Methods to help increase IgA antibodies, protect health during the epidemic season

IgA antibody - The body's protective fortress

Resistance or the immune system is located everywhere in the body, ensuring that people can survive and stay healthy even though they live in an environment with many microorganisms. Resistance is formed by a network of antibodies and immune cells. There are 5 types of antibodies: IgA, IgG, IgE, IgM, IgD. Antibodies are the first layer of protection, with the function of surrounding and pushing out pathogens, preventing them from penetrating deep into the body. When the body has many antibodies, it will form a protective layer, increasing resistance.

Image simulates antibodies surrounding and attacking a pathogen. Photo:the-scientist.com.

Among antibodies, IgA is quite common, appearing in blood, intestines and respiratory tract. Specifically, IgA is abundant in serum, nasal mucus, saliva, breast milk, intestinal fluid, accounting for 10-15% of human immunoglobulins. IgA is important because it recognizes pathogens. Depending on how much IgA is present, whether it has surrounded the pathogen or not, the body can be infected or not.

According to Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, former Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases - Neurology at Children's Hospital 1, Ho Chi Minh City, IgA is present in large quantities in the respiratory mucosa and has certain meanings for people with respiratory diseases in general and Covid-19 in particular. "Before pathogens attack the respiratory tract and digestive tract, we need to pay attention to the respiratory circulation system and the amount of IgA in that area. The more IgA, the better the ability to stick to and destroy pathogens," said Dr. Khanh. He added that when the circulation system is strong, a lot of IgA will easily surround and push pathogens out of the body immediately or down from the intestines. However, just a gap in this immune system can make people more susceptible to disease or more severe infection.

Therefore, when infected with Covid-19, high-risk subjects (the elderly, people with underlying diseases...) are more susceptible to severe illness and often become seriously ill very quickly because the entire immune system is weak. In these patients, cell turnover and antibody levels are low, so when they are attacked by nCoV, the entire virus will directly attack the lower respiratory system, which is the lungs.

According to Dr. Khanh, if the body has been exposed to pathogens or has been vaccinated, it will create specialized IgA, which can prevent and protect the body against those diseases. In addition, the body also has a general amount of IgA, which can be supplemented through nutrition, exercise and sleep, which has the effect of protecting the body against pathogens in general.

Vinamilk Probi yogurt drink adds billionsL.Casei 431TM probioticsfrom Europe,clinically proven to improve antibody levelsIgA. Photo: Vinamilk.

Methods to help increase antibodies

Nutrition is the food that is put into the body, it needs to be balanced and full of groups of substances such as starch, sugar, protein, fat, fiber and vitamins, minerals. Foods that are supplemented with antibodies or substances that can create antibodies will help increase antibodies faster. For nutrition, water is very important, because the body is about 70% water. Water taken into the body will create a solution to transport substances from one place to another. An adult should drink 2.5 - 3 liters of water per day, including water, such as water in drinking milk, in soup, in vegetables and fruits.

Adding probiotics to your daily diet is an effective way to increase IgA antibodies and improve your immune system. Dr. Khanh believes that probiotics are a success in the nutrition and immunology industries. For example,L.Cas probiotic groupei 431TMbeneficial in regulating immunity, producing antibodies and creating balance of bacterial community in the gut.

A study by the National Institute of Nutrition in 2013 showed that a group of children (from 24 to 47 months old) after 3 months of using live probiotic yogurt drink (Probi)contains probioticsL.Casei 431TMtends to improve serum IgA antibody concentrations. Specifically, the IgA immune index tends to increase by more than 30% compared to the non-using group (increased by 19.97 mg/dL compared to 14.98 mg/dL).

Research from the University of Reading (UK) shows that the research group of volunteers who drank probiotic products for 4 weeks had a statistically significant higher number of immune cells than the control group who did not drink probiotics.

Besides, exercise and movement help the body to be flexible, eat well and sleep better.

Adding probiotics to your daily diet is an effective way to increase IgA antibodies, improving the health of your immune system.

Just as important as nutrition and exercise, getting enough sleep can help create more antibodies for the body. While we sleep, the cells that create antibodies will rest and recharge to produce the antibodies that the body needs.

Dr. Khanh affirmed that when there are many antibodies, the body will be protected against pathogens, making it more difficult to get sick, or if infected, the risk of becoming seriously ill will be limited. Therefore, increasing antibodies and improving resistance is necessary, especially in the current complicated epidemic context.