525: How To Find The Best Olive Oil And Why It’s Good For Your Gut, Brain, And Heart With Bianti Danaj

Wise Traditions

Weston A. Price Foundation

Wellness, Health & Fitness, Alternative Health, Nutrition, Diet, Health

4.7 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In Albania, olive oil is called “ilac”, medicine. It’s included as a daily ritual for generations--a source of nourishment, healing, and tradition. For many of us, in other regions of the world, we have less familiarity with olive oil.

And then we see labels on olive oil bottles that say "cold-pressed", "extra virgin", and "organic". What do these terms mean? And how can we find the best quality olive oil wherever we are? Bianti Danaj, an Albanian-American entrepreneur and founder of Donika Olive Oil, today brings clarity amidst the confusion.

He goes over the meaning of the wording on labels. He describes the nuances that affect the quality of olive oil, including its exposure to heat, light and oxygen. He also goes over what the polyphenols in olive oil do for our explaining brain and gut health, our overall wellbeing and longevity. In sum, he makes a strong case for including olive oil as a part of our health journey, wherever in the world we may live.

Visit Bianti's website: donikaoliveoil.com

Download the Wise Traditions podcast app on your iOS or Android device.

Check out our sponsors Paleovalley and New Biology Clinic

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the Weston A. Price Foundation, welcome to the Wise Traditions podcast for wise traditions in food, farming, and the healing arts.
0:13.9	We are your source for scientific knowledge and traditional wisdom to help you achieve optimal health.
0:22.9	And now here is our host and producer Hilda Labrata Gore.
0:28.6	Hey, Hilda here. Cold press, extra virgin, organic.
0:33.5	What do these terms mean when it comes to olive oil?
0:36.0	And am I the only one that finds it confusing shopping for it? And what are the benefits that olive oil brings to our health?
0:42.5	This is episode 525 and our guest today is Bianti Dinaj.
0:47.6	Bianti is an Albanian-American entrepreneur who is the founder of Donica Olive Oil.
0:53.3	Donica Olive Oil is the first certified medicinal olive oil brand in Albania.
0:58.0	Today, Beyondi helps us understand all the terms I just mentioned, along with the important health benefits of olive oil.
1:06.0	And how you can find the best olive oil wherever you live.
1:09.0	He describes the nuances that help create a quality olive oil, including how much it's been
1:15.8	exposed to heat, light, and oxygen.
1:18.9	He also goes over why in Albania olive oil is considered medicine.
1:23.0	He explains its important polyphenol properties that help lower the inflammation response in the body and improve gut health and longevity.
1:33.2	Before we get into the conversation, I want to invite you to follow the Wise Traditions podcast on the platform of your choice.
1:39.0	This way, you don't miss a thing.
1:40.6	Or better yet, you can download our Wise Traditions podcast app on iOS and Android devices.
1:47.2	So you can listen without missing a beat. This is Hilda Labrata Gore and you're listening to Wise
1:52.3	Traditions. Welcome to Wise Traditions, Bianchi. Thank you, Hilda, for having me. As you see in front of us, there's a lot of traditional food, but the first thing we do with our guest is a cheers with our traditional drink here.
2:08.6	So, cheers, Hilda.
2:09.6	Thank you. What is this made of? I think it's a light yogurt, you said. What else?
	...

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