Man hospitalised after carnivore diet made cholesterol ooze from his hands and feet

A man was hospitalised after an extreme carnivore diet left him with cholesterol oozing out of his palms and feet.

There are a whole host of diet trends that people follow for a variety of reasons, but one Florida man found that not all come without consequences.

For almost a year, the unnamed man in his 40s had been following a strict carnivore diet, which involved him eating nothing but animal products like meat, eggs, milk and cheese. Unlike a paleo diet, no fruits, vegetables or carbs are consumed.

According to a medical case study, the man was admitted to Tampa General Hospital because, for three weeks, “yellowish nodules” were oozing out of his palms, the soles of his feet and elbows.

The man told doctors that he had been following the carnivore diet for around eight months and claimed he had lost weight and had more energy. He said he ate on average 6 to 9 pounds (2.7 to 4 kg) of cheese every day, as well as hamburgers and several sticks of butter.

American Medical Association

But, it seems all of that was having a big effect on his body as doctors found he was suffering from a rare condition called Xanthelasma.

Xanthelasma occurs when a person’s cholesterol is so staggeringly high that it begins to ooze out of their skin as yellow balls of fat in order to escape their body.

When experts measured his cholesterol, it was over 25.9 mmol/L (1,000 mg/dL). For context, a healthy cholesterol level is considered to be below 5.0 mmol/L, according to the NHS.

It comes after a recent study found that vegans could be responsible for “fear and contempt” among meat-eaters, while other research questioned whether vegetarians or meat eaters consume more ultra-processed foods.

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