Iceland-based herbal products company opens Port Richey office

Thrainn Thorvaldsson, managing director of SagaMedica in Iceland, recently toured West Pasco to promote the company's herbal products. The firm recently opened a branch office in Port Richey.





More than a thousand years ago during their long voyages, the Vikings came across a plant in Iceland that seemed to boost their endurance.

Today, many people are discovering a natural dietary supplement derived from Angelica archangelica, an herb the Vikings discovered. The Icelandic company SagaMedica is establishing a branch office in Port Richey to market its line of various products, which officials claim can bolster immunity, boost memory, promote vitality or soothe throats with herbal lozenges.

Thrainn Thorvaldsson, managing director of the parent company in Iceland, recently toured West Pasco to meet with doctors here. SagaMedica USA is led by John Skelton, director, and Dr. Cynthia Rathbone, consultant pharmacist and director.

"The Vikings used to sell this all over Europe," Skelton remarked about the Angelica plant upon which SagaMedica products are based. Angelica became like an unofficial currency among trading partners in the days of Leif Ericcson.The health care debate is shifting the focus more toward preventive care, so local doctors are open to alternatives, Skelton pointed out.

"A lot of them are changing their thinking," Thorvaldsson said about doctors with a renewed interest in preventing problems, rather than treating them.

Despite an often harsh climate, Icelanders tend to have some of the longest life spans in the world, Skelton noted.

Skelton himself has tried SagaPro, which seem to help him as much or more than a prescription drug. A member of Rotary Club of New Port Richey, Skelton introduced SagaPro to several fellow Rotary members who raved about the results.

The company is based on 16 years of scientific research headed by Dr. Sigmundur Gudbjarnason, professor emeritus of biochemistry and organic chemistry at the University of Iceland.

Gudbjarnason was dismissed as a "fish monger" in the 1970s when he predicted many people would clamor for omega-3 compounds found in fish, Skelton noted. Gudbjarnason considers himself vindicated, though, as sales of fish oil and omega-3 products skyrocketed.

Thriving in the Arctic and Iceland's volcanic rocks, the whole Angelica plant is used - stems, leaves, seeds and roots - with various beneficial health effects.

"They won't make claims they can't substantiate," Skelton said about SagaMedica researchers and executives.

SagaPro, the first product extensively promoted here, can help with various health problems, Thorvaldsson said, but seems especially useful for people who must go to the bathroom frequently. An overactive bladder can inflict both men and women. The condition becomes more pronounced as people get older. SagaPro contains flavonoids, plant-derived antioxidant compounds that appear to counteract some of these effects. Positive effects on asthma sufferers have been observed.

Dr. Lawrence D. Hochman with Florida Cancer Institute-New Hope wrote a letter in May to Skelton to testify about benefits of SagaPro for several dozen patients enduring radiation therapy for prostate cancer. SagaPro appears to help urinary flow of the patients, Hochman wrote.

Perhaps about 70 percent of SagaPro sales are snatched up by sleep-deprived wives for their husbands who had been suffering from frequent urination, Thorvaldsson observed. Men tend to be reluctant to admit they have a problem, Skelton said with a chuckle.

More information about the SagaMedica USA herbal products is available on the company's Web site.

Source:tbo.com/

Win a Trip to Iceland!

You know we at PASSPORT Magazine have a bit of an obsession with Iceland. So much so, that we're going again and braving the cold for a New Year's excursion. Discover for yourself exactly what is so wonderful about Iceland by entering this fabulous contest brought to you by PASSPORT and Iceland Air.

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Source:passportmagazine.com/

Dubai: the new Iceland?

Eirikur Bergmann: Dubai seems to be teetering on the brink like Iceland was last year. But for the expat emirate, things could be even worse

Friday, 27 November 2009

When the University of Chicago professor, Robert Z Aliber, came to Reykjavik in 2007 and saw the many building cranes rising from the tiny and northernmost capital in the world, he immediately saw that the bubble was going to burst. Like most critics of Iceland's economic boom at the time, his prediction was dismissed by the whole Icelandic establishment. They claimed that Aliber, as a foreigner, didn't have a profound enough understanding of the uniqueness of the Icelandic society.

When the Icelandic Viking economy came crumbling down in the second week of October 2008, many economists started to take another look at Aliber's theory. And now their eyes are turning to the crisis in Dubai. For a while, more than a quarter of all the building cranes of the world were gathered in this small city state in the United Arab Emirates. It almost feels as though the Dubai skyscrapers are collapsing under their own weight.

It is a strange feeling to witness your country falling apart before your eyes. You first start to panic when you realise that there is nothing you can do to stop the crash. When the crisis hit Iceland's shores last year the rock of the Viking economy proved to be nothing more than clear water. Now we shall have to wait and see whether Dubai's economy is built only on sand, or if a more solid base can be found to underpin its economy.

If there is anything to be learned from Iceland's experience, then it is that authorities need to act very quickly when a financial crisis hits. The country's three main banks all fell within three consecutive days, sending a shockwave through the whole banking system in Europe. During that horrible time Iceland found itself quite alone in the world, creating a kind of bunker mentality within the country. Anything foreign started to be viewed as a potential threat. And for a while the outlook for this tiny nation in the north Atlantic seemed pretty bleak.

But now, a year on, Iceland is slowly starting to recover. Many people have surely lost a lot of money, homeowners have seen their debt rise – some are in negative equity – unemployment is up to almost 9%, the highest in the history of our young republic, and our currency's value has fallen by half from its strongest position in 2007. However, contrary to many media reports, life is gradually getting back to normal. One reason is that most Icelanders were never part of this new banking economy. Most of the Icelandic banks' operations were abroad and therefore the burden is also mostly felt overseas.

This is a big difference between Dubai and Iceland. While Dubai has been attracting foreign billionaires to buy homes on its artificial islands, the Icelandic nouveau riche had largely moved to London. Dubai has been importing billionaires; we were exporting ours. Some 85% of Dubai's population is foreign and can therefore easily leave if the country collapses. In Iceland, however, almost all of us were born here. And actually, whatever happens, most of us won't ever leave – even if we have to survive on cod liver oil.


guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2009

Source:u.tv/

Party in Iceland? It was all a Blur

FOR a country bankrupted by the credit crunch, Icelanders are a happy bunch.
The capital Reykjavik rocks to the beat of pubs, clubs and bars that make a party atmosphere to shed light on dark winter days.

One of them, Kaffibarinn, is owned by Blur frontman Damon Albarn.



Best bar none ... Damon Albarn owns Kaffibarinn in Reykjavik
Even better for Brits who want to follow in Damon's sneaker prints, Iceland's economic woes mean it is one of the few places where your holiday Pound stretches further than it did a few years ago.

A city that was once one of Europe's most expensive is now super-affordable.

The locals' love of a party also means Christmas and New Year are great times to visit.

Not content with just one Santa Claus, Icelandic tradition has 13! Each has his own name, character and role and one visits the city every day in the run-up to Christmas to bring sweets and get up to mischief.

On New Year's Eve adults can join in the fun as caution is thrown to the wind.

Everyone lets off fireworks that compete with the official display that lights the night - if you wondered what a party in a war zone might be like, this would be it.



Rock 'n' roll bar ... Albarn's Kaffibarinn
Reykjavik - which means Smoky Bay - is a compact and intimate city that is clean and surprisingly modern. The wooden New England-style houses are brightly painted to lessen the gloom of winter.

It's all a stark contrast to the millennia-old natural wonders on the city's doorstep.

Within an hour of the city you can take one of the many Golden Circle tours to geological hotspots such as the towering Gullfoss waterfall and Thingvellir National Park where you'll learn why most of Reykjavik has a faint whiff of egg.

Iceland lies on a geological boundary between two of the earth's plates, making for volcanoes and geothermal springs that are used to heat the city and provide hot water.

The park is a great place to see the Northern Lights and you can drive across the rift and technically get from Europe to North America without getting on a plane.

Tours normally end with a trip to the Blue Lagoon, an outdoor spa where the water tops 36°C and where you can smear your face in silica mud and chill out for hours.

Organs
The Reykjavik skyline is dominated by the Hallgrimskirkja, a church built in the style of a Viking longboat. Inside is one of the biggest organs I've ever seen and you can climb the bell-tower for great views of the city.

On the horizon, you'll see the Pearl building and restaurant.

An amazing huge glass dome, it sits on top of six huge water tanks that store all the hot water drawn from the springs.


A meal here is excellent but expensive. If you're on a budget, try an excellent seven-course taster menu that includes all sorts from goose to reindeer.



Pretty good ... view of Reykjavik
Alternatively, the Icelandic Fish 'N' Chips restaurant on the harbour has great home-cooked grub and was just around the corner from our hotel, the three-star Fosshotel Baron, which has a superb seafront location and rooms from around £90 a night.

One of our last points of call was the The Icelandic Phallological Museum - or the penis museum - where there are more than a hundred stuffed and pickled members on display.

They include all native animals from a dormouse to a sperm whale with only two missing: those of a man and an elf. Yes, in this slightly crazy country, they really believe in the little people!

Folk tales abound of them invading homes and throwing wild parties. There is even a government minister dedicated to helping them.

Well, all those Santas must need a lot of little helpers!


Source:thesun.co.uk/