Milk for insomniacs

[MotherBear]

Company believes milk can cure insomnia
2:45PM Wednesday June 06, 2007


Fonterra has taken a punt on a San Francisco start-up, Dreamerz Foods Inc, which is doping flavoured UHT milk with melatonin and selling it as a drink designed to help people get to sleep.

Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd, San Francisco-based Physic Ventures, and American multinational Dean Foods have invested a total of US$10 million ($13.5 million) in Dreamerz in a second round of venture funding, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The company has been selling its drink online and at drugstores since April. Each 236ml serve of the drink contains 150mg of "Lactium" a patented milk protein broken down from casein, which a French manufacturer, Ingredia, claims has relaxing properties.

The drinks also contain the hormone melatonin, which American research has shown can help middle-aged and elderly insomniacs sleep better. Human melatonin is produced naturally in the pineal gland, a pea-sized organ in the centre of the brain.

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