By . Claire Ellicott . UPDATED: . 01:38 EST, 2 August 2011 . When Elsie Campbell began having cravings for lettuce, she thought it was a passing fancy. Even when it became an obsession that saw her eating four whole lettuces a day, she still tried to shrug it off  as harmless. Luckily for Mrs Campbell, her husband Jim, a research scientist, suspected there might be something more to it. Jim Campbell realised his wife's sudden love of lettuce could be her body's way of signalling she was suffering from a more serious health problem . He worked out that lettuce contains a . particular nutrient that is lacking in breast cancer sufferers and that . his wife’s urge to eat so much of it could mean she was suffering from . the disease. After a visit to her doctor, the . mother of three was diagnosed with breast cancer, but has now made a . full recovery thanks to the early diagnosis. She credits her husband’s . quick-thinking for saving her life. ‘I woke up one day and suddenly fancied some lettuce,’ said Mrs Campbell, a 59-year-old accounts assistant. ‘I’d always eaten it in salads, but . suddenly, I just couldn’t get enough of it. I could eat three or four . whole lettuces a day. I’d eat a whole iceberg lettuce at work, and sit . on the bus on the way home thinking about eating more and more. ‘I’d get home and cut one into chunks and eat it like a watermelon. ‘I knew something wasn’t quite right – and my husband and my sons started to get quite worried about me. ‘Jim started investigating which . nutrients and minerals were found in lettuce – and realised they  were . the same ones that your body can be deprived of when it is fighting . cancer.’ Mrs Campbell, from Derby, added: ‘Not . long afterwards, I discovered a small dimple on my breast – and my . doctor confirmed I had  breast cancer. ‘It’s only now that I realise my body . was making me eat lettuce to combat the cancer. It was like my body was . trying to cure itself.’ Mr Campbell has now created a website, . questionmyhealth.com, that he says can help identify if users are . suffering from a nutrient deficiency caused by something more serious. The website asks users to answer a . series of questions about themselves – such as whether they have white . spots on their fingernails, whether they have a high libido, or whether . they crave Marmite. It then analyses the answers and warns of any . minerals or vitamins the user may be deficient in – and what that  could . mean. Elsie Campbell, 59, developed a sudden inexplicable craving for lettuce. Her husband realised she could be deficient in sulforaphane . The scientist, who has also written a . book on nutrient deficiencies, hopes the site will help others spot . potential diseases and cancers while they are still in the early stages. Mr Campbell said: ‘Some chronic . diseases, like diabetes and Alzheimer’s, can take 20 years to develop, . but your body can give you a clue to what you are dealing with early on . if you know what to look for.’ He added: ‘As a scientist, I know that . everything has to have a cause and effect. Elsie didn’t start eating . lettuce for no reason, so I started to do some research in which . minerals and vitamins are found in it. ‘I discovered lettuce, like a lot of . green veg, contains sulforaphane – which can attack cancer cells. I . wondered if that was the reason why her body was craving it and . suggested that Elsie visited the doctor. ‘Coincidentally, she discovered the . small dimple on her breast the same day. We were devastated when the . doctors told us she had cancer – but relieved that they managed to catch . it so early. ‘Her lettuce cravings really were a . warning sign – if she hadn’t suspected something was wrong, she would . have probably never found the dimple, or certainly would not have been . so concerned about it.’ Mrs Campbell, whose lettuce craving began in 2004, was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2005. She had the small lump removed from her breast and had months of treatment but has now been given the all-clear. She added: ‘Strangely, since the lump . was removed, I haven’t wanted to eat a single lettuce leaf – the . craving’s completely vanished. ‘I was so lucky Jim spotted the signs when he did – my lettuce addiction probably saved my life.’
Scientist husband realised his wife's craving could be a sign she was fighting a serious illness .
Elsie Campbell ate up to four whole lettuces a day .
By . Claire Ellicott . UPDATED: . 01:38 EST, 2 August 2011 . When Elsie Campbell began having cravings for lettuce, she thought it was a passing fancy. Even when it became an obsession that saw her eating four whole lettuces a day, she still tried to shrug it off  as harmless. Luckily for Mrs Campbell, her husband Jim, a research scientist, suspected there might be something more to it. Jim Campbell realised his wife's sudden love of lettuce could be her body's way of signalling she was suffering from a more serious health problem . He worked out that lettuce contains a . particular nutrient that is lacking in breast cancer sufferers and that . his wife’s urge to eat so much of it could mean she was suffering from . the disease. After a visit to her doctor, the . mother of three was diagnosed with breast cancer, but has now made a . full recovery thanks to the early diagnosis. She credits her husband’s . quick-thinking for saving her life. ‘I woke up one day and suddenly fancied some lettuce,’ said Mrs Campbell, a 59-year-old accounts assistant. ‘I’d always eaten it in salads, but . suddenly, I just couldn’t get enough of it. I could eat three or four . whole lettuces a day. I’d eat a whole iceberg lettuce at work, and sit . on the bus on the way home thinking about eating more and more. ‘I’d get home and cut one into chunks and eat it like a watermelon. ‘I knew something wasn’t quite right – and my husband and my sons started to get quite worried about me. ‘Jim started investigating which . nutrients and minerals were found in lettuce – and realised they  were . the same ones that your body can be deprived of when it is fighting . cancer.’ Mrs Campbell, from Derby, added: ‘Not . long afterwards, I discovered a small dimple on my breast – and my . doctor confirmed I had  breast cancer. ‘It’s only now that I realise my body . was making me eat lettuce to combat the cancer. It was like my body was . trying to cure itself.’ Mr Campbell has now created a website, . questionmyhealth.com, that he says can help identify if users are . suffering from a nutrient deficiency caused by something more serious. The website asks users to answer a . series of questions about themselves – such as whether they have white . spots on their fingernails, whether they have a high libido, or whether . they crave Marmite. It then analyses the answers and warns of any . minerals or vitamins the user may be deficient in – and what that  could . mean. Elsie Campbell, 59, developed a sudden inexplicable craving for lettuce. Her husband realised she could be deficient in sulforaphane . The scientist, who has also written a . book on nutrient deficiencies, hopes the site will help others spot . potential diseases and cancers while they are still in the early stages. Mr Campbell said: ‘Some chronic . diseases, like diabetes and Alzheimer’s, can take 20 years to develop, . but your body can give you a clue to what you are dealing with early on . if you know what to look for.’ He added: ‘As a scientist, I know that . everything has to have a cause and effect. Elsie didn’t start eating . lettuce for no reason, so I started to do some research in which . minerals and vitamins are found in it. ‘I discovered lettuce, like a lot of . green veg, contains sulforaphane – which can attack cancer cells. I . wondered if that was the reason why her body was craving it and . suggested that Elsie visited the doctor. ‘Coincidentally, she discovered the . small dimple on her breast the same day. We were devastated when the . doctors told us she had cancer – but relieved that they managed to catch . it so early. ‘Her lettuce cravings really were a . warning sign – if she hadn’t suspected something was wrong, she would . have probably never found the dimple, or certainly would not have been . so concerned about it.’ Mrs Campbell, whose lettuce craving began in 2004, was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2005. She had the small lump removed from her breast and had months of treatment but has now been given the all-clear. She added: ‘Strangely, since the lump . was removed, I haven’t wanted to eat a single lettuce leaf – the . craving’s completely vanished. ‘I was so lucky Jim spotted the signs when he did – my lettuce addiction probably saved my life.’
that saw her eating four whole lettuces a day, something more to it. Jim Campbell realised his husband realised she could be deficient in