Yes, vegans do get enough protein
It’s an old story. You mention to someone that you are vegan and the first question they ask is, “but where do you get your protein from?” There are countless memes making fun of this.
The only reason I’m even mentioning it is because of a conversation I had with a friend receiving treatment in the hospital. She was saying her protein levels were low, so she needed to eat more animal products. She suspected I might chime in. 🙂
I actually never bothered to check my protein levels, but since she brought it up I looked at my last blood test – taken just last month. I was not familiar with the values involving protein, so looked it up and found this info.
Albumin
- What it measures: The amount of albumin, a protein made by the liver.
- Why it’s done: Low levels can indicate liver disease, kidney disease, or malnutrition.
A/G Ratio (Albumin/Globulin Ratio)
- What it measures: The ratio of albumin to globulin.
- Why it’s done: Helps diagnose liver or kidney issues and certain infections.
As you can see in the preview image, my Albumin （アルブミン）level is 4.0 (normal range 3.8 – 5.2) and A/G ratio is 1.74 (normal range 1.10-2.00).
And I have had basically no animal products going on about 12 years now.
That’s probably why the doctors have never mentioned it. And all my other blood values, as reported in a previous post (https://lerner.net/blood-test-update-things-still-going-great/), are perfectly fine.
Anyway, I learned something new.
There’s a lab test called Total Protein. Even though I’ve somewhat eaten animal protein all my life, mine’s also low. Female, 43. I read it has something to do with the virus load as it “consumes” the amino acids leaving the body deficient in some of them.
I think Total Protein might be the first item on the list. Just a tiny bit low but nothing to write home about.