Sunday, April 29, 2007

Healthy Products from Iceland

Talk about a beautiful place filled with healthy people . . . When you are in Iceland, it reminds you of that cliché about dying and going to heaven.

In the late 1990's, our business was growing exponentially (Search Masters International, now a division of Kelly Services, a $4 Billion Michigan company) and we had biotechnology clients coming to us from various parts of the world to help them find the scientists they needed to fill their research labs. I would regularly head overseas to visit these companies, and my wife and partner (Linda) would join me, often with my son who was 12 or 13 years old at the time. One of our favorite destinations was Iceland, not only because I had a client in the area, but because it was a great stop on the way to Europe. You can't find a more beautiful, relaxing and inspiring place to spend a few nights and break up the jet lag.

I was reminded of Iceland last night. My allergies started acting up again, and I found myself unable to sleep due to the wheezing and discomfort of lying in bed with all the doors and windows open. (No, Arizona is NOT any better than Ohio for allergy sufferers!). I get a funny throat discomfort with my allergies, and there is only one product that helps me. It's called VOXIS, and it's a lozenge that is sold all over Iceland. It's produced by a company called SagaMedica, and it's a product that falls into the WHAM category, for sure. (I recently stocked up on this wonderful product via eBay, but don't see it listed there today. Write to sagamedica@sagamedica.is if you'd like to find out where to buy).

The ingredient of VOXIS, Arctic Angelica (Angelica archangelica), is gathered from the pure, Icelandic environment by this biotechnology company, SagaMedica, and is processed into an extract that is included in the lozenge along with flavors and other ingredients. Nothing artificial. I find that it is without a doubt the best of the "cough drop" type products, but it's hard to categorize. There are no cough drops I am aware of that calm down throat and mouth irritations the way that this product does. I'm even convinced that the Arctic Angelica has a huge beneficial effect on my lungs and the wheezing problems that I get from my allergies . . . Last night I was asleep in ten minutes after the lozenge went to work.

If you've never seen the Arctic Angelica plant, click on the title of today's post to go to the SagaMedica website. It is all over Iceland, a "beautiful weed" that grows by the coast, their rivers, and is even now being considered as a commercial plant for cultivation there. I'm going to talk more about plants from these Arctic climates in the near future, as one of my favorite products in the world "Arctic Root" also comes from an herb that grows in the wildest areas of places like Iceland.

Dave

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd like to know more about Icelandic artic angelica. I looked at the company webpage and it refers to a lot of energy and immune system boosts, things that are not mentioned so far in the blog. Give us more details.

Dave Jensen said...

Hello, thanks for commenting.

I've tried the liquid product Arctic Angelica from SagaMedica, and I found it to be adaptogen-like in its characteristics (we'll be talking more about adaptogens soon). It was energizing, considerably so. My problem was that I could hardly stand the taste. It literally made me gag. However, I think they are working on that. Stay tuned for more detail. May be able to get the company CEO on here for a few comments. -- Dave

Anonymous said...

Is this a good herb to take in between chemo treatments to boost immune system and give energy?

Dave Jensen said...

I hope that if you are under chemo right now that you've got an integrative health practitioner who can suggest some ways to eliminate those toxins. Yes, adaptogens are one way to do that . . . But I'd probably recommend get your doctor involved.