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Welcome to The Quality Makers, an interview series highlighting pioneers in the direct-to-consumer space. Join us as we get an inside look at the world of digital shopping through the eyes of the individuals shaping it…
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No one ever says, “Plants! They’re just like us!” But Olivia Amitrano—CEO + Founder of Organic Olivia—begs to differ.
After chatting with Amitrano, we would describe her in three words: The. Real. Deal. With deep, studied knowledge of the herbal kingdom, she has explored the impact herbs can have on one’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Add in her exceptionally robust understanding of medicine and a desire to empower people to heal themselves, and there’s no question why Olivia has risen above the rest in the wellness world.
Beyond her highly potent, efficacious herbal formulations for the masses, Olivia contextualizes her remedies with easy-to-understand, holistic education (across her blog, social, and new podcast, What’s the Juice?) about every wellness topic you could ever imagine (did you know you should be consuming more cranberries? Yeah, me neither!).
We had the luxury of diving into her brilliant brain and felt even just a little bit smarter for having had the conversation (and a little more enthusiastic about our daily protein intake!). Here’s everything we learned.
TQE: What was the impetus for creating Organic Olivia? We love a good #OriginStoryMoment.
OA: Growing up, I had a variety of health issues that really hit a peak in my teenage years. I struggled with severe IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and relied on antispasmodic medications to manage the pain that came with flares and reactions to food. I also had cystic acne as well as anxiety that deeply affected my quality of life. I began to notice that whenever I had an IBS flare, I’d also see an increase in breakouts and anxiousness, and vice versa: when I’d take an antibiotic to treat my acne, suddenly (albeit temporarily) my digestion and mental health would improve. This is what is known today as “holistic” health—the notion that all systems of the body are interconnected and that seemingly unrelated symptoms can be traced to a deeper root cause.
After being told by doctor after specialist that there was no way my symptoms were connected (and that food had nothing to do with my digestive complaints), I reached a breaking point and tried seeing an herbalist—even though I grew up quite close-minded to “alternative” medicine. I knew there had to be an answer, a reason why I struggled with a picture of symptoms that my peers did not, why my body seemed to be far more sensitive and reactive than those around me. My body was clearly speaking to me, and I finally found out that my gut microbiome was sorely imbalanced. Because the gut-skin and gut-brain axis are so powerful, not only my digestion, but my skin and mental health were being directly affected by the terrain of my gastrointestinal tract.
As I embarked on the long journey to bring my body into harmony, I cataloged every step I took on my blog (back in 2012, blogging was really the start of social media and the “wellness” world)! I shared articles about emerging research on gut health, the importance of eating fiber and healthy fats, how nutrient deficiencies play a role in conditions like depression and anxiety, wrote blogs about what herbs were helping me (and why), and began to build a vibrant community of fellow self-healers and seekers.
Eventually, I attended a three year clinical herbalism program at ArborVitae in NYC, and released my very own line of the root cause-focused herbal formulas (Organic Olivia) that I wished were available during the times I was struggling the most with my health. Now, in addition to my line, I spend a lot of time working on long-form educational content through my podcast. Podcasting leaves a lot of room for nuance and heart, and I think it’s a more empowering way to share information than quick bites of content-like reels or infographics on social media.
My mission will always be to educate and empower above all— starting with my blogging roots—because at the end of the day, people simply need to be witnessed, validated, and given the right information to take their own action.
TQE: How did you get into the world of botanical / herbal medicine + holistic healing?
OA: When I was in college, I used to pass this herbalist every morning on my way to class in Mt. Vernon, and just felt this inkling of “that’s where I should go,” after having all of these issues with my skin and getting an email from my doctor about my liver enzymes while I was on an antibiotic. I had had enough.
This was my first experience with any kind of holistic practitioner, but it changed my whole life. The herbs he gave me acted so quickly. They didn’t cure me instantly, but I could feel the inflammation, heat, and everything that was causing me so much discomfort just dissolved in the first week. Observing this process gave me a deep sense of knowing that herbs are meant for humans to use.
I realized that, my whole life, I had gone 20-something years ignoring all of these plants around me, and yet, I just took one concoction of all of these random herbs, and they fit so well with my body. This started a relationship between me and herbs where I had to know more. I respected these plants and wanted to understand the why of these plants specifically.
TQE: How did working with herbs transform your view of Western Medicine as a whole?
OA: During undergrad, I was in a pre-med program and was super science-minded. I enjoyed this whole “medication does xyz by this mechanism of action” concept, which I transmuted into my view of herbs. My brain could easily understand, “okay, this herb does xyz” in the same way—very similar to the allopathic model of medicine. However, throughout my journey, I learned that you’re not actually supposed to use herbs in any kind of plug-and-play way. You have to see the whole picture.
I respect doctors so much, but I feel like our current healthcare model is actually for sick care. There’s no language around root causes that lead to developmental stages of disease or labs that show you in process of disease. It was just not a model where I felt I could actually help people. I wanted to help before something became a problem. Most importantly, I wanted to teach people how to listen to cues in their own body as a form of preventative medicine.
TQE: What makes herbal medicine so impactful?
OA: In the same way you meet a person and their spirit can change you or unlock and activate a part of you, the same applies to herbs. We all learn through relationships, which is how we grow.
Herbs are living things that respond to sunlight, open up, and go to sleep. They are living creatures with a certain level of intelligence. Traditionally, they have been known to have a spirit, so once we can interact with them—whether we’re sitting with them, taking them, or just being around them—they can change us on a spiritual level.
So an herb for gut dysbiosis, bloating, or IBS might be—on paper—reducing your discomfort, but what that herb is spiritually doing is clearing dampness or stickiness in the gut. Herbalism sees the whole person, so as it relates to the gut—for example—it’s more than just the gut. It’s about the gut-mind axis that serves as our mental, emotional, spiritual center.
When you’re clearing confusion and heaviness in your spirit, it can change the way you interact with the world around you. It’s not just hitting the symptoms, but getting the person on a deeper level, which they might not be aware of until they look back.
TQE: What has been your process of taking herbal medicine—which is usually 1:1—to the masses?
OA: I’ve ended up utilizing my herbal education to create more widely applicable blends for the masses that would have those Western scientific results. Like my GlucoBitters, for example—they provide immediate results. I’ve had to learn to work with herbalism within a commercial framework, where you’re trying to make a blend that will have maximum impact on a maximum amount of people, while still having to make things that are efficacious.
My role is to act as that bridge that could potentially open up someone to want to get to know the plants that they’re using from my blends and far beyond. The goal is for them to eventually be introduced to soul herbs that are meant for them. My blends get to be that doorway in.
I hope to be someone’s first stop on their herbal journey, but not their last. I don’t want anyone to become dependent on my herbs where they have to keep ordering for the rest of eternity. That’s why I leverage Organic Olivia to provide robust context and education that can help people be their own herbalists and teachers.
OA: GlucoBitters | Studies show that only 12% of Americans are metabolically healthy, and even if you don't have type 2 diabetes or are pre-diabetic, a large percentage of Americans experience abnormal glucose spikes in response to meals and snacks that aren’t the perfect ratio of carbs, fats, and protein. So if you want to have a muffin or bagel in the morning, it’s helpful to have a tool like GlucoBitters that you can utilize before that meal to prevent an abnormal metabolic response and thus prevent a blood sugar rollercoaster, cravings, inflammation, etc. It can also be especially beneficial for people with insulin resistance or PCOS, who need extra support getting on that steady glucose train.
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Peace Juice | I think so many of us experience anxiety, nervousness, and dysregulation, and it’s really nice to have a pocket-sized tool that you can pull out of your purse or keep in your car or desk to use at a moment’s notice. Peace Juice helps people experience a sense of calm within their physical body. It’s a fast-acting chill button that creates a sense of calm almost immediately. It’s perfect for when you’re stressed and need to reground.
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Adrenal Recovery | Adaptogens are so helpful for building stress resilience, and helpful for anyone who has burned the candle at both ends. If your nerves are frayed and you can’t just brush things off your shoulders anymore, Adrenal Recovery will help you increase your capacity to deal with stress, a busy schedule, and increase your depth of sleep over time. It also helps with mood and energy levels and even circadian rhythms, so you can feel tired at night and sleep and energized during the day.
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Liver Juice | LOVE me some Liver love me some Liver Juice. Liver support is so key in the world we live in, where there is so much exposure to environmental pollutants. Our livers have to deal with so much! It has to excrete our own endogenous hormones and histamines, but it also has to deal with heavy meals as well as xenoestrogens in plastic. Many times, just adding some liver support for a woman with PMS or painful periods or breakouts the week before can be enough to help support the excess excretion of hormones. It’s also great for absolutely anyone on a night of drinking, traveling, over-indulging, going out to eat—it’s just a great detox support blend and great for skin.
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TQE: What are some of your favorite healing herbs that you turn to time and time again?
OA: There are so many different herbs that I love, but my top 5 go-tos are…
Oatstraw: A mineral-rich tonic I lean on time and time again when I’m stressed, depleted, sleepless, and fatigued in both body and spirit. It’s a beautiful, nourishing herb that everyone can start with and is extra beneficial for the constant overstimulation and depletion we all feel from our environment.
Motherwort: A nervine I feel especially close to as in herbal tradition it is like a “big hug from mom,” specifically indicated for anxiety that presents as heart palpitations and a feeling of being ungrounded from your physical body (which is what happens to me when I feel anxious!). Emotionally and energetically, this herb helps you find a deep “lion-hearted” courage to set boundaries, speak your truth, and advocate for yourself.
Cacao: A heart-opening tonic to lift the spirits. I get all of my cacao from Sage Cacao, which is run by one of my friends, Chynna, who is sourcing all of her cacao directly from farmers in Ecuador and Guatemala. If I’m doing a ceremonial dose, or if it’s the first day of my period, and I want to connect with my period, make some art, and release, I will do a 45-50g dose, use hot water to melt it, blend it, and then add some plant milk, coconut sugar, salt, cinnamon, and rose. I’ll sip on that while journalling or making art, or sitting in the sun just spending time with myself.
Ginger: A digestive and reproductive healer that helps to ease cramps and stagnation when utilized the week before menstruation. It can also transform dampness and inflammation within the digestive system.It energetically brings courage, self-confidence, and fire to the spirit.
Cinnamon: Also brings aromatic zest when you’ve lost your “zest” and fire for life. On a cellular level, cinnamon has helped me immensely with blood sugar regulation and insulin resistance. In general, cinnamon is great for PCOS, which so often comes with gut dysfunction as a piece of the picture. There’s also that spiritual component when you have hormonal imbalance, where your hormones are the scaffolding of your personality and inform the way in which you’re able to let things roll off of your shoulder or see the world.
TQE: What resources have you utilized as you’ve continued to educate yourself along your own healing journey? More importantly, what have you learned along the way?
OA: I’ve learned that you can’t heal alone. I think a lot of the wellness narrative focuses on “solo activities” like making your matcha, doing your meditation, cold plunging—but these activities can further silo us within our own individual experience.
Community is really what heals, and we’re social creatures who are evolved enough to co-regulate our nervous systems with one another. I think we only grow through relationships and being witnessed—whether by a trusted friend or a loved one, or a practitioner. It’s what creates space for you to have epiphanies about what you need to do to move forward.
My acupuncturist has been instrumental for my learning process. I also have this woman who does lymphatic body work (not in a “snatch your waist on IG” kind-of-way), who will pump my clavicles, perform physical bodywork, and help to reground my central nervous system. In working with her, I’ve gained skills and exercises I can do at home to connect with my own body, like “Body Talk,” where I lie in bed or in the bath, put one hand on my heart, and ask your organs how they’re doing.
TQE: What is Organic Olivia doing that is different from all of the other herbal remedy brands out there?
OA: You have to be really careful about who you work with, their values, and their integrity because they need to care about the medicinal end product as much as you do. I feel very lucky to have met the manufacturers I work with—one of whom has been a clinical herbalist for 35 years now. Since he amassed a long list of connections to growers and wildcrafters who were foraging and growing medicine, he just naturally fell into the manufacturing world.
When he gets a batch of material in, he has an internal QA team with gas chromatography to raw batch-test that it has the right amount of raw, active ingredients. They do so many preliminary tests of mold, heavy metals, etc. so then after the plants are tinctured, there’s more testing. Then we send out the finished product for more third-party testing, and we publish all of those results on every batch so people know there are no contaminants on each particular batch. If there isn’t enough of a single herb in season or being harvested, we will put some of our products on hold. We won’t ever settle for a last-resort option just to push out more product.
All of our farmers and growers use biodynamic practices that have been generationally passed down where they are planting symbiotic plants for the herbs without using pesticides. They also align with the moon cycle so as to optimize the energetics of the formulas.
We’ve also never taken any funding, so as to grow with integrity and to stay in line with our mission. We’re women-owned and women-funded. Our top priority is doing the right thing and meeting our customers’ needs, and if that results in growth, great, but profit is not our driver. We have three herbalists on our team out of nine team members, who have a background in it in order to really educate. Slow, sustainable growth is the only way to expand versus trying to be the biggest and the best, which even goes for our batches, which are still small. You lose quality when you mass produce.
TQE: What are your top pieces of advice for women to optimize their health on a daily basis?
OA: Things to consider:
- Ginger tea the week before your period
- Adding cinnamon to food to regulate blood sugar and support hormone health indirectly (fewer blood sugar spikes means less testosterone released in ovaries)
- 30-50g protein each meal
- Increase micronutrient and mineral consumption with leafy greens and root vegetables
- 30-35g fiber daily
- Find your individual carb tolerance, but don’t shy away. Carbs are not the enemy!
- Light exposure and balancing circadian rhythm via more time outdoors and mealtime alignment
- Prioritize sleep and movement
- Strength training
TQE: If someone was diving into the world of Organic Olivia for the first time—as a total newcomer entering the wellness space—what products would you say are an absolute must (and how should they be used)?
OA: GlucoBitters | Studies show that only 12% of Americans are metabolically healthy, and even if you don't have type 2 diabetes or are pre-diabetic, a large percentage of Americans experience abnormal glucose spikes in response to meals and snacks that aren’t the perfect ratio of carbs, fats, and protein. So if you want to have a muffin or bagel in the morning, it’s helpful to have a tool like GlucoBitters that you can utilize before that meal to prevent an abnormal metabolic response and thus prevent a blood sugar rollercoaster, cravings, inflammation, etc. It can also be especially beneficial for people with insulin resistance or PCOS, who need extra support getting on that steady glucose train.
We like
We don't like
Peace Juice | I think so many of us experience anxiety, nervousness, and dysregulation, and it’s really nice to have a pocket-sized tool that you can pull out of your purse or keep in your car or desk to use at a moment’s notice. Peace Juice helps people experience a sense of calm within their physical body. It’s a fast-acting chill button that creates a sense of calm almost immediately. It’s perfect for when you’re stressed and need to reground.
We like
We don't like
Adrenal Recovery | Adaptogens are so helpful for building stress resilience, and helpful for anyone who has burned the candle at both ends. If your nerves are frayed and you can’t just brush things off your shoulders anymore, Adrenal Recovery will help you increase your capacity to deal with stress, a busy schedule, and increase your depth of sleep over time. It also helps with mood and energy levels and even circadian rhythms, so you can feel tired at night and sleep and energized during the day.
We like
We don't like
Liver Juice | LOVE me some Liver love me some Liver Juice. Liver support is so key in the world we live in, where there is so much exposure to environmental pollutants. Our livers have to deal with so much! It has to excrete our own endogenous hormones and histamines, but it also has to deal with heavy meals as well as xenoestrogens in plastic. Many times, just adding some liver support for a woman with PMS or painful periods or breakouts the week before can be enough to help support the excess excretion of hormones. It’s also great for absolutely anyone on a night of drinking, traveling, over-indulging, going out to eat—it’s just a great detox support blend and great for skin.
We like
We don't like
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