A man in his 40s took the so-called carnivore diet to an extreme level: for approximately eight months, he based his diet on animal products and consumed enormous amounts of fat.
According to the medical case, he ate between 6 and 9 pounds of cheese a day (2,7–4,1 kg), in addition to butter and extra fat on his burgers. He claimed that he had lost weight and had more energy and mental clarity.
But then strange yellow nodules appeared on his hands, elbows and the soles of his feet.
The man went to the doctor after the lesions persisted for several weeks. Tests revealed something even more surprising: his total cholesterol had exceeded 1.000 mg/dL, when it had previously been between 210 and 300.
Doctors determined that the lumps were xanthomas, deposits of fat and cholesterol that can appear when there are extremely high levels of lipids in the blood.
The case, published in JAMA Cardiology, reopened the debate over the risks of following extremely restrictive, high-fat diets.
And it leaves behind an image that is hard to forget: his body ended up showing on his own hands what was happening in his blood.