[Gina]

in general, is taken as a preventative measure overall, sort of as a biosynthetic shield, since it is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral. I never meant for it to replace Omega-3's or Olive oil in any regimen. In the basic "Gina" regimen, it is there to protect us from catching OTHER things while we are on treatment and in the future and of course, to my mind, it is also there helping to fight against what I believe to be is more at the root of her-2 mediated disease, intra-cellular bacteria. Naturally, this is still highly controversial and unproven.

The main reason I picked Olive Leaf for my own personal regimen was for its all - in- one approach to the three big ones: Viruses, Bacteria, and Fungi, including yeasts. I had tested many things in the early years like Blueberries for viruses, echinechea for bacteria, yogurt for fungi, but I was eating all day long...smile...this one little pill seemed highly effective and so cheap and easy to work into my regimen....to this day, I take it EVERY day and have now for many, many years. I have tried many brands, but still use the purple cap Nature's Way brand, although I was interested to try the one Steph has discovered.

In looking back over the so called Gina regimen, I now realize that it is not so important which supplements you use for the various parts, but what is most important, is that you cover all the areas that the regimen hits. For instance, it doesn't seem to matter whether you get the Vitamin A from pumpkin, carrot juice, mangos, cantelope or fish oil, just that you take it in every day...Likewise, it does not seem to matter so much that you get your vitamin D from the sun, from fish oil, or even from Vitamin-enriched milk, dairy or soy. Just get it.

Unless you have digestive issues--say you are taking acid inhibitors which prevent the break down of minerals, in which case you will have to go through the skin, the same is true for magnesium and zinc. Whether you take your mag in via Chocolate or sit in an Epsom salt bath or slurp zinc-rich raw oysters or put your zinc on your feet as in Desitin, matters very little. Just include magnesium and zinc every day. If you get your GLA from evening primrose oil, borage oil, flax seed, who cares?? Just take in a little every day...same goes for omega-3's--pick your poison, olive oil, flax oil, and HERE is one BACON grease...I kid you not...smile...

What I have learned is that all these elements seem to support one of our back - up immune systems that runs more through the Interleukin-2 system than the interleukin -12, which in many cases, may have been disrupted, either by her-2 mediated disease or by the very same chemo treatments we use against it themselves (Herceptin excepted). That is why in SOME cases, I think that phytoestrogens, though controversial, may not be bad as they too, tend to support this back-up fail safe of immunity.

Michele, I have missed our chats...Take care,
Gina