According to research foods that have been fermented are quite healthy, as they contain ample probiotics. Essential for your health, probiotics also aid in digestion and enable your body to better absorb essential nutrients, as previously noted. Here Joanne Washburn, Food.news, reflects on two incredible Japanese health foods to try; natto and umeboshi:

“Prepackaged foods and heavily processed foods get a bad rap — and for good reason. Besides contributing very little to our nutritional needs, they’re also laden with the big no-no’s, i.e., sugar, salt and chemical additives that spell bad news for our health.

On the other hand, going for the same old healthy foods can become tiring at some point. After all — let’s face it — there’s something in those bags of chips and canned goods that just appeals to our taste buds and keeps us coming back for more.

So for those of you who get easily bored of eating the same things every week (or every other week), here are two new foods to try: natto and umeboshi. Besides their incredible health benefits and nutrition profiles, these Japanese health foods are sure to blow you away and chase away your food ennui.

Natto: a traditional Japanese superfood

Natto is a traditional Japanese dish that can be served alongside almost any kind of food, from cold noodles to sashimi. It is also a common ingredient used in Japanese dishes, such as sushi, salads and miso soup.

Made from fermented soybeans, natto has a strong, pungent smell reminiscent of cheese and old socks. Its characteristic slimy and sticky texture is also quite unlike any food you can name. For these reasons, natto can be an acquired taste for non-Japanese people.

But if you’re an adventurous eater, then you’ll be delighted to know that this health food contains plenty of essential nutrients. These include folate, a vitamin necessary for maternal and fetal health, and pantothenic acid, a nutrient necessary for making red blood cells.

But natto is perhaps most popular for its abundance in probiotics. Probiotics are friendly bacteria that support digestion, protect the gastrointestinal tract from infection and assist in the maintenance of gut health. These bacteria, together with the good ones that live in your gut, feed on soluble fiber, which natto conveniently contains.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Japanese generally have low risks of heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer. Experts believe this is because of the diet most Japanese have — a diet that features staples like natto and other fermented foods.”

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