Photo by Mai Le.

Got a question for us? Drop your tricky, random, wacky or plain confusing health question into the Suggest-O-Matic, leave a comment, or tag your tweets with #wellwire and our team of experts will answer them in this weekly column.

Q: Last year I was diagnosed with HPV. It has been suggested that I take standard anti-viral medication. I haven’t ingested a pharmaceutical drug in over 15 years and don’t want to now because my system is very sensitive to anti-virals. I only experience one or two break-outs per year. My immune system is strong overall and I don’t suffer from any serious (or even minor) illnesses other than this concern. Can you please suggest a non-pharmaceutical approach to addressing this issue? -Seetha B. Austin, Texas

A: HPV is a virus that has hundreds of strains and while some show up as warts in the genital area, other strains cause abnormal cells on your cervix. There are a lot of natural anti-viral treatments you can do to help support your immune system! Vitamins such as Vitamin C and Vitamin D are anti-viral. Herbs such as goldenseal, echinacea, andrographis, elderberry, olive leaf, and lemon balm are very supportive as well. You can also include anti-viral foods into your diet like ginger, garlic, onions and mushrooms.

Dr. Carrie Jones has practices in Tigard and Sherwood, Oregon where she focuses in all aspects of women's health. She is an adjunct professor at the National College of Natural Medicine, and writes and speaks regularly on the subject of women's medicine.

Photo by Bruce Foster.

Tis’ the season for giving thanks, huddling around an open fire and feasting with friends and family. This Thanksgiving, when you’re going back for more turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, don’t forget the cranberry sauce or relish–the tangy side will cut through all those deliciously rich foods.

Cranberries, like many other colorful fruits and veggies, are packed with antioxidants. Antioxidants have gained celebrity status among health experts for their anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties.

Cranberries are a good source of vitamin C, fiber, manganese, vitamin K and have some great medicinal properties including the following:

• Cranberries increase urinary levels of an anti-bacterial acid called hippuric acid that inhibits the adherence of E. coli to the mucosal lining of the urinary tract and prevents or treats painful urinary tract infections (UTI). Note: do not drink cranberry juice that contains sugar when trying to prevent a UTI, as the sugar will feed the bacteria and allow the infection to flourish. Cranberry capsules or unsweetened juice works best. Due to its intense tart flavor, unsweetened cranberry juice is hard to drink for many, so I recommend diluting it with water when drinking for UTI prevention. Of course, consult with your doctor if you are experiencing pain with urination or blood in your urine.

• Contain proanthocyanadins which help to prevent plaque formation on teeth.

• Cranberries proanthocyanadins have been found to prevent cancer by blocking tumor growth.

• Research has found that cranberries help to regulate cholesterol by reducing LDL levels and raising HDL levels, protecting against heart disease.  The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of cranberries also decrease oxidation of cholesterol which also prevents atherosclerosis and decreases risk of heart disease.

• Shown in a test tube, to prevent breast cancer cells from multiplying.

• Regular consumption of cranberries has been shown to help kill H. pylori bacteria, which can cause digestive problems, ulcers and stomach cancer.

• May have anti-viral properties

• The high antioxidant content in cranberries helps to prevent age-related macular degeneration.

Remember, to get the maximum benefit from cranberry juice, always look for unsweetened juice. You can add your own healthy natural sweetener. I like to sweeten my drinks with a bit of agave syrup because it dissolves easier than honey and doesn’t have a strong flavor like maple syrup.

For a fun cranberry spritzer, mix unsweetened cranberry juice with sparkling water, agave syrup to taste, and a squeeze of lime! You can also substitute cranberry juice with pomegranate juice.

Here’s a recipe for a great gluten free cranberry chutney. Enjoy!

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.

Photo by Ruta & Zinas.

I was recently on business in Bangkok when I awoke with the type of bone aching pain I thought could only happen in cheap Halloween movies.

I felt as though I had some form of the plague, avian flu or swine flu. With no idea where to go or who to see in Bangkok I made this simple -yet extremely powerful- antiviral, immune enhancing, microbe-crushing tea. I drank about a liter a day and was on my feet in 48 hours. Here’s how to make some of your own:

• Juice  a bunch of citrus for some serious vitamin C. Grapefruit, orange, limes or lemons work (I had to use pomelo in Thailand). Find your own proportions depending on what tastes good
• 3 inches of ginger peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons honey
• Pinch of cayenne powder if you’ve started running a fever 

Add ginger, garlic,  to a saucepan and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain and add the fresh juice, cayenne and honey. Sip until you feel human again!

For some more tips read Dr. Gibran Ramos’ awesome tips to maximize your immunity and Christine Dionese’s Chinese medicine immune boosting tips and Treating kids this flu season.

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.

Photo by jpcolasso.

If you turn on your TV it would appear that there is an apocalyptic event starting with swine in Mexico.  Swine flu itself is not an uncommon occurrence, people with direct contact to pigs often have antibodies to H1N1 (the specific strain of this swine influenza virus).

The big questions:  Why have there been deaths in Mexico and not the U.S.?Why did the strain kill young adults (as a pose to the more susceptible young and elderly).  This is what has the CDC on a code red along with the fact that they do not have a vaccine, and 2 out of the 4 commonly used anti viral drugs are not effective against this strain.

Cause for concern or not, here are some simple precautions which will only do you a lot of good anyway.

1.  Wash your hands frequently, don’t rub your eyes and have children especially avoid putting their hands in their mouths.  If you are accustomed to greeting with an exchange of kisses, and extensive handshaking – don’t.  CDC has recently confirmed human to human spread.

2. Pack, and I mean seriously pack your diet with these easy to get anti viral foods;  Garlic, thyme, shiitake mushrooms and ginger.  Not a sprinkle of thyme from a year old dried up jar.  Try a bushel of the stuff in a stew, don’t be shy.  Start now to give your immune system time to ramp up.

3.  Don’t panic.  There is no reason to at this time, and doing so will only lower your immune system, and stress you out – which will then really crash your immune system.  Remember, everyone in the U.S. who contracted this has recovered and only 1 person has been hospitalized.  Deep breath.

4.  Find a Naturopath near you , or acupuncturist and book an appointment to work on specific preventative medicine for your body using botanical herbs, homeopathy and a number of immune boosting treatments.  Anti-viral medicine is a realm where alternative medicine really shines as there are millions of complex biochemicals which when working synergistically with each other can knock influenza out cold (pun intended).

5.  Don’t fly to Mexico…

Here are a couple of recipe ideas for those anti-viral nutrients.

Anti H1N1 Soup for 2

1 handful dry shiitake mushrooms, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced, 1 onion thinly sliced, 1 small piece ginger thinly sliced, 3 cups pork stock (lol kidding, this is hard to find – any stock will do), 4 glugs of sake, 2 spring onions.

Soak the mushrooms in boiling water until tender.  Remove the soaking liquid.  Saute the mushrooms, onions and garlic in a tablespoon of oil until tender but not browned.  Add the stock and the ginger and simmer on low heat for about ten minutes. Season to taste and just before serving add the sake and spring onions.

Anti-H1N1 Raw Thyme Pasta

1 packet spaghetti, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, 2 cloves garlic sliced, half a bunch thyme washed and picked, 1 tablespoon Parmigiano

Boil the pasta (or gluten free variety) in salted water.  Meanwhile heat the oil in a pan and toast the breadcrumbs until golden brown.  Turn off the heat and add the garlic, thyme, salt and Parmigiano.  When the pasta is ready, toss with the mixture, saving a little extra mixture for the top.  You could easily add in shiitake mushrooms in this – loads and loads of them.

Happy immunity

Dr. Nishant Rao is a co-founder of WellWire.com. He is a well-traveled naturopathic doctor and new father, practicing an integrative approach to create wellness in and around Los Angeles. Become a patient or discover his practice.