Xanthelasma?

(Ian) #1

Has anyone experienced this on a low carb or keto lifestyle?

I am 2+ years into keto and only recently noticed what look like small fat deposits under my upper eyelids, in the past 6 months.

Not sure if they are connected?

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

I have never heard of it being connected, but a ketogenic diet should raise your HDL and probably will lower your LDL (unless you are one of Dave Feldman’s “lean-mass hyper-responders”), which should prevent a recurrence. It might or might not reduce the deposits after they’ve formed. Some things are not reversible, even on a well-formulated ketogenic diet.

Since they don’t really know what causes xanthelasmata, it would be pretty hard to prevent or cure them.

(Ian) #3

Thanks Paul. I could not find an obvious cause for them, but wondered about a potential association with low carb and changes in body composition and metabolic pathways.

Initially my LDL, went up but it is settling back down to pre-keto levels, while my HDL is up 20% and my triglycerides are down 75%.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

Now that’s something to be excited about!

Let us know what happens with the xanthelasma. I suspect you’ll probably have to have the deposits removed, but it would be really cool if keto alone could cause them to disappear. If it works with skin tags, it could work with xanthelasma, too. (But don’t get your hopes up, sorry.)

(Ian) #5

It looks as though there is not much that can be done, apart from surgery (laser or blade) and there is no guarantee that they will not come back.

From the limited information I can gather, they can be caused by hereditary dyslipidemia and can be an indication of metabolic disorder, which needs to be checked out. For the past 3 years my lipid profile has improved, with increasing HDL and plummeting triglycerides. Although my LDL has gone up a little, I am not worried about dyslipidemia.

Sometimes the cause is unknown, although a general change in diet is often cited as a potential cause. Considering I am not almost 3 years into low carb, I don’t think keto will be a cure for this and may even have been the cause.

(Bob M) #6

Interesting. I’ve never heard of that. Learn something new every day.

(Edith) #7

Thanks for the update. I’m curious, why do you think keto was the cause?

(Ian) #8

Hi Edith, I am just guessing, based on the coincidental appearance of my xanthelasma approximately 8 months after I started Keto and also a number of unsubstantiated on line discussions that suggest diet may be a causative factor. However, other conditions such as kidney disease, hypothyroidism, liver disease are also thought to be associated and in many instances the cause is unknown…