Standard blood work has always shown a high bilirubin level for me for as long as I can remember. Doctors generally shrug it off as "gilbert's syndrome" and don't think much of it. They say 1% of the population has abnormally high levels and it doesn't mean anything. I'm not so sure that is correct any longer. My bilirubin level is typically in the low 2's although more recently it has come close to 3.0 but goes up and down from test to test. I've been dealing with a lot of fatigue issues more recently following a Celiac diagnosis. Aside from the bilirubin level out of whack, everything else is normal.
About a month ago I had accidentally avoided red meat for a week just before a blood test, eating chicken & turkey products as my meat. To my shock, the bilirubin level measured came out to 1.3, still slightly high but much lower than it had ever been. This leads me to the theory that red meat might be responsible... it could also be the fat content of the meat rather than the "red" variety. Sunlight exposure is another possible variable here since I have read that sunlight helps the body break down bilirubin.
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Test results of week 1: Breakfast is 2 fruits, 2 eggs. Lunch & dinner is each [0.5 lb beef + 2 vegetables]. This diet was held for at least 5 days before getting an early morning blood test before eating. Resulting bilirubin level = 1.8 which is considered high and out of normal range. The lab I use considers the normal range to be 0.1 to 1.2 mg/dL. All the beef consumed was grass fed and free of antibiotics. Most vegetables were organic.
ReplyDeleteResults of week 2: Same diet as before except, turkey was substituted for beef. This diet was held for 4 days prior to testing early in the morning before eating. Resulting bilirubin level = 1.7. Not a very significant change. This blows the red meat theory. Next test will consist of reducing total meat intake in a given day to see if quantity is a factor.
ReplyDeleteWhats the verdict? I had high bilirubin and went all veggies, and my bilirubin became normal. Went back to eating meat, and bilirubin is up again. Also, my bloodgroup A is known to be vegetarian.
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