Brain Damage for Dieter

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A woman has been awarded more than £800,000 after suffering brain damage on a detox diet.

Dawn Page, 52, claimed she was told to drink more water and reduce her salt intake during The Amazing Hydration Diet.

The High Court was told she suffered uncontrollable vomiting after starting the diet, but nutritionist Barbara Nash assured her it was part of the detoxification process.

Mrs Nash's insurance company agreed to pay out £810,000 although she denied any wrongdoing.

In October 2001 Mrs Page was less than a week into the regime when she suffered an epileptic fit and was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon.

Doctors were unable to prevent her suffering permanent brain damage and her memory, speech and concentration have been affected.

Her husband Geoff Page, 54, of Farringdon, Wiltshire, said: "Just days after she started the Hydration Diet, she began to feel unwell and started vomiting. Things went from bad to worse, and within another couple of days she collapsed with the fit."

Plexus Law, representing Mrs Nash all allegations of substandard practice levelled at Mrs Nash "have always been and continue to remain firmly denied".

The firm added: "Equally the information contained in the medical records suggesting that Mrs Page appeared to have drunk five litres of water on the day that she was admitted to hospital, and therefore disregarded advice given by our client, were also denied by Mrs Page.

"In our view as a recognition of this, the settlement amount agreed to be paid was less than half the total amount claimed and the compromise which was offered and accepted was on the basis of no admission of liability."



Well on the one hand this is obviously another unhealthy fad diet but on the other the woman drank way more water than common sense dictates you should. I mean surely any of these fad diets can cause serious, and permanent, health side-effects if taken to an extreme, but who's to blame? The person who created the fad diet or the person who took it to a seriously unhealthy extreme?
 
From The Times
July 23, 2008
Dawn Page receives £800k payout for brain injury caused by high-fluid diet
A mother of two has won more than £800,000 at the High Court after she claimed that a radical detox diet left her brain-damaged and epileptic

A mother of two has won more than £800,000 at the High Court after she claimed that a radical detox diet left her brain-damaged and epileptic.

Dawn Page, 52, said that she was told to drink four extra pints of water a day and reduce her salt intake to prevent fluid retention and reduce weight.

Within days of going on “The Amazing Hydration Diet” she began vomiting and, less than a week after starting the diet, suffered a massive epileptic fit. She was taken to intensive care but doctors were unable to prevent permanent brain injury.

Mrs Page now suffers from epilepsy and a “cognitive deficit” that affects her memory, concentration and her ability to speak normally. She was forced to quit her job as a conference organiser, suffers from frequent mood swings and relies on her husband, Geoff, for help around the house.

Mrs Page secured an £810,000 payout last week from Barbara Nash, the nutritionist who devised the diet, after more than six years of legal battle.

Mrs Nash, who calls herself a “nutritional therapist and life coach”, denies any fault and the settlement was concluded without admission of liability. Mrs Nash’s insurance company will pay the damages.

In September 2001 Mrs Page paid Mrs Nash £50 for an initial consultation. She said that she was advised to drink four pints of mineral water per day as well as the tea and other fluids that she normally drank.

After a few days she started vomiting but was allegedly assured by Mrs Nash that it was “all part of the detoxification process”. Mrs Page, who weighed 12 stone (76kg), was even urged to increase her water intake to six pints a day and cut her salt intake further.

Mr Page said yesterday that the settlement reflected the seriousness of his wife’s injuries. He said of his wife: “She was not obese or even mildly obese but, like a lot of women, Dawn liked to look after her weight and was not having much success with the normal ways of doing that.

“Her life has been seriously affected, perhaps ruined, by this fad-type way of losing weight,” he added. Mrs Page relies on written notes to remember basic instructions and finds it hard to recall simple information.

Mr Page, the project manager for a packaging company, covers all the bills as his wife cannot work. He said: “She can’t drive and takes medication every day. And she will do so for life.”

Mr Page, who brought the legal action against Mrs Nash in 2001, said that the fight had been worth it.

Mrs Nash, who is based in Wheatley, Oxfordshire, and has a diploma in natural nutrition, was unavailable to comment last night.

Plexus Law, the firm representing Mrs Nash, released a statement that read: “On behalf of our client, we wish to make it clear that all allegations of substandard practice made on behalf of Mrs Page in the litigation have always been, and continue to remain, firmly denied. Equally, the information contained in the medical records suggesting that Mrs Page appeared to have drunk five litres of water on the day that she was admitted to hospital, and therefore disregarded advice given by our client, were also denied by Mrs Page.

“In our view, as a recognition of this, the settlement amount agreed to be paid was less than half of the total amount claimed and the compromise that was offered and accepted was on the basis of no admission of liability.”

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I was interested in the woman's stats becuase I can sort of understand the desperation to lose weight when you're morbidly obese and I wanted to see waht she looked like... She's not obese... Just stupid... Personal responsibility goes a long way...

A sane person would say -hey i'm tossing my cookies too often -this can't be good for my body...

And really drives home the point that Natural doesn't mean healthy and a "professional" isn't always the best way to go...
 
Exactly, it takes two to tango as the old cliché goes!

Fad diets are never a long term solution and often can be detrimental to health, but they wouldn't exist of there weren't people who will always look for the fast track and are willing to put their health at risk for short term gain.

Having said that though, I do feel very sorry for her. The Times article lists serious, debilitating, and permanent side-effects. Hopefully this will act as a warning to others who may think that fad diets are the way to go.
 
Wait, I don't get it. The diet is just to add more water in to your regular diet while cutting salt? First, I don't see how that is going to make you lose any fat (like most fad diets...), but secondly, I don't see how that would cause a person to vomit and have a seizure within a few days of starting. Am I missing something? I generally drink 4-6 pints of water a day...

EDIT: Ah, found another article. It was severe sodium deficiency. I do actually know somebody that has a salt shedding disease and they have to take salt tablets. And there have been athletes that have died from drinking too much water without replacing the salt. As well as people that drink too much water on MDMA. Better go add a spoonful of salt to my lunch!
 
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Yeah I read about that. As many problems as I have with "detox" diets though. I have to say most of this blame goes on the woman.
 
Actually that story about it is written a little different than the first version I read. The first version I saw laid it out as if the lady wasn't really following the directions and continued to do so despite the side effects. Who knows whos right.
 
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