In the beginning of February I had some blood work done for some life insurance I applied to. The results came back fine by the insurance companies standards, but I looked over the results myself and noticed something strange. One of my protein levels came in on the low side. It was just below the acceptable range but still low?
These were my blood work results
Whats Globulin?
Out of curiosity I went to the Google and did some research on Globulin. The results I found were interesting. Globulins are proteins in the blood that regulate the function of the circulatory system. According to Wikipedia the normal concentration of globulins in the blood is about 2.6-4.6 g/dL. Mine were lower than this and slightly lower than the insurance rating of 2.0 g/dL.
Whats Low Globulin mean?
Low globulin levels can indicate liver disease, an inability to digest or absorb dietary protein, malabsorption, inflammatory bowel disease or Celiac disease, some sort of cancer, anemia or kidney disease. I’m thinking this is something Id probably want to look into.
After further research I discovered that you should also have a specific ratio of Globulin/Albumin. Albumin is circled in my blood work results and comes in at 4.8 g/dL.
Albumin / Globulin Ratio
You get your Albumin/Globulin ratio by dividing your albumin by your globulin. My ratio is approximately 2.52. Its suggested that the ideal A/G ratio be somewhere between 1.7-2.2. A level higher than 2.2 can indicate decreased thyroid function, low globulin, an excess of glucocorticoids or a variety of other problems.
My Thoughts
People say you shouldn’t freak out when you self diagnose yourself by reading stuff on the internet. I don’t, but I do think I should get checked out. My weight isn’t coming off as easy as Id like to these blood proteins point directly to weight related problems like hyperthyroidism or Celiac. My younger brother has Celiac but he has issues gaining weight. I think the best thing I can do is make an appointment and get checked out by a doctor, its been a while anyway.
