Doctor Finds Florida Man Has Cholesterol Oozing From His Body

A man from Tampa, Florida started leaking chunks of cholesterol from his skin after spending years gorging himself on fatty foods as part of a "carnivore diet." The man, who is in his forties, went to Tampa General Hospital three weeks after he began seeing strange pale "yellowish nodules" emerging from his palms, soles, and elbows, according to a new case report published in the journal JAMA Cardiology. It turns out that he was eating so much fatty food that it had started to seep out of his skin.

The man reportedly had started on a "carnivore diet" eight months before his symptoms began. As the name might suggest, carnivore diets are characterized by consuming primarily (or only) animal-based foods. The diet eliminates carbohydrates entirely, relying instead on proteins and fats for energy, all of which are from animal sources. People on the carnivore diet generally consume foods including meat, fish, eggs, organ meat, bone marrow, full-fat dairy and animal fats like lard. "His dietary habits included a high intake of fats, consisting of 6 to 9 lb of cheese, sticks of butter, and additional fat incorporated into his daily hamburgers," doctors wrote in the case report.

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The man told the doctors that this diet had caused him to lose weight, as well as experience "increased energy and improved mental clarity." The doctors found that the man's blood cholesterol levels were over 1000 mg/dL—for reference, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, a "normal" cholesterol level is less than 200 mg/dL, and anything over 240 mg/dL is considered "high". The man's strange yellow nodules were subsequently diagnosed as xanthelasma, a condition that causes yellowish, fatty deposits to form underneath the skin. These deposits are caused by a buildup of cholesterol or other fats and are generally harmless. This condition is often linked to elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol or triglycerides, which may ooze out of blood vessels and accumulate in the dermis, the layer of skin just below the surface. The immune system responds to these accumulations, sending macrophage white blood cells to engulf the cholesterol, which then turn into foam cells that aggregate in the skin, forming the yellowish plaques characteristic of xanthelasma. "Xanthelasmas are yellowish plaques commonly found on the eyelids," study co-author and cardiologist professor Konstantinos Marmagkiolis of Tampa General Hospital told Newsweek. "When the cholesterol levels circulating in the bloodstream are extremely high and cannot get metabolized, xanthelasmas form due to deposition of cholesterol within the macrophages in the dermis." The xanthelasma itself is harmless, but the causative high cholesterol can result in the development of atherosclerosis, a condition where cholesterol and fatty deposits build up on the walls of arteries. Plaque buildup in the coronary arteries can limit blood flow to the heart (heart disease), potentially leading to heart attack, while cholesterol deposits in arteries supplying blood to the brain can cause ischemic stroke. High cholesterol can also weaken arterial walls, increasing the risk of an aneurysm—a bulging, weakened area in an artery. If an aneurysm bursts, it can cause life-threatening internal bleeding. "This case highlights the impact of dietary patterns on lipid levels and the importance of managing hypercholesterolemia to prevent complications," the doctors wrote. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about cholesterol? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.

References

Marmagkiolis, K., Caballero, J., & Iliescu C. (2025) Yellowish Nodules on a Man Consuming a Carnivore Diet. JAMA Cardiology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2024.5209