What can work Wrong with eating an extremely high-fat diet of beef, cheese and butter sticks? Well, on the one hand, cholesterol levels can reach such stratospheric levels that the lipids begin to emanate from the blood vessels, forming yellowish bumps on the skin.
This was the disturbing case of a man in Florida who showed up at a Tampa hospital with a three-week history of painless, yellow eruptions on his hands, soles of his feet and elbows. His case was published today in Jama Cardiology.
The man, said to be in his 40s, told doctors he had adopted a “carnivore diet” eight months earlier. His diet included 6 to 9 pounds of cheese, sticks of butter, and daily hamburgers, which included extra fat in them. Since embarking on this food plan, he has reported that his weight has dropped, his energy levels have increased, and his “mental clarity” has improved.
Meanwhile, his total cholesterol level exceeded 1,000 mg/dl. For context, the optimal total cholesterol level is below 200 mg/dlwhile 240 mg/dL is considered the threshold for “high.” Cardiologists noted that before he went on a fatty diet, his cholesterol ranged from 210 mg/dl to 300 mg/dl.
Cardiologists diagnosed the man with xanthelasma, a condition in which excess blood lipids deplete from blood vessels and form localized lipid deposits. The escaped lipids would normally be taken up by wandering white blood cells called macrophages. But in cases with Xanthelasma, the amount of lipids is too much for the macrophages, which turn into foam cells with excess cholesterol, leading to noticeable deposits.
Such deposits are often seen around the eye (a condition called xanthelasma palpebrarum), which often strikes people with lipid abnormalities such as familial hypercholesterolemia. It is believed that the constant blinking of an eye over a person’s life can eventually weaken the capillaries in the area, allowing lipids to leak out. But while this may be a more common presentation of the condition, lipid deposits can occur anywhere in the body.
Xanthelasma – especially Xanthelasma palpebrarum – is Not always associated with high cholesterol and heart risk, but having high cholesterol is strongly associated with coronary artery disease.
The case study does not include information about the man’s perspective. However, the authors write that the case “highlights the impact of dietary patterns on lipid levels and the importance of managing hypercholesterolemia to prevent complications.”
This story originally appeared ARS Technica.