By Dan Lemke

St. Paul, Minn. — Imagine a tall, creamy smooth milkshake. Now imagine Mom letting you have it for breakfast.

Helios Nutrition of St. Paul is making that school kid’s dream a reality with its first product, organic kefir. Now on the market in plain, cappuccino and peach flavors, Helios Nutrition’s Organic Kefir with FOS is not just any milkshake — it’s a functional food that can boost the body’s immune system through beneficial microorganisms.

“Kefir” is derived from the Turkish word for “good feeling,” and scientists are just now confirming the scientific mechanisms that give this age-old fermented dairy beverage its healing properties. Helios Nutrition’s patent-pending formula contains more than 30 natural strains of seven benefcial bacteria and yeast — microorganisms essential to a healthy gastrointestinal tract and strong immune system.

A tasty prescription for today

Modern living is hard on a person’s digestive system, says George Economy, president and founder of Helios Nutrition. He credits the company’s nutritional and medical expertise to his wife, Linda Long, M.D., and project contributor Donna Gates, the nation’s leading kefir authority and author of The Body Ecology Diet.

“Antibiotics, excessive sugar intake, environmental toxins and stress are factors that contribute to the depletion of beneficial bacteria,” Economy says. “The GI tract contains 100 trillion microorganisms weighing more than three pounds ... over half the body’s immune system. If you have a healthy system, you are less susceptible to bacterial infections and chronic illnesses such as asthma, food allergies, yeast infections and so on. There’s increasing evidence that the GI tract plays a key role in preventing illness. Therefore, everyone can benefit from the consumption of this product.”

In nature, kefir cultures of bacteria and yeast have come together to form a community to protect themselves from pathogens, Economy says. According to a Scientific American article entitled “Sex, Death and Kefir,” they have been so successful that a colony of kefir cultures can last forever.

Not a simple story

Like wine or cheese-making, kefir-making is an art, one which originated centuries ago in Europe. Proper fermentation relies on kefir grains, for example, which vary greatly from region to region. Subtle nuances arise in cultures from different locales due to temperature, humidity and other environmental factors.

Similar to yogurt in appearance, kefir is far more complex to produce and contains a wider variety of beneficial microorganisms. “Much of the kefir sold in the United States is not derived from authentic kefir cultures, which is a real shame,” Economy says. “Helios Nutrition has worked hard to identify premium cultures and other ingredients from around the globe.”

The company uses locally produced two-percent organic milk from the Organic Valley/CROPP cooperative, kefir cultures from European grains, and an added ingredient — FOS imported from Holland.

FOS, short for fructooligosaccharides, is a dietary fiber derived from chicory roots. Consumed since the time of Hippocrates, Economy says FOS feeds and increases the level of “good guy” bifidobacteria by up to five times in the gastrointestinal tract. He adds that FOS boosts the body’s absorption of calcium, other minerals and vitamins by up to 50 percent.

Much of the state-of-the-art research on FOS’s health benefits is being conducted at the U of M’s food science department. In tests performed at the University, Helios Nutrition’s Kefir with FOS was found to contain 50 to 1,000 times more beneficial bacteria than other kefir and yogurt products — a figure that doesn’t include the additional benefits contributed by FOS, Economy says.

“More people are switching from yogurt once they understand kefir’s health benefits,” Economy says. “And we’ve spent a lot of time formulating our kefir with FOS to make it delicious and healthy.”

Sunny corporate visions

Founded in 1997, Helios Nutrition’s mission is to develop scientifically credible food products that promote well-being. “Hippocrates’ belief in the healing force of nature is the centerpiece of our corporate vision,” Economy says. “We believe in disease prevention through diet and nutrition.”

Economy says the name Helios was chosen in honor of the Greek god of the sun, a traditional symbol of health, nurturing and growth.

He first became acquainted with kefir in 1987, when he was in Russia negotiating an agreement with Soviet officials to perform pharmaceutical and biotechnology experiments aboard the MIR space station.

“The contrast between the high-tech activities by our MIT scientists and the Russian space technicians versus the average Soviet citizen’s daily consumption of kefir couldn’t have been greater,” Economy says. “Yet, a decade later, I have greater confidence in natural products such as kefir to promote healthful living and reduce the usage of pharmaceutical remedies.”

Top notch team

Helios Nutrition has been working on the kefir product for over a year, with support from the University of Minnesota, AURI, Minnesota Technology, Inc. and private investors.

Economy credits a highly-qualified team for bringing Helios kefir to commercialization including AURI’s Bill Stoll and Lisa Gjersvik, the U of M’s Joellen Feirtag and Ray Miller, dairy engineer Mike Bayevsky, former Yoplait R&D director Duane Wosje, Al Samuelson of the Schroeder Milk Company, and marketing expert Bob Schiesel, who also managed the market introduction of Kemp’s Yo-J drinkable yogurt while at Marigold Foods.

Feeling good about the market

Helios Nutrition’s target market includes informed consumers who shop at natural foods stores. With more than 6,000 stores nationwide ringing up sales higher than $15 billion, there is good market potential for functional foods like kefir, says Stoll, retiring AURI food scientist. “Baby boomers are becoming more concerned with their health and how they can prolong their youth. Dairy products like kefir are an excellent way to deliver nutraceuticals.”