Mother left brain-damaged after 'fad diet' wins £800,000

Published on Tuesday 22 July 2008 22:06

A MOTHER of two has won more than £800,000 in damages after a radical detox diet left her brain-damaged and epileptic, it emerged yesterday.

Dawn Page, 52, was told to drink an extra four pints of water a day and reduce her salt intake in order to prevent fluid retention and lose weight.

Within days of starting the "amazing hydration diet" she began vomiting uncontrollably but was assured by nutritionist Barbara Nash this was "part of the detoxification process".

Mrs Nash even urged Mrs Page – who weighed 12 stone – to increase the amount of water she drank to six pints per day and eat fewer salty foods.

But Mrs Page, of Faringdon, Wiltshire, suffered a massive epileptic fit brought on by severe sodium deficiency less than a week after she started the diet in 2001. She was rushed to intensive care, but doctors were unable to prevent permanent brain injuries.

Mrs Page was left suffering epilepsy and a "cognitive deficit", which has affected her memory, concentration and ability to speak. The former conference organiser had to leave her job, suffers frequent mood swings, and has relied on her husband Geoff, 54, for help ever since.

Last week she secured a 810,000 pay-out from Mrs Nash's insurance firm after a six-and-a-half-year legal battle. Mrs Nash, who refers to herself as a "nutritional therapist and life coach", denies any fault. The High Court in London ratified the settlement on Friday.

Mr Page said yesterday the settlement reflected the seriousness of his wife's injuries – and warned others of the dangers of "fad-type" diets. He said: "Her life has been seriously affected, perhaps ruined, by this fad-type way of losing weight, which is a dangerous method of weight loss."

Mrs Page paid 50 for a consultation in September 2001, in which she was advised to drink an extra four pints of mineral water per day, in addition to the other fluids she normally consumed.

Mrs Nash also suggested that Mrs Page cut salt out of her diet and begin eating gluten-free and wheat-free products.

On 2 October 2001, Mrs Page collapsed in the family home with a grand mal epileptic fit – the most serious type of seizure. She was rushed to Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon, Wiltshire, where doctors diagnosed a shortage of plasma sodium levels.

Salt-rich plasma acts as a cushion around the brain, but because hers contained such low salt levels, it allowed water to enter the brain itself, causing permanent damage.

Since the fit, Mrs Page has been left with epilepsy and other cognitive side effects which her husband says have "changed her personality".

She relies on written notes to remember basic instructions and finds it hard to recall simple information.

Mr Page added: "It's important people understand how dangerous diets like these are and not to enter into them without knowing all the dangers."

Mrs Nash, who is based in Wheatley, Oxfordshire, has a diploma of natural nutrition from the College of National Nutrition in London.

She denied that she was in any way to blame and the settlement was reached without any admission of liability. She was unavailable for comment last night.

'Ignore the hype. Your body can easily detox itself'

GOING on a detox-style diet may appear fashionable to some, but many nutrition experts do not believe the science exists to back up the claims of such regimes.

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) does not recommend a detox diet; it says healthy eating is the best path to wellbeing. Joanne Lunn, a nutrition scientist at the BNF, said: "The body is completely capable of detoxing itself. If you eat a healthy, very balanced diet, with five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, that should be fine."

She would not recommend regimes where people are either eating very little or taking lots of supplements.

She said: "If you suddenly start cutting whole food groups out of your diet, then you run the risk of not providing your body with all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and it could have serious short-term consequences. If you suddenly don't consume enough energy you could feel dizzy, feel very lethargic. Certain mircro-nutrients are important for keeping the fluid balance right in your body."

She added that detox diets were just very low-calorie diets.