Natto is a simple, basic Japanese food made from fermented soybeans . This unusual and traditional food has been known in Japan for two thousand years or more, and has been now recognized as a food beneficial to the health of the consumer. The health benefits are considered preventative, for example , to prevent intestinal diseases, obesity, osteoporosis, heart attacks, and even cancer. It is recognized that the "bacillus natto", the bacteria that causes the fermentation also creates amino acids, enzymes, and vitamins which are beneficial to human health; two compounds created in the fermentat