Fermentation
Fermenting the tofu creates healthy bacteria, called probiotics, which help populate the gut and improve digestion. In the United States, yogurt is one of the most common sources of probiotics, but if you can stomach the smell of stinky tofu, it can offer similar healthy bacterial benefits. Like natto -- a mashed, cheese-like soybean-fermented food -- stinky tofu might also confer antioxidant benefits. Antioxidants help fight disease-causing free radicals in the body.