.

Quoting myself from the other thread:
Not sure I buy into it- the pH of the stomach would surely denature the ADH, otherwise we'd be digesting alcohol by now instead of absorbing it first. I guess if I were eating yeasty yogurt between drinks, I wouldn't be drinking nearly as much though.

Sciencey stuff: Yep. Check it out: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bit.260390416/pdf
Check the section on pH, and take a peek at the graph on p. 476. Yeast ADH in aqueous solution shows near zero activity outside of its optimal pH range of around 8.2. That means in the stomach's environment of pH 1-3, it's not doing anything. Sorry Sam. Out of respect for the beer and brewer, I'll refrain from the "Science, *****!" meme.
 
This is not the first time I've heard of this yeasty benefit. Unless Jimbo is trolling the article's author I'm sure there is be something to it. But he strikes me as a more conservative drinker than I.
 
Not even close. The pH of the stomach is in the 1-3 range. YADH needs a pH of around 8.2. Those numbers might look close if you blanked on chemistry in high school, but that makes the stomach millions of times more acidic than the pH the yeast ADH needs.

Quoting myself from the other thread:


I think you're missing my point. Ingesting a bunch of beer will change the pH of the stomach. The pH of the stomach is 1-3 when empty and can be up to 5 when full. Still not in the optimal range but that doesn't mean there is no reaction at all, its just diminished. This study shows ADH activity at a pH of 4.9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1165444.

I still don't know how valid a method this is, it's more likely he just has a high-tolerance.
 
So, who's going to be the brave soul and try this? Sorry, but not I...as I have a job that I'm suppose to be at daily.
Who/whom every does try it, I thinks should download the "Homebrewtalk" app to their phone first...as they will probably be making post from the restroom.
 
I suppose it will depend greatly on the individual and their normal dietary habits. Most new homebrewers (yours truly included) suffer from some pretty explosive gas as a result of consuming large quantities of yeast that exist in our homebrew. With time we adapt and develop a tolerance. I can down a pint of very yeasty brew out of a new keg without having to apologize to the SWMBO the next day.

I would not suggest anyone down 5 teaspoons of bakers yeast and then consume 5 IPA's.

It might be worth trying one teaspoon and a couple of beers to see if there is a noticeable difference, and then ramp up yeast consumption next time if there are no ill effects.
 
I tried this last weekend. It did not cause me to feel less drunk. I did not have any problem with "explosive gas" the next day. I felt like I have less of a hangover the next day.

All completely unscientific.
 
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