A Florida man’s unusual diet caused cholesterol to ooze out of his body.
He had started the carnivore diet eight months earlier, which involves only eating animal products like meat, fish, eggs, and cheese.
The man, who was in his 40s, was consuming up to nine pounds of cheese and butter per day, along with fatty meat like beef.
Doctors describe how the patient showed up to Tampa General Hospital three weeks after painless yellow lesions appeared all over his palms, soles of his feet, and elbows.
Though he claimed he had lost weight and had more energy and mental clarity, his cholesterol was over 1,000 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), five times more than the normal level.
Doctors found the excess cholesterol – a fatty substance found in the blood and all cells in the body – caused it to ooze out of the man’s blood vessels, causing yellow deposits on his skin.
Though the lesions themselves are harmless, doctors warned in a medical journal this week that extremely high cholesterol can lead to heart attacks, strokes and other health problems.
A man in Florida who ate nothing but butter, meat, and other animal products went to the hospitals with cholesterol five times above the normal limit
The man’s cholesterol was so high it started leaking out of his hands, as shown by the yellow deposits pictured here
While cholesterol is produced by the liver, it also comes from animal products like meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy.
When it builds up in the blood, cholesterol forms plaques in the arteries, called atherosclerosis.
Extremely high levels like the Florida man’s can lead it to build up under the skin, forming visible deposits of fats called lipids.
These nodules normally form around the eyes, as blinking over a long period of time weakens delicate blood vessels called capillaries around that area.
However, this kind of leakage can occur anywhere in the body, as shown by the deposits on the Florida man’s hands, feet, and elbows.
About half of patients with xanthelasma, the medical name for the symptoms he experienced, have high cholesterol, and many patients inherit these elevated levels from their parents.
However, according to Cleveland Clinic, those who are overweight, use tobacco or have diabetes or high blood pressure may also be at an increased risk, as these can cause plaque to build up in the arteries.
The unnamed man’s doctors believe his yellow hands, feet, and elbows were due to the extremely high cholesterol from his carnivore diet, which he started eight months prior
It’s unclear how the Florida man was treated, though xanthelasma typically needs to be removed with liquid nitrogen cryotherapy to destroy the tissue.
Laser surgery and chemical peels may also be used to remove the deposits.
The Florida man’s physicians, writing in JAMA Cardiology, warned that the case is an example of unforeseen consequences from high cholesterol.
They wrote: ‘This case highlights the impact of dietary patterns on lipid levels and the importance of managing hypercholesterolemia to prevent complications.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
