A British woman who suffered brain damage while on a detox diet has been awarded £810,000 ($NZ2.15 million) in damages from her nutritionist.
Dawn Page (52) suffered permanent brain damage after falling ill within days of starting the Amazing Hydration Diet, which involved drinking large amounts of water and cutting her salt intake.
She was told by her nutritionist to drink an extra 2.3 litres of water a day and drastically cut the amount of salt she consumed, Britain's Daily Mail reports.
Page suffered severe vomiting and stomach cramps within days, but was told her symptoms were part of the detoxification process.
The nutritionist told her to continue with the diet and increase her water intake further, and cut out even more salt.
Days later she suffered serious epileptic fit and brain damage caused by sodium deficiency, the report said.
Nutritional therapist Barbara Nash continues to deny any fault in the case, following the payout from her insurance company, which was made without mention of liability.
The payout was ratified by the High Court in London on Saturday, and Page's husband Geoff Page has warned others about the dangers of fad diets.
"She was not obese or even mildly obese, but like a lot of women, Dawn liked to look after her weight," he told the Mail.
"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 losing weight."
The damage to Page's brain has left her unable to work, and she suffers from problems with memory, concentration, speech and mood swings.
