Any web search using the word "fibroids" will surely turn up references to various enzyme supplements which purport to dissolve them. I'm curious about these but they are rather expensive, and also I have read that they are not good to take if you have anemia, which I do currently. Furthermore, since I am taking some strong herbs from my acupuncturist, I am reluctant to take other supplements.
However, I noticed that a key ingredient in many of these supplements is nattokinase, the enzyme in the Japanese fermented soybean food natto. So it occured to me, why not just eat some natto as part of my diet? (similar to my strategy with cinnamon, tumeric and lycopene, mentioned in other posts)
I used to live in Japan, and natto was always a food I avoided. It's the food that non-Japanese all hate, and it's a big joke among Japanese that foreigners dislike it so much. The problem is two-fold. First, it has a strong odor. Second, it's quite slimy. But hey, I need to get rid of these fibroids so I decided it's time to make peace with natto.
I found some organic natto in a Japanese food store near me. It comes in a pack of three small styrofoam packs, each holding one portion. I discarded the soy and mustard packets included, and instead decided to try something I saw on the internet posted by another fibroid shrinker -- barbecue sauce! I cooked some rice, put the natto on top, and then drowned with 3-4 tablespoons of barbecue sauce. Covered up the natto smell and sliminess, and made it downright palatable!
Here's a nice page telling all about natto and its health benefits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natto
Here is a more specific page that talks about how nattokinase works against blood clots, specifically the fibrin that forms them. http://www.rejuvenation-science.com/nattokinase.html
The key thing to realize here is that fibroids are also made of fibrin.
You can find natto in Japanese markets, such as Nijiya (http://www.nijiya.com/storeInformation.asp), Mitsuwa (http://www.mitsuwa.com/tenpo/eindex.html) and Uwajimaya (http://www.uwajimaya.com/locations.html).
If you do not read Japanese, you may need help locating the natto -- it will be in the refrigerator section, and the packages usually say natto on them somewhere in English but not always prominently. You will definitely want to get some help determining which of them are organic, I noticed that this was in the English in some cases but not all.
13 comments:
Have you seen any difference since adding this to your diet?
It's hard to tell which thing I am doing is making the difference, but the natto (and later nattokinase pills) I believe have contributed to the shrinkage I have had so far...
For several years I suffered from frequent long sessions of heart palpitations. Because I was afraid of stroke I started eating natto daily in hope that it might prevent the formation of blood clots. Gradually the palpitations became fewer and milder, then disappeared almost entirely. PS. I eat it with a spoonful of shrimp cocktail sauce stirred in. Can hardly taste it.
Wow, thanks for sharing that story.
Shrimp cocktail sauce, had never considered that, will have to give that a try! (I was doing barbecue sauce for a long time but got sick of it...)
This blog is old -- but if still in use I want to comment. When I was about your age I had cervical dysplasia and fibroid tumors. The tumors weren't large, but the condition seemed intractable. I read John R. Lee's book on natural progesterone and tried it, vaginally, using a plunger from one of the yeast infection medicines. I filled it 1/4 to half full. I did this for about two months, once or twice a day. After two months my dysplasia was gone and so were the fibroids. The cream I used was Pro-Gest, now Emerita. There are now others with the recommended dosage (see http://www.johnleemd.com/store/resource_progesterone.html)
Thanks so much for adding your comment and congratulations on the success with the progesterone cream!
I think everyone reacts differently to hormones -- progesterone cream applied on skin did not help me, and the progesterone suppositories I took as part of fertility treatment made me absolutely miserable. But it does seem to do the trick for many people -- really helpful to hear your example, thank you!
Hi, Thanks so much for the blog post. You have no idea how much relief you are offering to strangers you do not know. I was recently diagnosed with a 7.1 fibroid after a miscarriage so I am desperate to do something that can help shrink it ASAP. Your suggestions are helpful. I am going to try it with the shrimp cocktail sauce and will be back to post in a few months to let you know how it goes!
I'm two years late but wanted to leave a comment in case anyone else comes to the site. i just started eating natto this week but am hopeful it will be the natural cure i've been looking for to rid myself of these painful fibroids. i prepare mine by mixing in the two sauce packets that come in the styrofoam pack, adding a little soy sauce, then serving it over steamed brown rice. i also sprinkle a handful of fresh green onion. it is absolutely delicious and the rice and soy sauce take away a lot of the slime.
Thanks so much for sharing, please let us know how it goes!
I'm very late to this discussion, but I wanted to share my experience. The poster on April 4, 2009 said that they pretty much resolved their heart palpitations eating natto. So did I. For a couple years I had very long arrhythmias that would last anywhere from twenty minutes to nine hours about every 6-8 weeks. They were scary. I started eating natto every day and after about 8 weeks, my palpitations subsided completely and never returned. It has been over a year and a half. At the same time, I noticed that my very big uterine fibroid shrank and then disappeared for nearly three months. When it returned, I didn't resume eating natto until just recently and I can already tell that my fibroid is responding and getting smaller again. I can't be certain that natto healed whatever was ailing my heart, but I am almost certain that it did and I also believe that natto is healing my fibroid. I hope this helps someone.
Thanks Anonymous for sharing your experience, that's great!
Hi, I have been taking serrapeprase for approximately 8 weeks and from my research, I believe I should be taking nattokinase with it as there hasn't been any improvement with the serrapeprase alone. I was wondering whether it would be a good idea to take the serrapeprase, nattokinase and eat natto? Or would that be too much?
Anonymous, you don't say how much you are taking but in order for the enzymes to work you have to take a lot of them, like 20 pills a day! And indeed can't hurt to experiment with combining different kinds.
Post a Comment