Guest post by Ken McLeod
Readers will have no trouble recalling that crank ‘naturopath’ Barbara O’Neill has graced these pages several times. She is subject to a Permanent Prohibition Order by the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission. It goes like this:
“The Commission is satisfied that Mrs O’Neill poses a risk to the health and safety of members of the public and therefore makes the following prohibition order:
“Mrs O’Neill is permanently prohibited from providing any health services, as defined in s4 Of the Health Care Complaints Act 1993, whether in a paid or voluntary capacity.’ 1
Evidently Ms O’Neill has scrambled her chakras or muddled her meridians because she continues to forget the Order. For example;
O’Neill did a video interview concerning the Prohibition Order and that has been posted online at YouTube.2 The video was posted ‘1 year ago,’ has had 323,000 views and had 1,598 comments. She goes into great detail what she regards as the appalling treatment at the hands of the HCCC.
In the video she admits that she has continued to travel the world spreading her lies and misrepresentations. Some of the lies are that she is a naturopath, and was a nurse, and ‘I used to work in the Operating Theatre as a psychiatric nurse….’
In the video at 53:20 in the video she refers to an aboriginal man ‘Dan’ who works at her Misty Mountain Lifestyle Retreat, (note the present tense), who is in his 50s was obese and recently had a heart attack, ‘was on a lot of medications,’ ‘was a bit scared of coming off medications,’ ‘I said Dan, I think it’s time to stop your blood pressure medications, you’re going too low, you’re a 100 over 60,’ ‘three days later his blood pressure was 100 over 75,….’ 3
Call me a cynic, but that strikes me as rather dangerous advice, worthy of an investigation by the HCCC. Meanwhile, there is no sign of ‘Dan ‘ in Misty Mountain’s ‘About page.’ Dan’s brother Dave appears, but no Dan.4 Could it be that O’Neill’s advice led to some incapacity? Tips are welcome.
Meanwhile, readers could learn much more about Barbara O’Neill at Wikipedia.5
This article first appeared in the June issue of the Australian Skeptic Magazine,6 reprinted with kind permission.
REFERENCES
1 https://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au/decisions-orders/public-statements-and-warnings/public-statement-and-statement-of-decision-in-relation-to-in-relation-to-mrs-barbara-o-neill
2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsbK5TLdAPo
3 This was dangerous and reckless advice. The full transcript is here
4 https://www.mmh.com.au/our-story
5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_O%27Neill
6 https://www.skeptics.com.au/magazine/
67 Responses to BARBARA O’NEILL – an update
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I’ve tried to watch some of her videos. They are such a muddle of nonsense. She seems to think that water is an element, that psoriasis is the adult version of childhood eczema, and that sodium chloride contains unequal numbers of sodium and chlorine ions…..
Earth, water, air and fire
The 4 elements
None of those four is an element.
Gold is an element. Carbon is an element. Oxygen is an element. Lead is an element. Sulphur is an element. Chlorine is an element. And so on (see the Periodic Table of Elements).
I don’t think I would be entrusting my health to an alchemist any time soon. Or, going further back, to Empedocles.
Karen’s gone quiet.
yes, I know; and the moon is made of cheddar cheese.
Nonsense is your ignorant mind..
Yet another example of a supporter of Mrs O’Neill just being terribly rude instead of addressing politely expressed concerns. That makes 100% of her ‘supporters’ being rude, in this Blog.
Do you think, then, Mr Medeiros, that 1) H2O is an element, 2) Psoriasis is the adult version of childhood eczema and 3) NaCl contains unequal numbers of Na and Cl ions?
Ah I see you are shooting the messenger. What are you afraid of the TRUTH?!
I don’t quite understand what you’re getting at, Amanda?
Are you saying it’s true that water is an element, and sodium chloride contains unequal numbers of sodium and chlorine ions?
Amanda’s gone quiet.
You are bunch of out dated old dinosaurs. Part of the corrupt white coat mafia. Totally driven by the big pharmaceutical companies & so narrow minded & arrogant that you feel the entire Indian subcontinent and 1.1 billion crackpots!
As laughable as the flat earth society and climate deniers.
why do you insist on making a fool of yourself?
I can’t readily find out what age Barbara O’Neill is, but I suspect she is older than I. She and I have exactly the same medical qualifications – none whatever.
But I don’t run a ‘health retreat’ and take loads of money from people for attending. And I don’t tell people that water is an element and that sodium chloride has unequal numbers of sodium and chlorine ions.
Lisa, don’t you feel that you might be outrageously generalising, and aren’t you concerned that you sound arrogant and patronising?
I have no connection with any health profession or pharmaceutical company. The only times I wore a white coat were when I sold fish in the early 1980s, and when I taught photographic processing in the 1990s.
You have made some strong claims, Lisa. Might I respectfully remind you of the red banner at the top of the blog, and ask you to support your claims with evidence?
Or apologise and withdraw your claims.
You cannot, surely, imagine that the terms in which you have expressed yourself here can add any credence whatever to Barbara O’Neill. Quite the reverse. Quite the reverse.
Lisa’s gone quiet.
What do you mean by “white coat mafia” [sic]? Are you denying that the pharmaceutical industry has contributed to a doubling of the average life expectancy over (approximately) the last 200 years?
I am afraid that Amanda and Lisa are the Blog equivalent of the naughty child who shouts something rude into a room full of people and runs away.
You have an alphabet after your name
But you referenced Wikipedia?? Instantly lost any credibility. My teenager knows better than to believe anything on shitopedia.
rather than making a stupid comment, you should point out where the referenced Wiki page is incorrect.
Aj, how very rude! And absurd.
Aj’s gone quiet.
If you do not trust Wikipedia, maybe you trust the references linked in the article? I count 14. But that would require additional research, which would certainly be too much for you.
Based on the tiny sample in here, of Amanda, Lisa and Aj, we see that supporters of Barbara O’Neill seem to be terribly bad-mannered.
They do not address the concerns others have expressed about Barbara O’Neill’s activities. They prefer instead to simply write brief insults.
They do not seem to see that this does not assuage anyone’s concerns in the slightest, and in fact only adds to them.
I have to admit I’ve been intrigued by her videos, she kept coming up into my instagram feed and the solutions she mentioned seemed miraculous and definitely not mainstream.
A few days ago I saw her yet again with her name this time, I Googled her and saw she was not qualified whatsoever and considered and dangerous and a scam. I repeated that in a comment for people to know on instagram. Oh the hate I got in reply… comments keep flowing, similar to what you’re getting here… good luck David
The point of the matter is to reference how many did not benefit from her treatments. It’s a common knowledge that big pharma exploits people and situations in the name of few good that they may have done. They are definitely not saints.
Rose, I am afraid it is impossible to do that.
Mrs O’Neill apparently keeps no records of treatments and/or clinical outcomes, so it is impossible to say whose health condition has been helped or harmed by her.
And with respect, I do not think that what you say is “the point of the matter” really is.
The point of the matter is that a woman with no health or medical qualifications whatever sets herself up to give medical advice that is manifestly absurd and sometimes dangerous. Further, she is closely associated (by marriage) with a ‘health retreat’ that takes goodly sums of money from people seeking health treatments, and no records are kept of treatments or clinical outcomes.
Rose has gone quiet.
If anyone has an incredible abuse of non record keeping, it would be the current medical establishment concerning the COVID “vaccines” this should be the outrage of the century. Follow the money on that one.
does TLC stand for ‘totally lunatic comment’?
TLC this Blog is about ‘alternative’ and/or ‘complementary’ treatments. If you have concerns about any orthodox medical treatment (though what you say about COVID vaccines sounds like nonsense to me) there are other channels through which your concerns can be reported.
The fact remains that Mrs O’Neill has no health/medical qualifications, yet makes money out of giving lectures on medicine and health (which appear to make little sense and to contain much falsehood) and that the Misty Mountain ‘health retreat’ with which she is closely associated takes goodly sums of money from people and apparently keeps no medical records.
Incidentally, I can go online and look up, and print out, the National Health Service record of my COVID, Winter Flu, and other vaccinations.
TLC’s gone quiet.
I trust her more then I trust any oncologist trying to force people into chemo and destroying their bodies through big pharma drugs. They discredit her because they do not want to lose any money lost due to the death of patients. Evidence is provided by the patience’s death and the fat pocket books of the doctors and Big Pharma.
@DS
Then I really hope that you will never develop cancer, because those big pharma drugs are actually what significantly increased overall cancer survival rates in the past half-century, NOT the useless quackery peddled by Mrs. O’Niell.
For instance childhood leukaemia was an almost certain death sentence around 1970. Nowadays, over 90% of patients survive.
Also, oncologists don’t ‘force’ people into chemotherapy. They advise it when it can help patients survive, or at least live longer. Oncologists could be considered criminally negligent when they would not offer this increased chance of survival to their patients – something that you appear to suggest.
Well, there you are: as you can see above, people nowadays have a greatly increased chance to survive cancer – that is, when they trust their oncologists, not some uneducated SCAM artists such as Mrs. O’Neill.
DS, are you certain that your comments are quite rational?
Are you really saying that if you are unwell, you would sooner go to Barbara O’Neill for diagnosis and treatment than to a qualified doctor?
How does she diagnose glioblastoma?
“Are you really saying that if you are unwell, you would sooner go to Barbara O’Neill for diagnosis and treatment than to a qualified doctor? ”
for some, it might depend on the type of cancer, and the stage of the cancer.
Yes but if I am understanding correctly, DS would be looking to get that initial diagnosis, including type and stage, from Barbara O’Neill and not from a doctor? That seems to be what DS is recommending.
I don’t see how Barbara O’Neill would be able to make a diagnosis of cancer, including type and stage…..
DS has gone quiet.
So far, all of those in here who posted apparently in support of Barbara O’Neill, have been rude, and have presented no evidence nor responded to polite concerns.
Amanda, Lisa, Aj, TLC and DS (and perhaps Karen Ferreira with a strange comment about elements?) you are certainly giving a clear impression of what supporters of Mrs O’Neill are like.
I’ve researched health and wellness with great tenacity for almost 15 years now. And it is a subject no different than any other with respect to the amount of subjectivity despite the overwhelming objectivity. Far too many people nitpick, infer, convolute facts and opinions to the point of detriment for the honest person seeking true knowledge. The disappointment of this is that you all, and I mean ALL spend too much of your valuable time arguing and bickering over who’s correct and what method should be used for ‘cures’. Complete nonsense. There is an abundance of hard and fast evidence glaring at each and every one of us, each and every day. I’m taken aback by the fact that not a single person in any forum that I’ve explored for years now has mentioned what I am about to mention. Probably the greatest medical advice ever given was done so by someone with very limited formal education. Self taught. Certainly never came close to attaining a degree in Medicine, nor Chemistry or Biology. Has anyone guessed yet? He is best known as a founding father. Inventor. Scientist. Yes folks. Benjamin Franklin. And surrounded by the multitude of his accomplishments lies the greatest worlds he ever coined. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Now when is the last time ANY of you visited a formally educated physician, surgeon of ANY capacity that told you that?! I’m not saying not one single physician nowadays does. But I am confident it is barely even a minority. When is the last time you felt that your doctor was honoring the legacy of Hippocrates and not Big Pharma? Yeah. Right. Back to the point. You can all argue until you are blue. Or dead. You can all support the mindless and hopeless pouring of billions of dollars into “curing’ cancer and other diseases. The exploitation and blatant misuse of synthetic drugs and penicillin. But none of you can deny the fact that if true effort was directed toward “prevention” than “treatment”, we would all be healthier, happier and richer. Now I cannot end this post without offering up “proof” as the forum rules state. So here it is. Drs Caldwell Esselstyn and T Colin Campbell. That’s enough. Oh there’s plenty more! But there is more than enough peer reviewed, certified and written/filed research and hard scientific evidence from them both that should have changed the world as we Americans know it for forever. And for some of us it has. They spent their lives proving the Meat and Dairy wrong wrong wrong. And the USDA has been complicit in brainwashing and outright criminally misleading the American Public about it all. Campbell and his team/s proved beyond a a shadow of a doubt that animal protein and the lack of can turn on/off certain cancer. That dairy actually CAUSES osteoporosis, not prevents. Esselstyn has proven beyond a shadow of doubt that heart disease is preventable AND reversible! Don’t ask for anything further from me. You can do your own damn research into them and find their studies. After all, they only spent their lives at Cornell, Cleveland Clinic, Yale, U of G and Oxford. Esselsttn is an Olympic gold medalist. The evidence is there. But the key is actually living and eating like they recommend. Not like the suggestion of USDA, AHA, AMA, WHO or McDonalds, Wendy’s and Chil-Fil-A And thats the root of the problem. People have been lied to. Misled. Manipulated. And many are too lazy to even care. Preparing a wholesome meal for the family has become a “burden” and “unappealing” for so many. It’s a choice. And all choices have consequences. There will never be a magic pill or cure
For poor decision making. It’s far better to make the correct choice the first time.
I’ve found the following to be extraordinarily useful:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragraph
We have here and Alexander Strande in the archive since 2019.
Banned naturopaths A.Strande and Barbara O’Neill still advertising their service
https://www.allaxys.com/~kanzlerzwo/index.php?topic=11198
David, you mention that you have carried out tenacious research over a fifteen-year period. Has it been published anywhere?
lol. No, I am a layman, not a medical professional. I don’t publish anything. The only reason you would ask me that question is you must have misunderstood what I mean by tenacious. It means I have extensively researched medical journals. Read books. Read Physician and Research Scientist publications. USDA and FDA publications. Read the posts from Many other forums such as this one pertaining to Health and Wellness. So I base my statements on what I have gathered from all that research.
I don’t think I misunderstood what you mean by tenacious, unless you intend it to mean something other than the normal English-language meaning, derived from Latin and meaning, essentially, deliberately holding on. Did you mean something different?
Since this thread is about Barbara O’Neill, perhaps you would share any conclusion specifically about her that has arisen from your research? I’m not aware that she’s had anything published in any reputable medical publication…..
No, no I didn’t mean it any other way. Tenacious means “
a
: persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired
a tenacious advocate of civil rights
tenacious negotiators
b
: RETENTIVE
a tenacious memory
Thus I simply used it to state I haven’t just periodically browsed some stuff here and there on Google and Wiki and based my opinion on that. Is this clear enough for you???
“research”
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
David, I am not too sure about the meaning of this sentence: “And it is a subject no different than any other with respect to the amount of subjectivity despite the overwhelming objectivity.”
Firstly, it should say “different from”, not “different than”. It’s a common error, but that doesn’t make it OK. (See comments by retired oncology consultant Dr. J. Money-Kyrle elsewhere in this Blog).
Could you clarify what you mean by “the amount of subjectivity”, when you say that objectivity is overwhelming?
With regard to medically qualified persons explaining and advocating preventive measures, I cannot speak for the USA, where I have never required medical treatment, but I can say that in the UK it’s my experience that qualified health professionals are ALL strongly interested in, and strongly advocate, preventive measures, including diet and lifestyle factors.
Respecting the proffering of subjective opinions, it is worth repeating, I think, that Mrs Barbara O’Neill apparently possesses no medical, nursing, or other health qualifications whatever.
And please, if you are able to take time to respond, may I appeal to you to pay heed to (or ‘tak tent o’, as we say in Scots) the Wikipedia article linked by Pete Attkins above.
Jesus H man. Are you serious? Are you really that scrutinizing that you need clarification to that level? How can you not understand overwhelming objectivity and amount of subjectivity? It means there are a lot of people being subjective i.e. using personal feelings/opinion about topics that have a lot of objectivity, i.e. factual data to support a clear definition/result, not opinion. And “different from vs than?” Really? Anyone with half a brain knows exactly what this means even if it is not grammatically correct. This kind of scrutiny is mindless and only serves to bog down the overall message.
Profanity is surely unnecessary. It degrades your writing.
“Different than” is a common error, as I mentioned, and its use detracts from your credibility.
You appear to be saying that there is too much subjectivity even though objectivity is overwhelming, and I don’t understand what point you want to make.
In this thread about Barbara O’Neill, what have your researches uncovered specific to her, that you’d like to share here?
What profanity?!
Seriously. This forum is a joke. I had no idea it was moderated by such an idiot. Post that up your ass you fucking numbskull.
THANK YOU
https://edzardernst.com/2012/12/ad-hominem-attacks-are-signs-of-victories-of-reason-over-unreason/
Another name to add to the list in this thread of Amanda, Lisa, Aj, TLC and DS, in support of the view that supporters of Barbara O’Neill are all very rude.
Bots or socks d’you think?
Could they be Bots? I dunno… Not sure what “socks” means?
Whatever or whoever they might be, they’re certainly doing Mrs O’Neill no favours…….
“Socks” = sockpuppet accounts – anonymous accounts set up by the same person for the purpose of trolling, harassment or stalking. The late and entirely unmissed Sandra Hermann Courtney used them a lot on Twitter but they were very easy to spot because her particular brand of stupidity was particularly easy to spot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock_puppet_account
socks = sock puppets
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock_puppet_account
Third possibility: This is a circle of Barabara O’Neill’s supporters who have colluded and are now gradually trolling here.
@RPGNo1, thank you for the clarification! Somehow the terms “socks”, meaning “sock puppets” had escaped me.
Whatever the origins of these posts apparently seeking to support Mrs O’Neill, the comprehensively rude tone of ALL of them is an interesting phenomenon in its own right.
No answers, just insults. If this is intended to bolster respect and support for Mrs O’Neill, it is a signal failure.
On the evidence presented in this Blog, Mrs O’Neill’s supporters are all very unpleasant people, and evidently unable to engage with the simplest of questions and concerns about her assertions and methods.
Lenny, sorry I missed your response/explanation there. Thank you. My comments to RPGNo1 apply!
‘Dan’ didn’t work at the retreat, he stayed there though and went back home much healthier and fitter, and full of gratitude for the support given to regain his health.
How do you know what happened to Dan?
“Truth” has gone quiet.
Fortunately, truth has not gone quiet…..
An update, again. Fact checkers confirm that Barbara O’Neill does not know what she is talking about.
https://www.logicallyfacts.com/en/fact-check/false-barbara-o-neill-falsely-claims-that-statins-increase-risk-of-heart-disease
No doubt Karen, Marcelo, Amanda, Lisa, Aj, Rose, TLC, DS, John, David and Truth, who have all been so generous in this Thread with copious well-considered evidence-based explanations, will be eager to clarify this matter here.
Their bounteous giving of their time to that end will be much appreciated.
My observations: It’s disappointing to witness people here failing to find harmony and instead engaging in ego-driven clashes. Some remarks, like ‘Diane has gone quiet,’ are said with a hint of triumph, as if claiming victory in a debate. But it appears to be nothing more than an attempt to dominate the narrative and shape the reader’s perception. Perhaps some individuals simply choose not to return to this website due to the presence of toxic individuals trying to exert control.
Not triumph, but sadness, Trader E9.
I hope I at all times express myself politely in this Blog, as elsewhere in life. But several people have come in here and said very rude, insulting hurtful things, without presenting any evidence, which the red banner clearly requests. Nor have they subsequently engaged with any of the concerns expressed in response. If they consider themselves supporters of Mrs O’Neill, then they are a very bad advertisement for her.
As I have suggested, it seems akin to a naughty child shouting something rude into a room full of people, and running away.
Where can the youtube video be seen ? Do you have the link ?? Is it still posted ??
If you do a search on YouTube for “Barbara O’Neill” you will find loads of videos and short reels. On X (formerly Twitter) she styles herself “Dr”, with the username @DrBarbaraONeill – “Explore and share health, natural, beauty, and food tips from the renowned Dr. Barbara O’Neill”
Individuals can form their own views on the ethics of someone with no medical qualifications whatever styling herself “Dr” in a context where she is commenting on health matters. It costs a fair bit to attend the Misty Mountain retreat run by her husband, where apparently no clinical records are kept.
Are these the marks of renowned medical practice, or of arrant irresponsible charlatanry?