Should You Take Nattokinase On An Empty Stomach?

Can nattokinase survive the acidity of the stomach? Is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract? Can you cook natto and retain the health benefits of nattokinase?

To answer that, we look at studies showing gastrointestinal absorption, optimum pH, and temperatures to retain nattokinase activity.

But before that, in case you are new here, I wrote about the health benefits of nattokinase and soybeans. If you already know, skip to the next section.

Contents hide

1 Health Benefits of Nattokinase

2 Is Nattokinase absorbed in the stomach?

3 pH stability of Nattokinase

4 Studies that prove effective absorption and retention of clot-busting ability

5 Should natto be eaten alone or with food?

5.1 Frozen natto: heat it up or not?

5.1.1 Will the Vitamin K2 and Bacillus subtilis spores survive the heat?

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Health Benefits of Nattokinase

Is Nattokinase absorbed in the stomach?

Nattokinase is a protein. The stomach contains enzymes that digest proteins and has an acidity or pH of 1. That’s the strongest level of acidity. At that pH, some protein molecules will change shape (denature) as part of the digestive process.

Once an enzyme is denatured, it loses its biological effect. That is why some dismiss nattokinase and say that it is ineffective. They think nattokinase is useless because it will be digested in the stomach.

Maybe that wrong information drove a 47-year-old man to inject nattokinase in his arm to treat his Peyronie’s disease (bent penis).

The deformation of the penis in Peyronie’s disease is due to the contraction of connective tissue in one region of the penis. Nattokinase is believed to loosen the contracted tissue and straighten the penis so the afflicted man will live happily ever after.

Instead of taking it by mouth, the poor guy injected his arm with nattokinase, which led to the loss of blood supply in his arm and its amputation.

His story became a topic in a case report. Vascular Necrosis of the Upper Extremity After Self-Treatment for Peyronie’s Disease

Don’t be that guy!

pH stability of Nattokinase

A study by Lin et al. evaluated the stability of nattokinase at different pH or acid levels. pH ranges from 1, acidic, to 14, basic.

They found that nattokinase is stable at a pH range of 5 to 9. At pH 4 to 10, its activity is more than 90%.

This means that nattokinase should be taken with food. Food and water will dilute the acid in the stomach and raise the pH.

I had to research pH and absorption because some nattokinase supplements will say on the bottle that they should be taken on an empty stomach. You will find another reason why nattokinase should be taken with food at the bottom.

The graph below from Lin et al. shows the stability of the nattokinase at pH 5 to 9 and the wide range of enzyme activity from pH 4 to 10.

The pH in human tissues is around 7.35-7.45.

Should You Take Nattokinase On An Empty Stomach? — Source: “Purification And Characterization Of Nattokinase From Cultural Filtrate Of Red Alga Porphyra Dentata Fermented By Bacillus Subtilis N1,” Journal Of Marine Science And Technology: Vol. 23: Iss. 2, Article 13.

Studies that prove effective absorption and retention of clot-busting ability

Three studies show that nattokinase is well absorbed intestinally to produce health benefits.

Sumi et al. showed that nattokinase given by mouth retains its enzyme activity. They conducted an experiment where they artificially induced a blood blot in dogs. Then they gave them nattokinase capsules by mouth.

The nattokinase survived the stomach pH and got absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. Notably, it dissolved (lysed) the experimentally induced blood clot (thrombus). That is why it is said that nattokinase has thrombolytic properties.

Fujita et al. in 1995 duplicated their findings. This time they used rats to show that nattokinase absorbed thru the intestines was able to dissolve fibrin in the blood (fibrinolytic).

The fibrinolytic, antithrombotic, lipid-lowering, and atherosclerosis-decreasing properties of nattokinase after oral ingestion of nattokinase were demonstrated by Chen et al. in their study of 1,062 human subjects.

Should natto be eaten alone or with food?

Natto, made from fermented soybeans, is a food source of nattokinase. It also contains vitamin K2 (menaquinone) and the Bacillus subtilis spore, a great probiotic.

The Bacillus subtilis is the one that ferments the soybeans to make natto.

Vitamin K2 removes the calcium from atherosclerosis and ligaments and brings them to where they should be. In the bones and teeth to make them stronger.

The spores have health benefits too. From the spores grow the Bacillus subtilis once the environment is conducive to growth. It increases the good bacteria in the gut microbiome. At the same time, it decreases the disease-causing bacteria.

I discussed those topics and more in How I Made and Appreciated Natto.

Frozen natto: heat it up or not?

When natto is homemade, it is typically made in batches of about 150 or 500 gm (1.1 lbs), depending on how much you can eat. It is placed in the refrigerator after about five days to stop bacterial growth, or it will taste funny.

So it has to be put in the freezer. I put mine in plastic egg trays and take two to three at a time when I’m about to eat them.

Natto can be mixed with spaghetti, taco, and whatever you like. But I wondered, will the effects of nattokinase, vitamin K2 and the spores be preserved with freezing and cooking?

Going back to Lin et al.. Their study also looked at the temperature stability of nattokinase.

They found that the optimum temperature for nattokinase ranged from 30°C (86°F) to as high as 70°C (158°F). That suggests that natto should not be added to hot foods or else they degrade.

Instead, natto should be added and mixed with the cooked food after it has cooled down for a bit. The graph below shows that the nattokinase enzyme activity is effective until 50°C (122°F).

Meaning nattokinase is active within the normal human temperature.

Will the Vitamin K2 and Bacillus subtilis spores survive the heat?

Vitamin K2 is heat stable. It is a fat-soluble vitamin like A, D, and E. We need fat or oil in the intestines to absorb them. That is another reason why natto should be taken with food and not on an empty stomach.

Vitamin K2 is light sensitive, so keep your natto covered while defrosting.

The spore is resistant to radiation, heat, and chemicals, based on an article in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. The Bacillus subtilis changes into its spore form when its environment is not conducive to growth and reproduction.

In summary, nattokinase is well absorbed in the stomach. They should be taken with food and not be exposed to high heat.

Nattokinase and the Bacillus subtilis spore probiotic are available at Amazon.

Or you can make your natto. How I Made and Appreciated Natto

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References:

Lin, Hong-Ting Victor; Wu, Guan-James; Hsieh, Meng-Chien; Chang, Shun-Hsien; and Tsai, Guo-Jane (2015). “PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NATTOKINASE FROM CULTURAL FILTRATE OF RED ALGA PORPHYRA
DENTATA FERMENTED BY BACILLUS SUBTILIS N1,” Journal of Marine Science and Technology: Vol. 23: Iss. 2, Article 13. DOI: 10.6119/JMST-014-0617-1
Sumi, H., H. Hamada, K. Nakanishi and H. Hiratani (1990). Enhancement of
the fibrinolytic activity in plasma by oral administration of nattokinase.
Acta Haematologica 84, 139-143.
Fujita, M., K. Hong, Y. Ito, S. Misawa, N. Takeuchi, K. Kariya and S. Nishimuro (1995). Transport of nattokinase across the rat intestinal tract.
Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 18, 1194-1196.

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