The Mucosal Barrier Assessment (MBA):
This test is a dried blood spot (finger prick) test that is done at home. This test tells us how well your mucosal barrier in your gut is working to protect your circulation from things such as undigested food particles, viruses, and toxins. It also tells us whether you have inflammation in your gut and whether your mucosal barrier is damaged and allowing unwanted substances to leak through. The first marker is Zonulin, which tells us how well your mucosal barrier is working to prevent particles, toxins, infections, and parasites from passing into your circulation.
When levels are high it tells us that the mucosal barrier is damaged and bad bacteria and other unwanted substances can easily leak through the gut barrier. As in this client’s case, her elevated Zonulin correlates with her symptoms of IBS, headaches, upset stomach and dysbiosis (imbalance of good and bad bacteria). Her second marker, Histamine, is also elevated, indicating that there is a great deal of inflammation in her gut. In addition to her previous symptoms, this is correlated with allergy type symptoms, intestinal gas, cramping and diarrhea. DAO, the third marker, is supposed to help to balance out any elevations in histamine and protect the epithelial cells lining the gut. The DAO marker shows us she is not making enough and this is just exacerbating her gut complaints and symptoms.