Low Serum Albumin - How To Raise It?

[superhuman]

How do one manage to raise low albumin levels?

I know protein, salt, gelatin should do it but how much is needed to raise it?

I eat 100-150g protein a day from milk protein mostly but albumin is low.

RP mention in his eclampsia article
"but simply eating extra protein quickly restores blood albumin. For example, in a group of women who were in their seventh month of pregnancy, the normal women's serum osmotic pressure was 247 mm. of water, that of the women with nonconvulsive toxemia was 215 mm., and in the women with eclampsia, the albumin and osmotic pressure were lowest, with a pressure of 175 mm. In the eighth month, the toxemic women who ate 260 grams of protein daily had a 7% increase in osmotic pressure, and a group who ate 20 grams had a decline of 9%.(Strauss) In a group of preeclamptics, plasma volume was 39% below that of normal pregnant women."

260g protein is a pretty big amount. But does it just take a high amount of protein for a short amount of time to restore blood albumin and then once restored you can eat normal amount of protein?

 

[PakPik]

Hi superman, I'm going to share what Peat said in the KMUD Bowel Endotoxin (2009) interview

Paraphrasing Peat: When liver is starting to be poisoned - estrogen and radiation can do the same thing as endotoxin -, the ability to form albumin decreases, so albumin blood test is a one of the first indicators of a person's basic resistance, if high the prognosis is usually good, if it's around 3 where the normal is 4.5 you're going to have to clean up the bowel. I've seen people in just a couple of weeks go from below 3, like 2 and a half, up to over 4, just by eating fiber and fruit juice, to reduce the absorption of endotoxin.

 

[superhuman]

Hi superman, I'm going to share what Peat said in the KMUD Bowel Endotoxin (2009) interview

Paraphrasing Peat: When liver is starting to be poisoned - estrogen and radiation can do the same thing as endotoxin -, the ability to form albumin decreases, so albumin blood test is a one of the first indicators of a person's basic resistance, if high the prognosis is usually good, if it's around 3 where the normal is 4.5 you're going to have to clean up the bowel. I've seen people in just a couple of weeks go from below 3, like 2 and a half, up to over 4, just by eating fiber and fruit juice, to reduce the absorption of endotoxin.

Hmm really, that is super cool. Thanx a ton.

He did not mention anything in regards to protein and sodium intake? i know he has mentioned that alot in his articles when i have read and tried to figure out more about it.

When he says fiber, i guess he is talking about carrot/bamboo ?

 

[aussiedownunder]

Hmm really, that is super cool. Thanx a ton.

He did not mention anything in regards to protein and sodium intake? i know he has mentioned that alot in his articles when i have read and tried to figure out more about it.

When he says fiber, i guess he is talking about carrot/bamboo ?

Would digestive enzymes help? I remember someone here mentioning pancreatic insufficiency / malabsorption. I went off my enzymes and serum albumin dropped.

 

[Drareg]

Are you more pale faced with lower albumin, any symptoms or just turned up in bloods?

Have you tried the same amount of protein without the liquid?

 

[superhuman]

Are you more pale faced with lower albumin, any symptoms or just turned up in bloods?

Have you tried the same amount of protein without the liquid?

Blood test showed a little low, and the most obvious symptom i have is water retention. It gets better when i increase my protein intake alot but thats expensive and should not be needed to eat that much, so there is other factors like endotoxin etc etc.
Yes i have tried the same without liquids, same result do liquid is not the issue

 

[Drareg]

It's really hard with protein sometimes when more is needed for stress.
There are threads on here with good reports with a clean casein powder, I'm not sure of Peats thoughts on it. Evaporated milk and condensed also.
Endotoxins would be the worry, I'm looking to try something like it at the moment for the sake of experiment.

 

[tara]

I guess enough carbs/calories too so the protein doesn't get converted to fuel before it can do this job.
I'm pretty sure Peat has talked about adding a bit of salt being a factor that can help raise albumin, but can't remember where. It might not take much to make a difference?

 

[Giraffe]

Hypothyroidism has not been mentioned yet.

Besides protein deficiency and other nutritional deficiencies, excess estrogen and low thyroid can also limit the liver's ability to produce albumin. Hypovolemia reduces liver function, and (like hepatic infarcts) will reduce its ability to maintain albumin production.

Eclampsia in the Real Organism: A Paradigm of General Distress Applicable in Infants, Adults, Etc.

 

[superhuman]

@tara true it may be the case, but in terms of calories i get enough. High cortisol can play an impact since it will destroy alot of the protein ingested, so im trying to smack down a good amount of sugar before i eat my protein.

Adding salt increases my water retention sodium bicarb does not and helps it, so i use sodium bicarb atm for sodium

@Giraffe for sure hypothyroid also but i take thyroid as well but i dont notice much, ive tried alot of different like T4+T3 etc. Im currently just nibbling T3 during the day

 

[tara]

High cortisol can play an impact since it will destroy alot of the protein ingested, so im trying to smack down a good amount of sugar before i eat my protein.

Makes sense to me.

Adding salt increases my water retention

Now you mention it, i remember.

 

[CrystalClear]

I found your thread because I realise my albumin level has been dropping despite Peating. I listened to the Ray Peat clip about the albumin level and he mentioned how they have dropped the lower end of the range making sick people seem normal. May 2016 is when I started my therapeutic Peat program strictly for about 12 months (not so strict since) but albumin kept dropping. How have you done over time?

 

[yerrag]

Another possible cause of low albumin is it's being excreted out in urine as one result of a kidney problem.

Another is when albumin is being used as an antioxidant due to chronic bacterial infection, for example an underlying periodontal infection that can go undetected.

 

[CrystalClear]

thanks yerrag

 

[yerrag]

I'm back in this thread because I'm starting to think that maybe I should eat more protein that I'm used to taking to raise my albumin levels. Currently it's stuck at around 42 for two years. I was able to raise it from 38 to 42 around to years ago, but it hasn't budged since then. I'd like to go back to at least 47, which I had from the earliest record I could find at 2002. Back then, I had normal blood pressure.

I've been trying to lower my blood pressure and it's come down to me having to consider the crucial role albumin plays in determining my blood pressure. Ray Peat has talked about taking more salt to lower blood pressure. Salt increases the osmolarity of plasma, and this causes plasma to retain more water, thus increasing blood volume. A higher blood volume would lead to lower blood pressure (this idea contradicts with conventional medical wisdom, which attributes higher blood volume to higher blood pressure). I've wondered why increasing salt intake has no effect on my blood pressure. Reading more on Peat, I learned that albumin attracts a lot of sodium, and that without enough albumin in blood, not enough sodium would stay in the blood, and with a lack of sodium, the plasma won't hold enough water that's needed to maintain the required blood volume that effects a lower blood pressure that I desire to have.

I've been stuck at 180/120 and my target is 120/80. A long way to go. I think that raising my serum albumin from 42 to 47 and above would go a long way in lowering my blood pressure. I think my blood volume is currently low, and this can be corrobaorated from the RBC, Hemoglobin, and Hematocrit values in my CBC blood test - they are all higher than optimal, which would point to low blood volume (aka dehydration).

I'm already addressing an endotoxin issue that causes my serum albumin to be used. Albumin binds to endotoxin as part of its job to detoxify the body of endotoxin thru the liver. Albumin is also an anti-oxidant and when it's used as an anti-oxdiant, Using vitamin C can keep albumin from being used as much. As I lower the rate by which albumin is used, I also need to increase the liver's production of albumin.

Next week, I'm going to start eating more large-steak sized portions in order to up my protein intake. I should probably do this for a month, and then during that time take weekly serum albumin tests to monitor my progress in raising my serum albumin. But if I'm also seeing significant reduction in my blood pressure, which I take several times during the day, increased serum albumin will be a confirmation that my increased protein intake is bearing fruit.

I've noticed that when I ate a large steak, often I'd be seeing my blood pressure go down. I now want to make sure it's not just a coincidence. Perhaps I needed to do this to really increase my serum albumin. I've read through some studies in my searches and what I've been reading is that increased protein intake does nothing to raise serum albumin, but this isn't going to discourage me from trying. I think that a strategy to minimize albumin being metabolized by the body (to bind endotoxins and to act as an anti-oxidant) has to be in place first. I think I've satisfied this condition, and I think that with increased protein intake, I should be able to increase my serum albumin.

On a related note, I may also increase my intake of egg white as egg white contains plenty of albumin. But again I may not. Conventional doctors would recommend increased egg white intake, but since conventional doctors have been wrong many times, I may not follow their lead out of being so much in the habit of rejecting their advice.