Natto is Japanese traditional food, which is made of steamed and fermented soy beans.

Natto is probably the cheapest superfood you can find, at least in Japan.  Natto is not a meal in itself, of course, natto complements your meal, but it provides some very important and rare micronutrients for your body. 

If you have never tried natto before, chances are you will not be pleasantly surprised by the joy it brings to the palate. It is an acquired taste and does take some time getting used to.  However, if you educate yourself about all the amazing benefits of natto, you will be motivated to find a way to incorporate natto into your daily meals right away. 

To save you some time on research I put together all the reasons to look at natto in a different way.  It is not just sticky, stringy fermented beans with quite a unique pungent aroma.  It is also a source of beneficial micronutrients that will boost your health! 

Vitamin C, iron, zinc, selenium, copper

All these play a huge role in our immune health, but even more does the fact that natto is a very powerful probiotic.  Any probiotic-rich food provides for a healthier gut flora and actually helps to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.  

Nattokinase

Natto is known for being the single source of nattokinase, an enzyme in natto that prevents clotting of the blood. Because of this effect of thinning the blood, natto might protect against conditions caused by blood clots (thrombus) such as stroke, heart attack and others.

You won’t find nattokinase in soy foods other than natto, since nattokinase is produced through the specific fermentation process used to make natto. (it is found in that sticky, stringy substance between natto beans).  It is possible to buy supplements of nattokinase though in pills (check with your doctor which would be appropriate for you).

Vitamin K2

This vitamin is one of the least researched vitamins and still has not been clearly regulated by dietitians (the USDA) as to the guidelines of its consumption. (Recommended Daily Allowance) 

However, with it’s one major role of keeping calcium from going to the wrong places, like blood vessels and kidneys, the importance of this vitamin should not be underestimated. Vitamin K2 makes sure that calcium in our bodies reaches bones and teeth and does not get deposited in our arteries, which is a huge cause of cardiovascular diseases. Scientific research shows that a protein named osteocalcin acts as a kind of glue that helps to incorporate calcium into the bones, and that Vitamin K2 is necessary in order to produce this protein. It is now also a clear fact that Vitamin K2 is closely connected with the prevention of osteoporosis. So eat it for stronger bones!

It also helps stabilize blood sugar and protects against diabetes.   It enhances our ability to utilize energy during exercise and even plays a role in suppressing the genes that make cancerous cells.  

What needs to be mentioned here, however, is that Vitamin K2 (not to be mixed up with Vitamin K1 which is mostly contained in green leafy vegetables and is also very important for our blood health, Vitamin K2 is mostly found in animal foods and fermented foods) is an umbrella term for several MKs (menaquinones).

Vitamin K2 refers to several specific types of of this vitamin known as MK-4, MK-7, MK-10 and so on 

MK-4 is mostly found in animal foods whereas MK-7, MK-8 -9 are forms contained by fermented foods, such as cheese and natto.

Although Vitamin K2 is also produced by gut bacteria in our large intestine, one needs a very robust probiotic environment, which weakens as we age. We generally cannot make these nutrients by ourselves in our bodies, so we must rely on other organisms that we ingest to provide them for us.  The MK-4 for example, can be obtained through eggs, meat and butter.  But it has to be a very high quality product, such as grass fed butter and not a grain/corn fed animal product. 

Other than the MK4 form of Vitamin K2 the rest can be found and consumed in the form of fermented plant foods such as natto and cheeses (european, non processed)  But just for your comparison, apparently natto contains about 15 times more vitamin K2 as cheese and 200(!) times more than fermented sauerkraut. 

If all these benefits do not sound compelling enough, please take a note that Vitamin K2 can help stop excess calcium in the elastin of your skin.  It can help us maintain skin elasticity and prevent wrinkles (yeah!).  And with the aforementioned benefit of avoiding calcification of the arteries, there is an early evidence that it helps the condition of varicose veins (indeed Japanese women have significantly lower cases of this condition) 

In addition, natto has an antibacterial effect. In the old days, food poisoning was very common, and people used natto in order to prevent cholera, typhoid and dysentery.

An amazing source of Vitamin K2, fiber, minerals, the only source of nattokinase and a great probiotic!

If you find it difficult to eat natto, start with: 

Rice rolls with natto (nattomaki納豆巻き) This will provide an easy way to start getting used to the taste.   You dip each one of them in salty soy sauce and here you go, you are on your way to getting used to eating natto.  (I actually had to wash them down with Asahi beer when I just came to Japan. And yes, it helped!)

Next step is to eat natto with rice or vegetables and you can add different sauces such as balsamic vinegar and mustard (we also put olive oil for an extra benefit).  You can top your salad with natto, eat it with green leeks or …drumroll… mix it with a raw egg!

We eat natto for all these amazing facts of micronutrient content, the Japanese people also have a more traditional, anecdotal way of making their kids into adamant fans of natto.  They say that any food that is sticky and slimy, has a “neba-neba” ねばねば quality, which sounds similar to a verb “nebaru” (粘る）which means to stick to it, to persevere, to be stubborn in one’s efforts. 

So eating neba-neba foods will make you more persistent in your efforts!  

Take this new tradition of Natto for breakfast and enjoy all the healthy benefits. And don’t give up! 

Japanese vocabulary for buying natto

納豆　natto

　　　豆 bean

　　　小粒 small size beens in natto

　　　中粒 medium size

　　　大粒 large size 

• 1. make sure that it is domestically grown

watch for : 国産 /　１００％国産豆 / or 日本産

in contrast , made in China will say :  中国産

• 2. please look for the sign that it is made of non- GMO beans  

watch for: 遺伝子組換えではない

• 3. Best yet – try to buy organic natto,  in such case I might not mind the origin of the beans.

watch for : 有機そだち / 有機栽培

or look for the JAS mark – Organic certification