Bio-Strath (commonly known simply as Strath) is a Swiss food supplement made from plasmolysed herbal yeast — a product with a history spanning over seventy years that is unlike almost anything else in the nutritional supplement marketplace. It is not a vitamin tablet, not a synthetic B-complex, not a generic nutritional yeast. It is a whole-food supplement produced through a unique fermentation process that has been refined and documented over decades of Swiss clinical research.
Strath was developed in Switzerland in the 1950s by Dr Fred Pestalozzi, who was researching the nutritional potential of Saccharomyces cerevisiae — baker's yeast — enriched with a blend of medicinal herbs. The process he developed, called plasmolysis, is the defining feature of Strath and what makes it genuinely different from other yeast-based products on the market.
Conventional yeast products suffer from a fundamental limitation: the cell walls of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) are made of a resilient polysaccharide called glucan that the human digestive system cannot fully break down. This means that a large proportion of the nutrients inside the yeast cell are locked away behind this cell wall and cannot be absorbed even if the yeast cell is consumed. This is a real problem — whole yeast products, despite their impressive theoretical nutrient content, have relatively poor bioavailability.
Plasmolysis solves this problem elegantly. In the plasmolysis process, the yeast cells are gently ruptured using a carefully controlled process — the cell walls are broken open and the contents of the cells are released into the liquid medium. The result is a product where the nutrients — B vitamins, amino acids, minerals, trace elements and the herb-derived constituents that were incorporated during the fermentation — are fully available in a form the body can absorb directly.
This bioavailability distinction is significant. Clinical studies on Strath have consistently shown measurable effects on energy, vitality, concentration and physical performance — effects that you would not necessarily expect from a product of similar theoretical B-vitamin content in synthetic form, because the whole-food matrix of plasmolysed yeast delivers nutrients in a synergistic, biologically appropriate form that the body recognises and uses efficiently.
What further distinguishes Strath from ordinary nutritional yeast is the herb blend that is incorporated during fermentation. The yeast is cultured in a medium enriched with a proprietary blend of over 60 plant extracts — including sage, peppermint, lavender, carrot, nettle, fennel and other herbs and botanicals. During fermentation, the yeast metabolises and incorporates the bioactive constituents of these herbs into its cellular structure. After plasmolysis, these herb-derived compounds are released as part of the total nutrient matrix.
This means Strath is not just a B-vitamin supplement — it is a genuinely complex nutritional product that contains B vitamins (B1, B2, B6, B12, folic acid, biotin, pantothenic acid and niacin in whole-food matrix form), a full complement of amino acids, minerals and trace elements including zinc, iron and selenium, and the metabolised constituents of over 60 medicinal and nutritional herbs. All in a form that is food — a liquid or tablet made of plasmolysed herbal yeast — rather than a synthetic isolate.
Unlike many supplement brands, Strath has a genuine body of published clinical research behind it. Key studies have examined its effects on:
This evidence base, while not as extensive as pharmaceutical drug trials, is meaningfully stronger than most supplement brands can offer and is a significant reason why Pat at The Honey Pot has confidence in the product.
Available in liquid form (250ml) and as tablets (100 tablets or 200 tablets), Strath Original is the flagship product — suitable for adults and children from one year upwards. The liquid form has a pleasant, slightly malty, herbal taste that most people find enjoyable; some people prefer the convenience of the tablets. The standard adult dose is one teaspoon of liquid three times daily with meals, or two tablets three times daily.
In the Irish context, Strath Original is particularly relevant for:
Strath Kids combines the plasmolysed herbal yeast of the original formula with added vitamin D3 — a formulation specifically designed for children, recognising that vitamin D insufficiency is extremely common in Irish children due to the country's northerly latitude and limited sun exposure. The product comes in a pleasant-tasting liquid that most children accept readily.
Vitamin D is essential for bone development, immune function and neurological development in children. Combined with the comprehensive B-vitamin and amino acid profile of the Strath yeast matrix, Strath Kids provides genuinely broad nutritional support in a single, palatable product. For parents who struggle to get their children to accept supplements, the pleasant taste and liquid format of Strath Kids is a significant practical advantage.
People sometimes ask why they should choose Strath over a much cheaper synthetic B-complex tablet. The answer comes down to the whole-food matrix principle. Synthetic B-vitamins are isolated, purified versions of specific molecular compounds — B1 (thiamine hydrochloride), B2 (riboflavin), B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), B12 (cyanocobalamin) and so on. They are taken in isolation and absorbed in isolation.
In nature — and in Strath — B vitamins exist in a matrix of other nutrients, many of which serve as cofactors, transporters and synergists for B-vitamin absorption and utilisation. The amino acids, minerals and trace elements in plasmolysed yeast enhance the bioavailability and cellular uptake of the B vitamins in ways that synthetic isolates cannot replicate. This is not a theoretical claim — it is reflected in the clinical evidence that shows Strath having measurable effects on energy and vitality that synthetic B-complexes at equivalent vitamin doses do not reliably demonstrate.
Strath Original (liquid and tablets) and Strath Kids with Vitamin D are both stocked at The Honey Pot, 14 Abbey Street, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. Available in-store and online at thehoneypotonline.ie with delivery across Ireland.
Strath Original and Strath Kids — available at The Honey Pot, Clonmel
Shop at The Honey Pot → 📞 052-612 1457