In an earlier post, I showed published data that albumin levels decrease with aging, and that lower levels are associated with an increased all-cause mortality risk (https://michaellustgarten.com/2018/07/06/serum-albumin-and-acm/). I also showed my own blood test data (n=11), which included a strong correlation for albumin with my dietary intake of beta-carotene (r = 0.75). Since then, I’ve measured my albumin levels an additional 9 times, with 20 total measurements that correspond to my tracked dietary intake. With more data, did the strength of this association get better, stay the same, or get worse?
The correlation for albumin with my dietary beta-carotene intake weakened slightly (r = 0.66), but the p-value strengthened (p = 0.0015 vs. p = 0.007):
Albumin is an important variable for predicting biological age, as demonstrated by its inclusion on the aging.ai and PhenoAge (https://michaellustgarten.com/2019/09/09/quantifying-biological-age/) calculators. If your albumin levels aren’t close to 5 or greater than 4.5 g/dL if you’re a man or woman, respectively, you may want to consider increasing your beta-carotene intake, especially if you’re interested in optimizing biological youth. Each day, I get most of my beta-carotene from about a pound of carrots, but also from a few ounces of spinach.
If you’re interested, please have a look at my book!
My carrot consumption has skyrocketed because of your information.
That’s great, but have you checked your albumin levels since? Let your biomarkers guide your dietary intake…
How many carrots cause Carotenemia?
According to a Columbia University health blog, “for carotenemia to set in, you might have to consume as much as 20 milligrams per day (or, three large carrots).” While the condition is seen in adults, it is most common in infants and children, according to the Scientific American.Mar 22, 2016
If the worst case scenario is that your skin changes color, so be it. The best case scenario is a lower epigenetic age with a higher serum carotenoid level:
https://michaellustgarten.com/2019/12/07/slowing-epigenetic-aging-with-diet/