Effective management of atherosclerosis progress and hyperlipidemia with nattokinase

(Bob M) #1

An interesting study of nattokinase, which is an enzyme produced in natto during fermentation of soybeans:

Supplementation for a year of nattokinase raised HDL, lowered triglycerides, and reduced thickness of plaque.

Nattokinase is in natto, and you can make your own:

I’ve been doing this, making my own natto. It’s a challenging recipe. I’ve had to increase the starter to 1/8 teaspoon, and make the layers be thin. That is, I use wide glass containers, as the thinner the beans are, the more they seem to ferment better. Even with that, one container comes out with white film on it, and the other container doesn’t have nearly as much. Could be related to thickness, but it’s the best I can do with the containers I have.

I take the results of both containers, mix them up, put them in the fridge for a week before I use them.

Unfortunately, I can’t figure out whether the amount you’d get in natto is anywhere near what they used. The FU unit, in particular, is hard to translate to what nattokkinase is in natto. And I eat natto less then every day, usually just a few days a week.

(Joey) #2

I’ve read a good bit about natto and have been tempted to try it. I’m told it tastes/smells like old gym socks left in the locker for too long. Does your home-brew natto provide this “delightful” aroma? Taste?

#3

The texture is worse than the smell/taste. As someone who likes marmite I say it’s not that bad but it’s neither crunchy nor smooth and is difficult to masticate so ends up going down in a kind of slimy clump.
I know I’m not helping.
I buy mine as it’s not an easy recipe to perfect. It comes in a 4 pack for about 3 quid.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

Just Say NO to natto! :grin::bacon::bacon:

#5

You can laugh. I accidentally watched a vid on the benefits of nattokinase (or whatever it’s called) then made the mistake of googling for a local supplier.
I went into town and bought a load. I’d almost forgotten how much I actually like the stuff.
I think I might try it with marmite.

#6

I heard bad things about it, once I tried in a Japanese restaurant (even the waiter warned us) and it was very meh, minimal taste. Totally edible just boring. I didn’t find any bad hints in its flavor or smell.
Of course, tastes differ and probably not all natto is the same…

But I don’t plant to eat it again. I have better food and my body doesn’t seem to want anything else from me if I already avoid plants (as much as someone like I can, at least) and eat plenty of meat :smiley: Lucky.

I see people talk about Marmite. I dislike Marmite but it’s still better than Vegemite. I don’t hate either but I don’t see the charm.

(Kirk Wolak) #7

If there were ever a case for a supplement…
You’ve found it… At “Smells like gym socks”…
Everything else had me Diving for my supplement bottle.

#8

I love it with finely chopped shallots and a raw quail egg stirred through it… but can’t eat it at the moment, so am taking K2M7 until I can eat soy beans again.
In Japan it is served with rice, which you mix the natto through and it is a less intense taste, with miso soup on the side.

(Edith) #9

I have heard of natto and knew it had something to do with fermented soybeans but that was about it. I’m thinking it is really as nutritious as “they” say it is due to the fact it is fermented? I have to admit, after reading descriptions of it, I am a little afraid to give it a try. :grimacing: I’m not sure I could get past the stringy slime.

(KM) #10

In addition to this sounding awful, soybeans are high on carbs for a keto diet, especially if counting total carbs. While I’m usually not a fan of supplements, I agree this sounds like a good time to break my rules! :grin:

(Bob M) #11

As a former body builder who drank and ate everything, I can pretty much eat anything. I don’t mind the taste or smell of the natto. Note that I also ate vegemite when it was something I heard of, with no issues (I assume this is similar to marmite?).

I just put some naturally fermented soy sauce (without wheat - you have to read the label) on it. I also don’t do what they do in Japan, which is stir it a ton of times, to make it stringy. I pretty much toss some soy sauce on the beans, and eat it. So, mine is like eating baked beans or something similar, not stringy at all really.

This is where I used to buy mine:

I prefer the small bean natto (though I bought larger beans by mistake for making it myself). The data from that:

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If you’re one of those that subtract fiber, you’re looking at only 2 g carbs for 1 ounce of natto. I personally don’t weigh it and eat it infrequently. The containers are 3.5 ounces, and mine lasted multiple (at least 3?) servings.

I’m making more this weekend. I’ll see if I can remember to weigh what I take to work.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #12

One is Australian, the other British (I forget which), but they are essentially similar products. You either love them or hate them; there is no middle ground, in my experience.

As for natto, I’ll be giving it a miss, since I am a carnivore these days. (I’ll miss those gym socks. NOT!)

(Geoffrey) #13

Agreed. I have no use for seeds, especially anything based around soy.

(Bob M) #14

That’s all well and good, except that some people theorize one reason Japanese people live longer is because of things like natto. You can’t get nattokinase at all being carnivore, and K2 isn’t easy to get. You can get some in things like cheese, but natto has many times more K2 than cheese.

See this:

The highest amount of K2 in cheese is 801 ng/g in Munster. By contrast, it’s 10,985 ng/g in natto. That’s almost 14 times as much K2 in natto as compared to the cheese with the HIGHEST K2.

(Bob M) #15

Just for kicks, 1 ounce = 28 grams = 307,580 ng of K2 eating 1 ounce natto. To get the same amount eating Munster cheese, you’re at 307,580/801 = 384 grams = 13.5 ounces of cheese. Eating one ounce of natto is the same as over 3/4 pound of cheese for K2.

(Geoffrey) #16

I’ve seen enough evidence to show that soy is not good for us, especially men. Now fermented? I don’t know. From what I’ve read, foods that are fermented are less bad than those that aren’t.
There’s a reason modern men are called “Soy Boys” and it isn’t a compliment.

(KM) #17

1 oz. Is about a 1" cube, at least if it’s cheese. Is that a realistic serving size?