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How to make natto from low-starch navy beans, which are permitted in gut healing protocols that limit almost all other legumes to promote healing in the microbiome.
Natto is the best fermented food to get soil-based probiotics (SBO) in your diet.
That said, traditional natto made from soybeans has some problems.
First, soybeans are the food that contains the most phytoestrogens. This is not a problem for people with balanced hormones, but for those with hypothyroidism or other hormonal problems, it is best to avoid soy, even in healthy, fermented form (cultures do not lower goitrogens).
This is the main reason I developed the soy-free natto recipe that I posted a few years ago. This product is made from mung beans, which are most similar in size and texture to soft beans.
Second, soy has a high starch content, so it is not permitted in gut healing protocols such as GAPS. Therefore, even if a person is healthy and has balanced hormones, natto is not a legitimate food for healing the gut and limiting starch.
Mung bean natto, which does not contain soybeans, is also ineffective against GAPS because, like soybeans, it has a fairly high starch content.
So I developed a different form of natto that everyone can eat, even if they use GAPS or struggle with hormonal balance issues.
This “white natto,” as I call it, is made from navy soybeans, one of the very few legumes that are low in starch and allow for gut healing protocols like GAPS.
If you think you don’t need natto because you already consume a variety of fermented foods and beverages, we encourage you to think again.
Why you need natto in your diet
Natto contains very unique ingredients. Bacillus subtlesIt is a soil-based probiotic that is very beneficial to your health. No other fermented food contains as much of this strain as natto.
According to Martha Carlin, microbiome researcher, entrepreneur, and founder of BiotiQuest: B. Subtles It used to be known by the common name “Hay bacillus”. (1)
If you think about it, we were out in the fields and meadows breathing it (B. subtlis). This is a really interesting organism… It creates a frequency that kind of knocks out the pathogenic organism. Additionally, it is self-sacrificing, meaning that if there is not enough food (in the gut), it sacrifices part of its colony to feed itself (unlike other microorganisms that start eating intestinal mucus if there is not enough food). So what I call a “team player” is a really interesting thing. (2)
Natto is also very rich in vitamin K2 (~150 mcg/tablespoon), which is important for cardiovascular health as well as strong teeth and bones.
If you are looking for ways to incorporate natto into your home menu, it will be very beneficial!
white natto
How to make natto from low-starch navy beans, which are allowed on the GAP diet or other protocols that limit carbohydrates to promote gut healing.
guideline
Rinse the navy beans and place them in a large glass bowl. Add enough filtered water to allow the beans to expand and roughly double in size. Let sit on the counter for 8 hours or overnight.
Drain the soaking water and place the beans in a large pot. Cover with fresh filtered water.
Bring the beans to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes until the beans are tender.
Drain the beans and place them in a large VitaClay slow cooker or crock pot. The beans should be no more than 1 inch deep. Discard any beans that may accidentally spill while transferring from pot to cooker.
Let the beans cool for 10 minutes.
While the beans cool slightly in the Vitaclay or slow cooker, dissolve one bag of natto starter in 3 tablespoons of warm filtered water. Alternatively, use 1/4 cup of the previously used batch of white natto as a starter.
Close the VitaClay lid and select the “Yogurt” setting.
If you use another type of slow cooker, use a setting that keeps the beans between 100-110°F/38-43°C, which is the temperature range needed to ferment them into natto.
After 24 hours, turn off the Vitaclay, remove the lid, and let the natto cool to room temperature for 1 hour. A whitish film and an ammonia-like scent means the job is done. The beans also have a sticky, gooey appearance (see photo above).
Place the cooled natto in a glass container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate.
Natto can be eaten immediately if refrigerated overnight. It lasts for several months, with the flavor maturing and becoming stronger over time.
Navy beans are low in starch and are legal on the GAP diet. And because it is soy-free, 1-3 tablespoons per day makes it a safe and inexpensive source of soil-based probiotics as well as an excellent food source of vitamin K2.
Nutrition Facts
white natto
Per serving (1 tablespoon)
calorie 23
calories from fat 9
% Daily Value*
province 1g2%
Saturated fat 0.1g1%
Polyunsaturated fat 0.5g
Monounsaturated fat 0.4g
potassium 33mg1%
carbohydrate 2.5g1%
2g fiber8%
protein 1g2%
calcium 4.5 mg0%
steel 0.2mg1%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
References
(1, 2) The Microbiome Revolution with Martha Carlin
