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Woman wins £800,000 after detox diet causes brain damage
A 52-year-old mother of two has been awarded £800,000 in damages at the High Court after a nutritional therapist placed her on a radical detox diet that left her brain damaged and epileptic.
Dawn Page, 52, claimed she was told to drink an extra four pints of water each day, and reduce her salt intake, after consulting therapist, Barbara Nash, about losing weight.
Her lawyers said she suffered uncontrolled vomiting within days of being placed on "The Amazing Hydration Diet", but was assured her sickness was simply "part of the detoxification process". She claimed she was later told to increase the amount of water she drank to six pints per day. Less than a week after she started the diet, the former conference organiser, of Faringdon, Oxon, said she suffered an epileptic fit brought on by severe sodium deficiency.
She was treated in intensive care, but doctors were unable to prevent permanent brain damage.
She has been left with damage to her memory, concentration and her ability to speak normally and was forced to quit her job, relying instead on her husband Geoffrey, 54, for help.
Mrs Page weighed 12 stones when she contacted Mrs Nash in late September 2001. She paid £50 for the initial consultation.
Mr Page said the size of the damages reflected the seriousness of his wife's injuries, and warned others of the dangers of embarking on "fad-type" diets.
"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 way of doing that," he said.
"She had tried Weight Watchers and calorie control diets, and this was just another potential route for her to lose weight. Her life has been seriously affected, perhaps ruined, by this fad-type way of losing weight.
Dieticians in Britain are regulated by the Health Professions Council (HPC). However nutritional therapists are not required to be. The British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT) which has its own code of conduct, said Mrs Nash was not a member. The British Dietetic Association yesterday warned people about the rise in the self-styled and unqualified nutritional therapists.
More evidence, if it were needed, that our obsession with weight loss and the temptation to try ever-more extreme diets is bad for you? Or just a rare case of bad luck for this particular dieter? Can it really be that difficult to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and take enough exercise to keep you at a health weight and size. Should we all just stop obsessing over our weight and get on with life? My cake-filled, under-exercised face says probably yes to the former, and yes please to the latter, but what do you think?
A 52-year-old mother of two has been awarded £800,000 in damages at the High Court after a nutritional therapist placed her on a radic... more -
Can broccoli cure cancer?
A 79-year-old man man from Leicestershire has attributed his remission from near-fatal bladder cancer to the broccoli juice his wife has whizzed up for him every morning since his diagnosis. Could she be on to something?
Ray and Joan Wiseman claim that Cancer Research has asked for the recipe so it can investigate further. A spokeswoman at the head office of Cancer Research UK knows nothing about such a request, but does admit that broccoli is intriguing for cancer scientists because of the chemicals it contains.
Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower and cabbage contain a group of phytochemicals that seem to have cancer-preventing properties. One recent study found that these substances could enhance DNA repair in cells. Another found that men who ate one daily portion of broccoli had altered patterns of gene activity in their prostates. However, it was a small study and more research is needed before anyone can say that eating broccoli lowers your chances of prostate cancer.
Mr Wiseman is among 10,000 people diagnosed with bladder cancer every year in the UK. If, as a nation, we all ate green smoothies for breakfast these numbers might well come down. But since the biggest preventable cause of bladder cancer is smoking - which causes around two in three cases in men and one in three cases in women - there are probably more straightforward places to start.
So is it - as most studies advocate - simply a case of eating a balanced diet with lots of fruit, vegetables and fibre that'll hopefully keep us healthy, rather than a lot of one magic vegetable? And if so, why do so many young people still eat a diet that consists mostly of pizza, wine and cigarettes? Do you eat any 'superfoods' that make you feel magically better when you're ill? How easy is it to simply eat healthily?
A 79-year-old man man from Leicestershire has attributed his remission from near-fatal bladder cancer to the broccoli juice his wife h... more -
Chocolates Printed With Calorie Counts
"If you are watching your caloric intake but want to indulge in an “informed” guilty pleasure, I have the perfect chocolate for you. “Rompicollo” by L’Agenzia per il Disegno e la Funzione is a tablet of chocolate whose portions come printed with calorie counts carved directly on the surface. The chocolate bar is divided into portions of different sizes with different calorie count.
This allows you to treat yourself to a bit of chocolate while keeping you aware. That way you’ll be able to monitor how long you’ll have to hit the treadmill for to make up for those excess calories."
"If you are watching your caloric intake but want to indulge in an “informed” guilty pleasure, I have the perfect chocolate for you. “... more -
Atkins diet is safe and far more effective than a low-fat one?
The controversial Atkin's diet is just as effective and safe as a conventional low-fat diet, a two year study has found.
Researchers found that overweight volunteers shed more pounds on the low carbohydrate regime than they did on an orthodox calorie-controlled diet.
A Mediterranean diet with plenty of vegetables, fibre, white meat and fish was equally effective - and just as safe, they found.
The findings come from an experiment involving 322 overweight volunteers carried out by a team of Israeli, America and German scientists. Atkin's was the biggest dieting phenomena in years. At its peak around 2004, an estimated three million Britons were following it.
The controversial Atkin's diet is just as effective and safe as a conventional low-fat diet, a two year study has found. ... more -
Bullet found in smoothie mix.. true story
I think Jimmy Hoffa is trying to tell us something.. yeah I Know bad joke... but the bullet is a true story.
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Now we know what's really in Lean Pockets
As it turns out, there's plastic in them! Don't worry, it's just the Spinach Artichoke Chicken variety, and Nestle has begun recalling these plastic pockets. But still, it really makes you think, what are these companies trying to pass off as "food?" As it turns out, there's plastic in them! Don't worry, it's just the Spinach Artichoke Chicken variety, and Nestle has begun recallin... more
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'Dangerously thin' climbers face ban
There are concerns that a number of rock climbing athletes are shedding unhealthy amounts of weight in order to gain a competitive edge, and could be more prone to eating disorders, reports the Independent today.
In endurance climbing, where every spare gram of unwanted weight could sap valuable energy during a climb, there are fears that female athletes in particular may be prone to dangerous eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia.
In Austria, the problem has become so acute that the country's climbing federation has banned any dangerously underweight athletes from competing until they put on an adequate amount of weight. Those athletes with a body mass index (BMI) reading of less than 17 when the rules are introduced next year will not be allowed to compete. Until then, those on the borderline have been ordered to see a doctor for advice about the effects of low weight and anorexia.
Earlier this month, Jens Larssen, who runs 8a, the world ranking organisation for rock climbing, announced his system might also introduce some sort of regulation. "I know for a fact that some of the very best female climbers are either anorexic or have been anorexic," he said. "It exists just as much at the top level of climbers as anywhere else. I know many of these people personally; they're my good friends but I don't want them to become role models."
Should governments or regulatory bodies be able to limit who takes part in sport, based on their body shape or size? Do other sports that require tiny, thin bodies take the same action? Do other sports lead to competitors developing eating disorders in this way? Is this a telling example of where eating disorders come from in the first place: simple competition amongst women and men to have the 'ideal' body?
There are concerns that a number of rock climbing athletes are shedding unhealthy amounts of weight in order to gain a competitive edg... more -
Throat cancer rising fast in the UK, falling elsewhere
Cases of throat cancer are rising fast in the UK while falling in some European countries, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Gullet or oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer deaths in England and Wales and accounts for more than 6,000 deaths annually.
Over the last twenty years cases have risen by 87 per cent in men and 40 per cent in women but it is not clear why.
Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson (he's had a busy day: http://current.com/items/89103394_young_drivers_to_be_b... highlighted the case of 32-year-old Ben Chandler, a soldier who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan who had problems swallowing and was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. He suffered a major bleed and went into cardiac arrest but survived and is now receiving treatment.
Sir Liam said cases of gullet cancer are 'sky high' in the UK compared to much of Europe. Cases are also high in Japan, China and India.
The causes of gullet cancer include smoking, drinking, lack of fresh fruit and vegetables and gastric reflux which is associated with obesity.
Smoking, drinking and poor diet: often the domain of the young. Are generations destined to be affected by this still-mysterious form of cancer?
Cases of throat cancer are rising fast in the UK while falling in some European countries, reports the Daily Telegraph. ... more -
Young drivers to be banned from drinking?
The legal blood alcohol limit should be reduced to zero for drivers aged 17 to 20, the British government's chief medical officer has said.
Sir Liam Donaldson said that although the measure may prove unpopular, he believed it would reduce road deaths among young people.
In his annual report Sir Liam called for a new focus on the health issues facing teenagers. He highlighted six key factors threatening the well-being of young people: smoking, alcohol and drugs, accidents and violence, diet, physical activity and sexual health.
Transport accidents are the leading cause of death among 16 to 18-year-olds, and in 2005 drivers aged 17-19 had 1,080 drink-drive accidents.
His report pointed out that alcohol use increases the risk of a crash for a young driver two and a half times more than for an older driver.
An effective zero limit for young and novice drivers is in force in 14 European countries, as well as a number of Canadian provinces and Australian states.
Do you think this would be effective? If you're a teenager, would the threat of getting caught behind the wheel with even one drink in your system be enough to stop you from drinking before driving? And if you used to be a teenager, would it have stopped you then?
The legal blood alcohol limit should be reduced to zero for drivers aged 17 to 20, the British government's chief medical officer has ... more -
'Proven': vegetarians live longer
The battle has long been waged, and will certainly continue in spite of this study. Are humans designed/evolved to eat everything and at risk of malnutrition as vegetarians? Or is vegetarianism the healthy and ethical choice? The most impressive data arises from a study of 1904 vegetarians over 21 years by the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsche Krebsforschungszentrum). The study's shocking results: vegetarian men reduced their risk of early death by 50%! Women vegetarians benefit from a 30% reduction in mortality.
Long-term Study of Vegetarians
The participants of the the German Cancer Research Center study included 60 vegans (no animal products consumed), 1165 vegetarians (eating eggs, milk but no meat) with the remainder described as "moderate" vegetarians who occasionally ate fish or meat. The health of these study participants was compared with the average German population. Living longer seems not to be exclusively related to eating meat, though, as the results for moderate vegetarians was not statistically different from those for vegan or strict vegetarian diets.
To the argument that it is not vegetarianism but a general interest in a healthier lifestyle which leads to such notable results, scientists reply with evidence that the majority of vegetarians do not cite health reasons for their lifestyle, but make their choice based on ethical commitment, environmental concerns or simply personal taste.
Vegetarians and Malnutrition
Research by a team led by Professor Ibrahim Elmadfa at the University of Vienna found a much better than average intake of Vitamin C, Carotinoides, Folic acid, fiber and unsaturated fats. Where shortcomings may arise is for Vitamin B12, calcium und Vitamin D in a vegan diet. Astoundingly, however, study participants did not suffer from diseases, such as osteoporosis, typically related to inadequate intakes of these micro-nutrients. The battle has long been waged, and will certainly continue in spite of this study. Are humans designed/evolved to eat everything and ... more -
New discovery: sugary snacks help school children concentrate?
It is a discovery to delight children and horrify parents - sugary drinks and snacks may be a good thing, according to scientists.
Researchers have found that a sugary drink improved primary school pupils’ memories and concentration.
Teachers fear the findings may promote junk food and the results confound suggestions that high-sugar diets cause hyperactivity.
The scientists, however, believe learning would improve through small regular snacks rather than large lunches.
Professor David Benton insisted: “The evidence sugar might cause hyperactivity is non-existent. We have shown it can help memory and concentration.
“Children between the ages of five and ten need twice as much glucose for their brains compared to an adult, but unlike other organs the brain does not store energy so it has to obtain it straight from the blood.
“The message we would like to encourage is that children need to be fed a little and often, but the risk is that they get fed a lot and often leading to problems with obesity."
What do you reach for when you need a pick-me-up? Will this news confuse parents and children about what they should and shouldn't be eating even further? How has it become so difficult to simply follow a balanced diet!?
It is a discovery to delight children and horrify parents - sugary drinks and snacks may be a good thing, according to scientists. ... more -
Inside scoop: the fatty - Omega 3 - skinny habit
My family just ordered a whole box of fish oil supplements, because we don’t get anywhere near the recommended 1,100 mg of Omega 3 fatty acids a day. Many of you probably already have heard Omega 3 bursting through the headlines ... but what is it and how does it help your body and are you getting enough? There are so many benefits to Omega 3 but 99% of us aren’t getting enough. My family just ordered a whole box of fish oil supplements, because we don’t get anywhere near the recommended 1,100 mg of Omega 3 fat... more
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Fat Loss Diets - Why Dieting is a COMPLETE Waste of Time
If a complete stranger gave you advice about intimate details of your life would you believe them?
If a total stranger who happened to be an expert told you to make certain decisions based on facts they couldn't possibly know would you make them?
Every day countless people make these decisions and it ends up wasting their time, and deteriorating their health.
Learn the easy and proven way to create a fat loss diet for yourself. If a complete stranger gave you advice about intimate details of your life would you believe them? ... more -
100 most unhealthy foods in the American diet
Looking for some healthier foods to eat than your usual fare? It may be wise to first figure out what not to eat. Unfortunately, many of the best-tasting foods in America are terrible for us. Whether they are high in calories, fat, sugar, sodium or some other nasty additive, America’s 100 most unhealthy foods.
Some of the foods on this list are obviously unhealthy, though you may be surprised by a few. (It is the stealthy ones that can really get us at times.) Also included - beverages, as well as the worst dishes from popular American chain restaurants, to round out the list.
Common Household Foods
1. Baked Beans
2. Campbell’s Condensed Soups
3. Chicken Pot Pie
4. Hot Dogs
5. Luncheon Meats
6. Ramen Noodles
7. Saltines
8. White Bread
9. White Pasta
10. White Potatoes
Drinks
11. Baskin Robbin’s Large Heath Bar Shake
12. Cocktails
13. Coffee
14. Diet Soda
15. Eggnog
16. "Fruit Juice"
17. "Fruit" Smoothie
18. Irish Coffee
19. Liquor
20. Red Bull
21. Soda
22. Starbucks’ Java Chip Frappuccino
23. Whole Milk
Snacks
24. Chocolate
25. Coffee Cake
26. Cookies
27. Corn Chips
28. Doughnuts
29. French Fries
30. Ice Cream
31. Lunchables
32. Potato Chips
“Health Foods”
33. Bagel and Cream Cheese
34. Bran Muffin\
35. Dried Fruit
36. Fruit Cocktail (canned / syrup)
37. Granola Bars
38. Low-Fat Salad Dressing
39. Margarine
40. Microwave Diet Meals
41. Olive Oil
42. Pasta Salad
43. Pretzels
44. Protein Bars
45. Tuna Fish Sandwich
46. Turkey Burger
47. Yogurt Cups
Condiments
48. Butter
49. Honey Mustard
50. Jellies/Jams/Preserves
51. Ketchup
52. Mayonnaise
53. Sugar
54. Salt
55. Soy Sauce
56. Tartar Sauce
Allergens
57. Dairy Products.
58. Eggs
59. Fish
60. Gluten
61. MSG
62. Peanuts
63. Shellfish
64. Soy
65. Wheat
Applebee’s
66. Grilled Steak Caesar Salad
67. Riblets With Beans, Coleslaw and Fries\
68. Southwest Philly Roll-Up With Salsa\
Burger King
69. Double Whopper
70. Double Whopper With Cheese
71. King Size French Fries
Chili’s Grill & Bar
72. Awesome Blossom
73. Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad
74. Chicken Crispers
75. Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie
Kentucky Fried Chicken
76. Chicken and Biscuit Bowl
77. KFC Original Recipe Chicken
78. Popcorn Chicken
79. Poutine
McDonald’s
80. Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips
81. Chicken McNuggets.
82. Crispy Chicken Club Meal
83. Deluxe Breakfast With Syrup and Margarine
84. Premium Grilled Chicken Meal
On the Border
85. Beef and Chicken Quesadillas
86. Border Sampler
87. Corona Extra Dinner
88. Dos XX Fish Tacos
89. Grande Taco Salad With Taco Beef
90. Stacked Border Nachos
Outback Steakhouse
91. Aussie Cheese Fries
92. Bloomin’ Onion
93. Chocolate Thunder From Down Under
94. Melbourne Porterhouse
Quiznos
95. Classic Italian Sub
96. Tuna Melt
Romano’s Macaroni Grill
97. Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
98. Chicken Portobello
99. Double Macaroni ‘n’ Cheese
100. Spaghetti & Meatballs (With Meat Sauce)
[visit link for detail] Looking for some healthier foods to eat than your usual fare? It may be wise to first figure out what not to eat. Unfortunately, many ... more -
Beijing takes dog off the menu for Olympics
Beijing has asked hotels and restaurants in the city to take dog meat off the menu for the duration of next month's Olympics and September's Paralympics.
Dog is eaten not only by the large Korean community in China's capital but is also popular in Yunnan and Guizhou restaurants.
A directive from the Beijing Food Safety Office issued last month ordered Olympic contractor hotels not to provide any dishes made with dog meat and said any canine material used in traditional medicated diets must be clearly labeled.
Concerned that canine dishes might offend animal rights groups and Western visitors, Beijing said restaurants expected to be popular among foreign visitors must stop serving dog meat "to respect the dining customs of different countries".
The directive "advocated" that all restaurants serving dog suspend it during the Olympics but made no mention of the many popular establishments with donkey on the menu.
Criticism from Westerners caused the dog meat-loving South Koreans to ban canine dishes for a period of time during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Beijing has asked hotels and restaurants in the city to take dog meat off the menu for the duration of next month's Olympics and Septe... more -
Indonesian childrens' growth stunted as food prices rise
The World Food Programme says child malnutrition on the Indonesian island of Lombok has reached 40% in some places, reports the BBC.
Part of the problem here, says the WFP's country director Angela van Rynbach, is not how much children eat, but what they eat.
She says meals here often consist of a disproportionate amount of rice and very few vegetables.
Families are able to grow rich crops of vegetables in the fertile ground - cassava, beans, aubergines, spinach - but they are having to sell their vegetables in order to make ends meet, and to be able to afford to buy rice as prices rise.
"It's more important to buy rice," one mother explained. "It's better for my children to eat more rice, rather than more vegetables. Even if we only have rice, without any vegetables - as long as we have salt - it's OK."
But according to nutritionists, it is not OK. Eating rice and little else, they say, puts children at risk of stunted growth, lower IQ and weaker immune systems.
But rice has an almost mythical status in rural Asia - as food, as livelihood, as a symbol of life itself.
Many people live, and farm - and eat - much as their grandparents did.
But their connection to the global economy is closer now, and as the price of rice goes up, so does the pressure on families to turn more of their vegetables into money rather than food.
The World Food Programme says child malnutrition on the Indonesian island of Lombok has reached 40% in some places, reports the BBC. ... more -
The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1
Food prices are climbing, and some might be looking to fast foods and packaged foods for their cheap bites. But low cost doesn’t have to mean low quality. In fact, some of the most inexpensive things you can buy are the best things for you. Food prices are climbing, and some might be looking to fast foods and packaged foods for their cheap bites. But low cost doesn’t have ... more
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Obesity begins to affect developing countries as levels in China are rising fast
Obesity levels in China are rising fast, with more than a quarter of the adult population overweight or obese, as people add more meat and dairy products to their diet, causing serious health problems, a new study says.
Of all the developing countries, only in Mexico is the rate of increase in becoming overweight among adults faster than in China, the study, published in the July/August issue of the journal Health Affairs, says.
"What's happening in China should be seen as a marker for what is going to hit the rest of the developing world if we fail to act," said study author Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.
"We need to find the right investments and regulations to encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, or we risk facing higher rates of death, disease, and disability and the related costs," he added.
Chinese people now derive a far larger proportion of energy from fat and animal-based foods, such as meat and eggs, compared with in the past, the study found. "The classical Chinese diet -- rich in vegetables and carbohydrates with minimal animal-sourced food -- no longer exists," the study said.
The change in diets and lifestyles, where Chinese less frequently have to engage in physical activity at work, is consequently leading to a rise in cancer and coronary heart disease, the study found.
"Based on fairly conservative assumptions, the total impact of these nutrition-related components of poor diet, inactivity, and obesity on medical costs to treat noncommunicable diseases, labor productivity and national production are very large." Obesity levels in China are rising fast, with more than a quarter of the adult population overweight or obese, as people add more meat... more -
Obesity crisis: doctors back statins for 8-year-olds
Children as young as eight with high cholesterol levels should be put on statins to reduce their risk of heart disease, doctors in the United States have recommended.
The move by the American Academy of Paediatrics has triggered a furore, because there is little long-term data on the risks and benefits of statins in children and, as yet, no evidence that the drugs can prevent heart attacks when they are adults.
But the numbers of obese and overweight children are soaring on both sides of the Atlantic and experts in the UK, who are already treating small numbers of very high risk children with statins, said it was time wider use of the drugs was discussed.
Most doctors agree that the use of statins for some children whose genetic inheritance puts them seriously at risk of death from a heart attack in their 20s or 30s is justified. But the American academy has further pushed back the boundary. It wants cholesterol screening for all children with a family history of high cholesterol or heart disease, for children whose family history is unknown and for those with obesity, high blood pressure or diabetes between the ages of two and 10. If any of those over the age of eight have particularly high cholesterol levels, it says, statins should be considered.
The academy also says that babies in whom obesity or overweight is considered a problem by the age of 12 months should be given reduced-fat milk.
"We are in an epidemic," said Jatinder Bhatia, a member of the academy's nutrition committee, which made the recommendation, and professor and chief of neonatology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. "The risk of giving statins at a lower age is less than the benefit you're going to get out of it."
But a number of doctors in the US expressed strong reservations yesterday about the use of drugs in children whose most urgent need is to get more exercise and eat a more healthy diet. Cathy Ross, a cardiac nurse with the British Heart Foundation, said that it was important to be sure there was a genetic component to the high cholesterol reading. "We should always eliminate other possible reasons, like a child's diet and lack of activity and weight in proportion to their height," she said. Counselling parents on diet and exercise should be tried first. "You don't give an adult statins without implementing lifestyle interventions." Children as young as eight with high cholesterol levels should be put on statins to reduce their risk of heart disease, doctors in the... more -
Eat this chocolate, lose that weight
Nutritionists are reporting that new product Slimmer's Chocolate can help people lose weight, without actually going on a dreaded diet.
Clinical trials have shown that the chocolate - which contains artichoke, guarana, green tea and an emulsifier called lecithin - can help with weight loss, without any change to your lifestyle.
Nutritionist Henrietta Norton explains, "You can't take Slimmer's Chocolate and continue to eat four bags of crisps - you would not potentially lose weight by doing it that way. [But] if you had a healthy diet in the first place - and you were to take the Slimmer's Chocolate on top of that - then yes, I think you would see a reduction in weight even though you haven't necessarily changed your lifestyle."
Now, I happen to have tried this chocolate (although I sent most of it to a colleague to review, as I couldn't be trusted not to eat it all immediately) and it's actually pretty great tasting, though I can't vouch for its weight loss potential... And I wouldn't want to deal with it's post-weight-loss effects (i.e. putting on double what you've lost) either.
But is it all just a gimmick?
Surely regular exercise and a balanced diet (blah blah) are the key to a healthy weight? Can some magic chocolate be a legitimate part of that?
Nutritionists are reporting that new product Slimmer's Chocolate can help people lose weight, without actually going on a dreaded diet... more
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