‘Carnivore Diet’ Caused Yellow Bumps to Form on Man’s Hands and Feet

In a rare case, a man’s “carnivore diet” caused large yellow bumps to form on his hands, feet and elbows.

A so-called carnivorous diet generally consists of limiting your diet to foods rich in animal proteins and fats, such as meat, poultry, eggs and fish. For eight months, before his symptoms appeared, the man consumed a large amount of fat in his diet. Doctors involved in his case described how his eating habits included “high fat intake, consisting of 6 to 9 pounds (pounds or 3 to 4 kilograms) of cheese, sticks of butter, and extra fats incorporated into his daily hamburgers.” “.

The diet caused the amount of cholesterol in the man’s blood to skyrocket to more than 1,000 milligrams per deciliter, nearly four times higher than his usual levels of 210 to 300 mg/dL, doctors reported. .

As a result, the man, aged in his 40s, developed a skin disease known as xanthelasma, in which harmless, yellow deposits of cholesterol build up beneath the surface of the skin. The bumps can be either soft, chalky or semi-solid formand they can appear anywhere in the body, but are most commonly found in elbows, joints, tendons, knees and hands.

If the bumps form specifically near the eye or on the eyelid, then the condition is called xanthelasma palpebrarum.

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An image included in the man’s case report, published Jan. 22 in the journal Cardiovascular imageshas large yellow bumps that appear to ooze from the folds of the skin on the palms of his hands. Doctors wrote that the man also had similar bumps on the soles of his feet and elbows, all painless and which had been growing for about three weeks before he sought medical attention.

Xanthelasma, which affects about 1% of peoplein itself is not a dangerous condition. However, it may indicate that a person is at high risk of developing more serious illnesses in the future, some of which can be fatal. For example, high levels of cholesterol in the blood can block the blood vessels that supply the body’s vital organspotentially leading to a stroke Or heart attack.

About half of xanthelasma patients have abnormally high blood cholesterol levels, often caused by genetic diseases inherited from their parents, the study found. medical resource StatPearls. Other conditions, such as diabetes and having an underactive thyroid can also contribute to the development of the disease in some cases.

Often, doctors advise patients with xanthelasma to take steps to lower their blood cholesterol levelswhich may include eating less fat in their diet and taking cholesterol-lowering medications, like statins.

Doing these movements can prevent future bumps from forming on the skin, but they will not make the bumps that have already appeared disappear. If patients want these bumps removed, e.g. for aesthetic reasonsthey can opt for surgical removal or the lumps can be frozen using liquid nitrogen.