Man On ’Carnivore Diet’ Grows Yellow Lumps On Hands, Feet And Elbows
Man On ‘Carnivore Diet’ Grows Yellow Lumps On Hands, Feet And Elbows
A man in his 40s consumed a "carnivore diet" for eight months and then developed yellow bumps on his hands, feet and elbows called xanthelasmas, signs of high cholesterol.
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You could say that this man’s “carnivore diet” ended up getting a bit under his skin. For about eight months, a man in his 40s maintained a primarily meat and dairy diet. This included lots of high-fat stuff like six to nine pounds of cheese, entire sticks of butter and hamburgers with additional fat. This so-called “carnivore diet” helped him lose weight and feel more energetic with greater mental clarity. But “yellow,” here’s what he ended up developing: yellow bumps on his palms, soles, and elbows, as described in a case report published this week in JAMA Cardiology.
So after three weeks of these persistent bumps, the man saw a doctor. It turns out his blood cholesterol levels had shot up to over 1000 mg/dL from his typical level of 210 to 300 mg/dL. These yellow bumps were basically deposits of cholesterol called xanthelasmas.
If you are waiting for xanthelasmas to disappear on their own, you’ll be waiting a long time—like forever. They aren’t like pimples. You can’t pop or squeeze them or hide out until prom passes. Even lowering cholesterol levels through diet or medication use won’t get rid of them once they’ve formed. The first-line treatment to remove xanthelasmas is liquid nitrogen cryotherapy. Other possibilities are surgical removal or using lasers, radiowaves, chemical peel or extreme heat. These clearly are not DIY—do it yourself— options. Such treatments can cause pain, scars and various types of damage, especially in the wrong hands. That can be especially dangerous if the xanthelasmas are around your eyes, since you’ve only got no more than two eyes, assuming you are not a house fly.
