Woman Brain Damaged After Detox Diet Gets Settlement

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Article Date: 23 Jul 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Dawn Page, 52, a conference organizer and mother of two, from Faringdon, near Swindon in Oxfordshire, UK, received 810,000 pounds in an out of court settlement following allegations that the detox diet she followed on the advice of a nutritional therapist caused her brain damage.

Page told the High Court she was told to drink more water and reduce her salt intake, as part of The Amazing Hydration Diet. She started to vomit uncontrollably after starting the diet, but the therapist who advised her, Barbara Nash, allegedly told her it was part of the detoxification process.

The out of court settlement was awarded to Page by Nash's insurance company, with no admission of liability.

According to the Guardian, Nash, who has a diploma from the College of Natural Nutrition in Tiverton, Devon, referred to herself as a "nutritional therapist and life coach", and denied liability, insisting she was not guilty of substandard practice.

Nash's lawyers, Plexus Law, said in a statement reported by the Press Association that on behalf of their client they wished 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."

They also referred to Page's medical records, saying that they held evidence that Page had disregarded advice given to her by their client, and that this was denied by Mrs Page:

"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."

They said the settlement agreed to be paid was less than half of the total amount claimed, and this compromise, which was subsequently accepted, was offered on the basis of no admission of liability.

"As far as we are concerned the case has now been concluded," said Nash's lawyers.

Page told the court that less than a week after starting the diet, in October 2001, she had an epileptic fit and was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon, where doctors were unable to stop her suffering permanent brain damage which has affected her memory, speech and concentration.

Page said she had been left with a "cognitive deficit" which has forced her to give up her job as a conference organizer, according to a BBC News report.

Her husband told the press:

"Her life has been seriously affected, perhaps ruined, by this fad-type way of losing weight, which I can only say is a dangerous method of weight loss."

Page's husband said she began to feel unwell "just days after she started the Hydration Diet". She started vomiting, and "things went from bad to worse, and within another couple of days she collapsed with the fit," he told reporters. He said his wife was advised to drink at least four pints of water a day.

"It's important people understand how dangerous diets like these are," he said.

Although not proven by this case, it is possible that Page suffered water intoxication, where drinking too much water dilutes the concentration of electrolytes in the body's cells to the point that they cannot function properly.

In January 2007, a 28 year old woman from California died of water intoxication after a water drinking contest to win a video game, and in April 2007, David Rogers a 22-year-old fitness instructor from Milton Keynes, UK, died from water intoxication after completing his first London Marathon.

The British Dietetic Association leaflet on "Fluid, why you need it and how to get enough", which appears to be aimed at people who don't drink enough fluids, ends with this advice:

"The important thing to remember when you try to change any part of your diet is to make the change gradually. If you don't drink very much fluid at the moment, start by having one or two extra drinks each day, then add in another couple a few days later and so on."

Source: Press Association, Guardian, BBC, The British Dietetic Association.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today