A mother of five died after drinking too much water three weeks after she had begun a water-based diet in an attempt to lose weight, an inquest was told.

Jacqueline Henson, 40, was determined to slim down from 14st (89kg) and was “over the moon” after losing nearly 12lb (5.4kg) in one week after starting the LighterLife diet plan, Huddersfield Coroner’s Court was told yesterday.

The LighterLife diet, which has been linked with water poisoning, hair loss and disrupting the menstrual cycle, suggests that only 530 calories should be consumed a day – a quarter of a woman’s recommended daily intake – for a period of 12 weeks, and drinking four litres of water per day.

Mrs Henson drank four litres of water in less than two hours on November 14, which caused her brain to swell. She collapsed in the bathroom of her home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and was pronounced dead the next day. Her husband, Brian, 40, said that he was devastated, and told the inquest how she had been “over the moon at losing weight”. He said: “The more water she drank, the more weight she would lose.”

Mrs Henson had arrived home at 5pm and had drunk two large bottles of water before settling in front of the television, drinking from a pint glass of water she had poured herself.

Mr Henson said: “At 11pm she stood up and said her stomach was solid. She was walking across the room and was sick.

“At 11.15pm she said she had a headache and went upstairs to the toilet. My 18-year-old daughter Chantelle went upstairs and I heard her saying, ‘Mum, mum’. I knew something was wrong. Her eyes were closed and she didn’t appear to be breathing.”

Joanna Neville, of LighterLife, was asked by the coroner, Roger Whittaker, about the potentially dangerous regime, but she explained that the diet, which is aimed at people who are 3st or more overweight, recommended drinking four litres of water over the course of a day in small amounts.

Asked if the company conveyed that message to dieters, Ms Neville said: “We are doing that quite clearly and will continue to do so.”

The court was told that on October 18 Mrs Henson had visited her GP, who had given her a check-up before allowing her to go on the diet.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, the coroner said: “No one should drink water in the quantity that Mrs Henson did over that short a period. Little and often.”

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends that very low-calorie diets should be followed for a maximum of 12 weeks, and states that any diet of less than 600 calories should be used only under medical supervision.

LighterLife, which has an annual turnover of £18 million and charges £66 per week for its specially tailored “food packs”, claims to have helped 60,000 people to lose weight, despite the controversy surrounding its recommendations.

The diet sets a target of losing 3st over 14 weeks. A spokesman for LighterLife said: “Our programme gives clear guidance that water should be consumed regularly over the course of the day, and the coroner confirmed the events were a tragic accident.”

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