History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

titled “Other real foods,” the section on soy foods is titled
“Traditional and industrial soy are different” (p. 225-34).
Traditional soy foods are those that have a long history in the
diet, and are still made in pretty much the way they used to
be. Her information on the early history of the soybean and
soy foods (p. 225-26) contains many errors, as well as some
interesting observations. Some of the earliest soyfoods were
fermented (starting with soy nuggets and jiang in China). She
lists fi ve health benefi ts of fermentation. Fermentation (along
with cooking) helps to reduce the phytic acid in soybeans.
Soy foods do not contain reliable vitamin B-12. The author
states several times that soy protein is not complete protein.
Most nutritionists for the past 50 years have correctly
avoided this “is” vs. “is not” labeling and instead have
listed all foods along a continuum from high quality to
low quality. By the latest measures of protein quality, soy
protein (by itself, without supplementation by cereal grains)
has about the same quality as beef, but lower than that of
eggs or milk. While noting that about 85% of all soybeans
are genetically engineered, she fails to mention that most
traditional soyfoods in the USA are made from organic, non-
GE soybeans. She discusses the important part that soy plays
in the Okinawan diet, where the people have the highest
longevity in the world. Yet soy “should be viewed as part of
a diverse diet, not as a nutritional silver bullet.” We heartily
agree. She lists the many traditional soyfoods (p. 231-32),
made basically the traditional way, including: Bean sauce
(jiang), miso, natto, soy milk (non-industrial), soy sauce.
sufu (fermented tofu, incl. Filipino tahuri), tofuyo (fermented
tofu from Okinawa), tamari (liquid left after miso is made),
tempeh, tofu, and edamame. She recommends that we avoid
modern soy protein products made from defatted soybean
meal (typically extracted with hexane solvent), including
soy protein isolate, “industrial soy milk,” soy based infant
formula, and soy sauce which uses defatted soybean meal
instead of whole soybeans. But what would she do with all
the oil left over after using whole soybeans?
Concerning a diet rich in fi sh, meat, and poultry. She
partly ignores the ethical issues involved in killing billions
of those animals each year and the environmental issues
involved in raising them. These are both huge issues. Several
complex issues that she addresses head-on and in a fair,
interesting way: (1) Is milk good for humans (p. 39-86).
One of the basic hopes / agendas behind this book is
that people will start to leave cities, buy a piece of land (as
the author’s own family did when she was age 2), grow
their own food and raise their own animals for milk, meat,
and eggs. There is a steadily growing number of books
advocating this traditional way of life.
The Glossary (p. 306-15) contains many good
defi nitions that most people will be able to understand. The
bibliography (p. 316-21) is substantial, and there are also
endnotes (p. 290-303) but the book would be better if more
of its controversial or historical statements cited authoritative
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 561
sources. Address: USA.
1843. Sugano, Michihiro. 2006. Nutritional implications
of soy. In: Michihiro Sugano, ed. 2006. Soy in Health and
Disease Prevention. Boca Raton, Florida: Taylor & Francis.
[xii] + 313 p. See p. 1-16. [10 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Introduction. Structure of soybean.
Components of soybean: Proteins, oil, carbohydrates,
minerals, vitamins. Composition of soy products.
Nutritional aspects of soy products: Protein, peptide, oil,
oligosaccharide, vitamins, other components. From “A Meat
in the Field” to “A Treasure Box of Functionality.”
Tables: (1) Major soybean components and their
health effects. Two columns: Components and functions.
(2) Nutrient contents of dried soybean (incl. minerals and
vitamins). (3) Nutrient contents of soybean products (gm
per 100 gm): Kinako (parched soybean fl our, full-fat). Tofu
(bean curd). Abura-age (fried bean curd). Kori-tofu (frozen
bean curd). Natto (fermented soybean). Okara (Tofu refuse).
Tonyu (soymilk). Yuba (Soymilk skin). Tempe. Miso (bean
paste). Shoyu (soy sauce). Soy protein isolate. (4) Mineral
contents of soybean products (sodium, potassium, calcium,
magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper, manganese;
same products as in Table 3). (5) Vitamin contents of
soybean products (retinol, carotene, D, E, K, B-1, B-2,
niacin, B-6, B-12, folic, pantothenic, C; same products
as in Table 3). (6) Amino acid and protein composition
of Japanese soybean products. (7) Proposed patterns for
essential amino acid requirements and composition of
soybean proteins (soy protein concentrates and isolates).
(8) Fatty acid composition of soybean oils (% of total fatty
acids) (Products: Refi ned soybean oil, genetically modifi ed
oils, low linolenic, high oleic, low palmitic, low saturated
fatty acid, high palmitic, high stearic).
Figures: (1) Pie chart of intake of soybean and its
products in Japan (gm per day of tofu {38.2 gm}, fried tofu
{7.9 gm}, natto {6.9 gm}, whole soybeans {2.0 gm}, other
{2.3 gm}; Total 57.3 gm per day). (2) Bar chart: Amino acid
score of dietary proteins in humans (casein 1.0, egg white
1.0, soy protein concentrate 9.9, soy protein isolate 9.5,
beef 9.5). (3) Graph and bar chart: Soybean protein lowers
liver delta-6 desaturase activity and liver phospholipid
delta-6 desaturation index in rats–relative to casein. Address:
Director, Fuji Foundation for Protein Research, Japan;
Professor Emeritus Kyushu University and President,
Prefectural Univ. of Kumamoto, Japan.
1844. Sumi, Hiroyuki; Yatagai, Chieko. 2006. Fermented
soybean components and disease prevention. In: Michihiro
Sugano, ed. 2006. Soy in Health and Disease Prevention.
Boca Raton, Florida: Taylor & Francis. [xii] + 313 p. See p.
251-278. [76 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Introduction. Natto: Antibacterial
activity of natto and natto bacillus, fi brinolytic enzyme