What Is Albumin?
Albumin is a pretty funny sounding word, but in reality, it's a fairly important protein that is made by the liver. When the liver or kidneys are not functioning well, albumin levels may be out of whack, but more on that later. For now, let's take a closer look at how this protein contributes to your overall health.
Think of the cells in your body as tiny fluid-filled sacs. If these tiny sacs, or cells, lose too much fluid, they shrivel, and if they have too much fluid, they explode. Obviously exploding or shriveling cells are not good, so your body tries to keep your cells just right. And how does your body accomplish this? Well, this is where albumin comes into play. Although albumin isn't fully responsible for keeping the fluid level in your cells just right, it does play a major part.
Albumin helps transport substances through your blood, mainly calcium, progesterone, and bilirubin. While you've probably heard of calcium, progesterone and bilirubin may be a bit more foreign to you. In women, progesterone is involved in the menstrual cycle and pregnancy; in men progesterone is the precursor to other hormones, like testosterone. Bilirubin is produced when red blood cells are broken down, and if they're not transported appropriately, certain problems can arise. For example, if bilirubin levels are too high, you may notice a yellowing of your skin or eyes, known as jaundice. This is often seen in newborn babies.
