Re: How to raise Secretory IgA

[Guest guest]

On Wed, 23 Jun 2004, Suzanne Crossley wrote:

> Does anyone know how to raise Secretory IGA? Mine is consistanly low, very

low on my ASI tests and I think this is why I have so many bowel infections.

Any ideas? What makes it go low in the first place? MIne is 5 and normal is

something like 25-60....

I would not have a clue as I just had my IGA tested and it is almost twice

the upper limit of normal. High IGA levels can be linked to autoimmune

diseases but IGA deficiency is a worse problem than high.

margo

[Guest guest]

Hi Suzanne,

> Does anyone know how to raise Secretory IGA? Mine is consistanly low, very

> low on my ASI tests and I think this is why I have so many bowel infections.

> Any ideas? What makes it go low in the first place? MIne is 5 and normal is

> something like 25-60....

I heard an endocrinologist say that there is now way to raise IgA. I assume

he would have included Secretory IgA, but he didn't say. He did serum IgA

testing.

He said that in people with Selective IgA Deficiency, a primary immune

deficiency disease, their B cells are supposed to make IgA, but they don't.

He said that this due either to an acquired or inherited defect in the B

cells.

Most doctors dismiss Selective IgA Deficiency as being trivial and say that

it is very rare. (as rare as 1 out of 17,000)

I don't have time to look for the link right now, but I was not surprised

when I read recently that 1 out of 5 children who were patients at an

infectious disease clinic had Selective IgA Deficiency. My personal opinion

is that this immune deficiency can play a large part in chronic illnesses.

I've heard several on this list say they have either low or no IgA. It's

easy to test for, and I'm surprised that everyone with CFIDS or Lyme isn't

tested. Even if nothing can be done about it, it's another piece of the

puzzle.

Sue ,

Upstate New York

[Guest guest]

> Does anyone know how to raise Secretory IGA?

Here's one way... Laughter

At Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts,

scientists tracked correlations between laughter and infection-

fighting antibodies found in saliva. This study involved 10

students, five of whom watched a humorous video while the remaining

five watched a lecture on anxiety. Researchers took saliva samples

from each of the subjects both before and after viewing. The

results showed that the antibody levels in those who watched the

lecture remained the same, while those who watched the funny video

showed a significant increase of Immunoglobulin A (IgA), the

antibody that combats upper respiratory infections ( 71).

In a similar experiment in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health

at Loma University in California, Lee S. Berk, studied how

activity in the immune system is affected by a positive reaction to

comical videos. By analyzing blood samples taken from the subjects

who watched the humorous videos Berk discovered that, in addition to

an increase in IgA, levels of cortisol, which suppresses the immune

system, drop significantly. The activity of natural killer cells,

which seek out and destroy abnormal cells, increase significantly

and levels of plasma cytokine gamma interferon, which enhances

immune-system functioning, more than double (Clay 18).

, Patti. She Who Laughs, Lasts! Redbook Jan. 1991: 70-73.

Clay, A. Researchers Harness the Power of Humor. APA Monitor

Sept. 1997,

[Guest guest]

> Does anyone know how to raise Secretory IGA?

Vitamin A is worth trying. It raises nonspecific immunity because it

improves the integrity of the skin and the mucus membranes. Vitamin

A is critical to helping improve the " leaky gut. " It has the direct

ability to raise secretory IgA and it raises the lysozymes in tears

and in saliva. But it also functions in specific immunity.

Meditation and Vizualisation may be helpful:

Increased secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) (significantly higher

than control group) following training in location, activity, and

morphology of IgA and 6 weeks of daily imaging.

Rider, M.S., J. Achterberg, G.F. Lawlis, A. Goven, R. Toledo, and

J.R. . 1990. Effect of immune system imagery on secretory IgA.

Good quality probiotics and colustrum (eg www.neovite.com) make a

very real difference.

Low IgA is frequently found in celiacs and those with chronic

candidiasis, two problems that are treatable. Taking good strong

probiotics is important with an IgA deficiency. Colustrum

(www.neovite.com) may be helpful also.

Selective deficiency of IgA is defined as low levels of or complete

absence of immune globulin A, which causes decreased immune function

in the mucosal surfaces (e.g., mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and

lungs) and results in increased risk for respiratory and

gastrointestinal infections.Affected people often have chronic

diarrhea caused by intestinal infections, frequent respiratory

infections. Many develop autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid

arthritis and lupus erythematosus.

Some people with IgA deficiency will recover spontaneously and begin

to produce IgA in larger quantities over a period of years.

[Guest guest]

Wow, , this is very interesting. Could give us some kind of

window on how these illnesses affect us neurologically.

I've experienced such a change in mood since reducing my

inflammation on the Marshall Protocol that I find myself laughing a

lot now. I never used to find things so consistently funny. It's

been a really surprising effect of this protocol. Generally elevated

mood and a much expanded sense of humor. Perhaps these illnesses

suppress every unnecessary mechanism, except those that specifically

exist to fight off pathogens? (Even our funny bone? lol!)

I know that if my immune system is fighting off some kind of flu or

virus, I definitely don't feel much like laughing and would probably

feel worse if I did. You know, it only hurts when I laugh. :-)

penny

> > > Does anyone know how to raise Secretory IGA?

> >

> > Here's one way... Laughter

[Guest guest]

Hi, Suzanne (and the group).

I did some studying of IgA while I was away, and I learned that in

order for the body to form secretory IgA and transport it into the

lumen of the gut, cysteine is required. As you know, so far I

haven't seen evidence that you are depleted in glutathione (and

hence, in cysteine), but I'm now wondering if this is a possibility

to explain the low secretory IgA levels that show up in the saliva

tests of so many PWCs. I'm wondering if anyone on the list has had

both their serum IgA (in the blood) and their secretory IgA (in the

saliva) measured. If the serum IgA is in the normal range, and the

secretory IgA is below normal, perhaps a lack of enough cysteine

could explain it.

Rich

> Does anyone know how to raise Secretory IGA? Mine is consistanly

low, very low on my ASI tests and I think this is why I have so many

bowel infections. Any ideas? What makes it go low in the first

place? MIne is 5 and normal is something like 25-60....

>

> Thanks,

> Suzanne

>

>