What happened to Barbara O’Neill?

Barbara O’Neill, a woman who claimed to be able to cure cancer with baking soda and without the use of modern medicine, and who was subsequently discredited for her unsupported medical claims, has seemingly returned to prominence.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people denied that the virus was anything more than a flu. In fact, almost 1 million people lost their lives during the pandemic because they didn’t “believe” in vaccinations, per NPR. One of the most tragic parts of the whole thing was that misinformation traveled faster than sound medical and scientific advice.

With the proliferation of YouTube and X (formally Twitter), many people decided that they were doing their own “research” and that the information coming from official sources was not to be trusted. Even now, in 2024, we have a better understanding of how bots work and how easy it is to spread misinformation. Things like “community notes” on X and disclaimers on Facebook have helped people navigate the sea of incorrect information floating around online.

That wasn’t really a thing in 2020 when, in addition to the rampant denial and false information, people were divided more than ever politically, and scientific advice seemed to come from one side or another specifically to outdo each other.

It was this climate that fueled O’Neill’s re-rise. O’Neill is an Australian alternative medicine influencer who was handed a prohibition order from practicing medicine in 2019, yet she still manages to exist in the fringes, and she’s actually never really gone away. So what were her controversial beliefs?

So what does Barbara O’Neill believe?

Let’s start with her biggest medical cause: cancer. O’Neill would tell cancer patients to forgo chemotherapy because cancer was a “fungus” that could simply be cured with baking soda. She said there was a doctor who treated and cured 90% of his patients with injections of baking soda. Her evidence? She never provided any. She also told her patients that vaccinations were harmful to children, and that “children can be naturally vaccinated against tetanus by drinking plenty of water.” There is no published medical evidence to support this claim.

What about antibiotics? According to O’Neill, they cause cancer. Ironically, why would that be an issue for her if cancer is simply a fungus that needs baking soda? She also told women to substitute breast milk with unpasteurized goat milk. This can be deadly to infants.

How on earth did she build a career on this nonsense, and does she still have one?

O’Neill, by the way, built up quite a name for herself with her medically unsubstantiated claims. She gave lectures around the world, wrote books, and appeared in scores of YouTube videos that people would use as “research” instead of listening to medical health professionals.

The New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) banned O’Neill from practicing for life toward the end of 2019. The medical watchdog organization found that “O’Neill does not recognise that she is misleading vulnerable people including mothers and cancer sufferers by providing very selective information.”

An investigation by the HCCC also found that she’s never had any sort of membership with any accredited professional medical organization, and never received any degrees or diplomas. In other words, she’s a fraud. The investigation also found that she never kept records of patient visits and did not treat her “patients” in a manner deemed safe or ethical. In fact, she posed a great health risk to the public, the HCCC said.

When questioned by the commission, O’Neill admitted that she based her medical advice on her own personal experiences. In terms of treating infants, she said she never read the “National Health and Medical Research Council’s infant feeding guidelines,” which clearly state the dangers unpasteurized liquids pose to infants.

This is just a slight taste of her views and advice to people.

So what’s she up to now?

Still, O’Neill lingers around corners of the internet continuing to give advice, and people seem to always gravitate toward that. As recently as April of this year, her so-called “diet” continues to be something people seem interested in learning more about. Books about her controversial methods, like Barbara O’Neill Natural Herbal Remedies Complete Collection: The Ultimate Guide to Knowing ALL of Dr. Barbara O’Neill’s Studies and the Non-Toxic Lifestyle, are best sellers on Amazon. There are glowing reviews of her methods.

She still does interviews, like this one from March 12, 2024. She’s still finding a way to spread her dangerous beliefs, and even more concerning, they’re still getting a lot of traction. Her website is still very active, only now she calls herself “teacher” and not a healer, and definitely not a doctor. Where did O’Neill go? She never really left.