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Secretory IgA – First Line of Immune Defence

Secretory IgA

In this Case Study, Secretory IgA, the ‘first line of immune defense’ in the gut was low.

This is often the one marker on the test report that ‘drives the point home’! Something shifts, light-bulb moments, connections are made and the focus changes.

We can really begin to ask more ‘why’ questions, instead of getting too fixated on the different ‘bad bugs’.

“We ran a comprehensive digestive health test and the support program started – and that was when my life changed!”

Secretory IgA

Our client, Alphie now wanted to know how and why this could happen, why the Secretory IgA could be so low and what he could do to change this scenario and situation. He didn’t want to be on the merry-go-round of simply chasing bugs around his body, if he wasn’t addressing the reason why they were there in the first place.

This is why, quite impressively, Alphie achieved these enhancements in vitality with fairly basic steps and simple principles. Hard work and commitment, yes. But targeted, informed and individualised and therefore uncomplicated steps.

This is an excerpt from the Full case study: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/case-study-alphies-18-years-of-taking-ppis/

Run a Discovery Session (Call or Clinic Visit) to find out more about how a Functional Health approach could help you: https://functionalhealthclinic.co.uk/free-discovery-call/

What is Secretory IgA?

Secretory IgA is an essential marker to have on a Gut Health Test. Diagnostic Solutions Lab who developed the GI Map define Secretory IgA as:

“Secretory immunoglobulin A is the most abundant antibody in the body and is found in many mucus membranes. It comprises roughly 70 percent of the body’s total immunoglobulins. The majority of IgA is found in the various mucous secretions, including saliva, milk, colostrum, tears, and secretions from the respiratory tract, genitourinary tract, and prostate.1 Secretory IgA is the first line of defense against harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Patients can become exposed to those pathogens by ingesting contaminated food or water or cooking on unclean, polluted surfaces. The role of Secretory IgA is to bind to harmful pathogens and prevent them from attaching to and invading the gut’s mucosal lining.”

On our Membership at the Functional Health Clinic we value markers like this on our Functional Lab Testing.

We don’t just want to be chasing bad bugs and pathogens around the body

What about taking steps to empower your own immune system so that it can express the immune health blueprint and do what it is designed to do. After all we are looking to enhance our function!

The impact this has on preventative and long term health are a huge focus too.

Low Secretory IgA

The Lab go on to define what a Low Secretory IgA means:

“A suppressed Secretory IgA is often associated with a compromised mucosal immune system. Prolonged chronic GI organic diseases like celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease can lead to a suppressed Secretory IgA if the inflammatory process continues unhindered. Secretory IgA becomes suppressed with chronic infections within the gut. The immune system may become overburdened in its effort to combat the persistent infection.5,6 This can contribute to problems like increased gut permeability and susceptibility to other gastrointestinal infections, which can lead to even further dysbiosis.”

A marker like this is invaluable when we work with clients like Alphie who can be experiencing any number of digestive issues like acid reflux, bloating, heartburn and indigestion together with other health challenges like fatigue, brain fog, low mood, pain, poor sleep and more .

For such a seemingly simple marker ‘hiding’ on page 4 of the GI Map Test report, this remains the first result we scroll down to and check out when we get the results back from the lab.

Go beyond the one dimensional approach to pathogens. Broaden out from the hype of the ‘microbiome’. 

There’s more ways to empower your gut health and wellbeing.

Drop us a message if you are curious about how this can help you.

Jack

info@functionalhealthclinic.co.uk

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