Natto: Harvest Protein Unequalled

Natto (literally, “harvest protein”) is a traditional Japanese food made from cooked soybeans fermented with special bacteria. These special bacteria are stronger than acidophilus, the bacteria used in making other fermented soy products such as miso, shoyu and tamari.

For this reason, natto is actually better at overcoming and replacing harmful bacteria that invade the body and cause disease. Natto bacteria also create enzymes such as nattokinase, which researchers in the USA and Japan discovered can dissolve blood clots, the leading cause of stroke, better than the best medicine available. Also, the effectiveness of natto’s enzymes lasted for 6-8 hours longer than clot-dissolving drugs, with no adverse side effects.

In Japan, 80% of the elderly population used to die from stroke due to blood clots which dislodge and block blood vessels in the brain. When the clot-dissolving effects of natto became well-known, the Japanese Ministry of Health began recommending that elderly people eat natto to protect themselves from stroke. After this practice had become more widely adopted among the elderly, the incidence of death from stroke dropped from 80% to 20%.

Natto is a super food for other reasons as well. Due to fermentation that occurs in the process of making natto, the proteins in soybeans are broken down into amino acids. This makes them more readily digestible and assimilable. In fact, natto is pre-digested, so the body is able to convert natto into energy and body-building materials rapidly after eating.

The newest research into anti-aging indicates that amino acids can prolong and maintain a healthy, active lifestyle long beyond the age considered normal for most people. For this reason, natto may contribute to the traditional longevity of Japanese people and their generally higher level of health before Western-style eating habits were introduced.

Natto offers a very inexpensive way to maintain vitality and longevity for the world’s aging population. It should be proposed as a way to save money on expensive medical care for the elderly, while enabling the elderly to enjoy a happier, more creative and active lifestyle.

The only obstacle to the more widespread consumption of natto is its unusual taste and aroma, as well as its slimy texture and stringiness.

In the process of fermentation of natto soybeans, the bacteria involved create sliminess and a peculiar odor, much as occurs during fermentation of certain cheeses, like limburger.

However, once the body recognizes the benefits of natto, a taste often develops for this food, and it can then become a very enjoyable and satisfying part of daily meals.

In Japan, natto is traditionally eaten for breakfast, on top of hot rice, or as a side-dish. Modern Japanese young people have adapted this food of the ancestors in various creative ways, such as natto sandwiches, or as a topping on toast. Toasted bread tends to soften the taste of natto and make it more appealing.

Other ways to enjoy natto are by combining it with the following: chopped green onions (scallions), soy sauce, ginger juice, mustard and/or horseradish. Japanese wasabi is a variety of very hot, ground, green horseradish root. Wasabi adds an especially zesty appeal when mixed with natto and served with brown rice.

Some enterprising soul(s) could create and introduce new recipes and uses for natto, such as natto spread, which would make natto an easy, fast, nutritious and indispensable part of a healthy diet.

As a vegetarian replacement for meat, natto is a leading contender, because it provides a higher quality and quantity of proteins and amino acids for everyone, including laborers, athletes and anyone requiring high intake levels of high-quality protein, in a readily-assimilable form.

The ability of natto to satisfy the most demanding nutritional requirements is well-demonstrated by its ability to sustain Japanese farmers who toil long hours every day to grow rice by traditional, labor-intensive methods.

The traditional breakfast of these hard-working people has always been miso soup, natto and rice, accompanied by various condiments such as pickled daikon radish.

Making Natto

Prepared natto can be obtained at Japanese and Oriental markets in many larger cities, especially if there is an Asiatic population in the area. The Japanese food company Miyako is one well-known supplier.

For those who cannot obtain prepared natto locally, it can be made quite easily in the home, at a very modest cost. One simply follows these steps:

1) Wash and soak 2 cups of natto soybeans overnight.

2) Steam the soaked soybeans for 6-8 hours or until soft.

3) Transfer the steamed soybeans to a sterilized casserole dish.

4) Cover, and wait for the beans to cool to around 90 degrees F

5) Add a pinch of natto starter (called nattokin in Japanese) and mix.

6) Place in oven for 8-12 hours warmed either by the pilot light in a gas oven, or the oven light in electric ovens. Prop the door open just enough to keep the light on if you are using an electric oven.

7) Examine the developing natto from time to time and mix gently.

8) Natto is ready when it is slimy and stringy, and it develops the characteristic natto odor. This odor is not rotten, but pungent.

One should observe the highest standards of cleanliness throughout the process and make sure all utensils are sterile. These precautions will insure that only natto bacteria are propagated and not other types. If other bacteria take over fermentation, the soybeans will smell rotten.

Some recipes for making natto include adding salt and a sweetener. The theory is that only natto bacteria can grow if salt is added, and propagate more readily if a sweetener is added as a starter, as when making bread.

I think there are enough naturally-occurring sugars in steamed soybeans to make the fermentation process occur without added either salt or sweetener. Salt acts as a retardant to the fermentation process. If strict cleanliness is maintained, salt is not needed.

Not only does eating natto give one energy and body-building vegetable protein, but it contains phospholipids and other nutrients that help the brain remain active and alert. So natto is also an ideal food for those who must maintain a high level of mental activity.

American-style soybeans are grown for their large size and higher yields. Japanese firms that make natto commercially prefer smaller soybeans called natto soybeans, since they are grown specifically for making natto.

If anyone would like to know how to obtain raw, dried natto beans, as well as the natto spore required to make natto (especially if you cannot obtain prepared natto as a starter), please inquire by sending me an email request.

I believe that once natto becomes more widely known and appreciated it will contribute to the well-being of people throughout the world, as well as help resolve the food and energy crisis facing humanity today.

--Fred Pulver

August 3, 2003