Iceland review - 2013, Qupperneq 58

56 ICELAND REVIEW
to take herbal remedies. Our studies provide us with a good
foundation on the interactions between herbal and conventional
medicines,” she explains.
Herbal medicine has its skeptics but Ásdís points to the science,
which she says speaks for itself. “It’s not really a question of belief.
These are substances which have been proven to have pharmaceu-
tical activities. They work, and research shows the effect that differ-
ent herbs have on the human body. The question is more, does it
work for you, is it the right path for you? But the herbs themselves
always do something. It’s just good to have the choice as there is
no one right way for everyone.”
SoAking uP thE midnight Sun
The nutritional and healing properties of Icelandic plants are
said to be high due to the intense growing period as a result of the
short summers. Research comparing herbs and plants in Iceland
and other countries has shown that due to the harsh climatic
conditions here, they contain higher concentrations of certain
phytochemicals (plant-derived chemicals that are considered to
have beneficial health effects). “They are grown in such different
conditions. The weather is severe and the summers are very bright.
The 24-hour daylight means they grow very fast during a short
period of time and, as a result, are more active,” Ásdís says.
Icelandic health product company SagaMedica produces
Icelandic herbal dietary supplements, ranging from tablets to loz-
enges, tea, and tinctures for colds, improving memory and bladder-
related conditions. Co-founder Sigmundur Guðbjarnason has
been researching Icelandic medicinal herbs for over two decades
and about half of the 80 medicinal herbs in Iceland have been
included in the company’s research, focusing on identifying bioac-
tive phytochemicals which have biological effects.
Director of research, Steinþór Sigurðsson, says that Icelandic
plant material has been found to be unique and dozens of
Icelandic herbs have been found to have some effect on, for
example, bacteria, viruses and cancer cells but of key interest is the
scale of the effect. “The relevant question is ‘how big is that effect
and how does the effect found in the laboratory translate into
effect on people?’” Steinþór says. SagaMedica found that of the 40
Icelandic plants screened for antibacterial effect, five—including
angelica and yarrow—were most active. When it comes to cancer,
angelica leaf extract has looked most promising, preventing cancer
growth, as demonstrated in laboratory tests.
SagaMedica’s products are mainly sold within Iceland, though
the company is looking to overseas markets. “Exports are growing
fast,” Steinþór says. “There are enormous possibilities waiting to
be discovered,” he adds on innovation prospects, echoing Kolbrún
and Ásdís’ hopes for the future.
Similarly, herbalist Anna Rósa is also tapping into the overseas
interest in Icelandic herbs. She recently published Icelandic herbs
and their Medicinal Uses in English translation. It’s the second such
book to be released in English in as many years. “Tourists and for-
eigners have a lot of interest in Icelandic herbs,” Anna Rósa says.
According to florist Kristján Ingi Jónsson, the same can be said
for Icelandic flowers. Kristján recently started using almost exclu-
sively Icelandic flowers and says they’ve proven popular with for-
eigners getting married in Iceland. “Foreigners tend to see Icelandic
nature with different eyes. Icelanders are so used to seeing it, they
take it for granted, but this is changing and they are starting to see
that Icelandic flowers look nice too.”
good wEEdS
The purple flowers of the Nootka lupine, first introduced to Iceland
in 1885 and used in land reclamation from 1945, spread quickly
across the country’s landscape. Seen as a miracle for helping to
prevent soil erosion and regenerating infertile soils by some but as
a menace for taking over areas from native plants by others, lupine
has been used to produce a herbal decoction, called Lúpínuseyði,
believed to bolster the immune system. Ævar Jóhannesson began
making the herbal remedy and providing it to his patients in the
late 80s before Haukur Magnússon took over production in 2009.
Haukur now produces Lúpínuseyði commercially under the name
Svarti Haukur (‘Black Hawk’) and it has continued to prove suc-
cessful; it was the third top-selling product at Iceland’s largest health
store, Heilsuhúsið, last year.
A blend of the root and flowers of the lupine, as well as angelica,
northern dock and shield lichen, it has been found to have a posi-
tive effect on the immune system—including an increase in patients’
T-cell count—as concluded by research carried out at the University
of Iceland.
Haukur is the first to admit that he is no expert in the production
of natural remedies but says the results speak for themselves. “Many
people who drank Lúpínuseyði got better after being sick. You can
read the stories on the website—and that’s only some of them.
There are many, many more but we don’t really go out of our way
to advertise that much,” he says, explaining that people often hear
about the decoction through word of mouth.
Despite what Haukur describes as little marketing, there’s been a
lot of interest from abroad and the company is looking at ways to
export. At the production plant in Hveragerði, the lupine roots and
herbs are being boiled in large tubs. They’ll boil for about 2.5 hours
before the liquid is cooled and then bottled. The production has
been a battle with the health authorities who do not permit them to
label the mixture as a ‘health drink,’ Kristján Hall, who works at the
plant says. “But, if it was full of sugar, then we could call it a ‘health
drink,’” he scoffs, asking why after thousands of years of using herbs
in China, the West is only starting to accept the medicinal use of
natural ingredients.
Meanwhile, artists Viktor Pétur Hannesson and Bjarki Þór
Sólmundsson, also a trained chef, have been promoting the culinary
use of Icelandic plants and herbs. Their project, Góðgresi (‘Good
Weeds’), aims to garner appreciation for what they describe as
healthy, tasty and free food by traveling the country and introducing
their dishes along the way. “Everything we’ve made from Icelandic
herbs so far has tasted fantastic,” Viktor expresses. “We want to use
what we have here in Iceland. We don’t need to import so much
food, there’s a lot of potential here.” 
fLORA
(Recipe on p. 58)