Mucosal Barrier Assessment
Zonulin
Zonulin is a protein in our body that controls the size of the openings between your gut lining and bloodstream. This is important because that lining is only one cell thick, so it needs to be functioning well. Small openings are needed between the two to transport nutrients back and forth, and to get rid of pathogens or nasty bugs. High levels of zonulin can cause these openings to become too large. This is harmful to your health because it allows waste and toxins, undigested food particles, bacteria and fungi to spread throughout your body where they don't belong, leading to immune stress, inflammation, food reactions and, in time, disease.
Histamine + DAO + DAO Histamine Ratio
Histamines are chemicals your immune system makes. The best analogy for this I’ve ever heard to explain this is that histamines act like bouncers at a club. They help your body get rid of something that's bothering you -- in this case, an allergy trigger, or "allergen."
Histamines start the process that hustles those allergens out of your body or off your skin. They can make you sneeze, tear up, or itch
DAO is an enzyme that your body makes to break down histamine from foods. Without enough of this enzyme, you can experience histamine intolerance. This can make you sick when you eat foods that contain histamine.
The DAO: Histamine Ratio helps detect subtle imbalances between histamine and DAO levels. Even if the DAO enzyme level is normal, symptoms can occur when histamine is high. A low ratio indicates that there may not be enough of the DAO enzyme relative to the amount of histamine in your body. And remember, we are all about bringing the body into balance.
Mucosal Barrier Assessment Test
This test is a dried blood spot (finger prick) test that is done at home. This test tells us how well the mucosal barrier in your gut is working to protect your body 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. A damaged mucosal barrier would allow unwanted substances to leak through, also known as leaky gut.