A Week With Barbara O'Neill in Phuket - June 2026

Self-healing prophet takes the world by storm

I travelled to Phuket to meet Barbara O’Neill to see how she is transforming the lives of millions with her natural approach to health.  

Tiny in stature, Barbara O’Neill is a giant in natural health. Banned from Australia, this self-healing prophet is in high demand as a public speaker worldwide – preaching about the body’s power for self-healing.

Barbara is not your typical influencer. Now in her early 70’s, she is introverted and shy, preferring to be in the background. But her common sense approach to nutrition and natural healing has catapulted her to the limelight. Overnight, she became a worldwide authority– attracting a growing number of devotees.

Author, nutritionist, naturopath and influencer, Barbara is often seen on social media, lecturing about natural remedies or the dangers of modern medicine. Even without an official YouTube channel, videos of her lectures and presentations have gone viral on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where she gained millions of new viewers globally. She is also seen on independent channels, fan pages and podcast uploads.

Barbara’s rise to world-wide fame came unexpectedly. For twenty years, she was busy raising eight children, while running a lifestyle retreat in Australia with her husband Michael. At her retreat, she was giving daily health lectures and treating clients with natural remedies.

In 2019, Barbara came under investigation by the Australian health watchdog, who considered her a threat to public health. She was banned from practicing in Australia because of her alternative views on health.

Barbara’s popularity quickly surged when she went overseas. She began lecturing in the US – but when her talks were posted online, they became viral and she instantly gained an international audience of millions overnight. She is now in demand as a public speaker - holding seminars and workshops to sold out audiences across the world.

Her popularity came to the attention of the royal family in Saudi Arabia, who invited her to dinner one night. Barbara politely declined because it was too late in the evening (Barbara eats dinner at 5:30pm and is in bed by 9pm). The Royal family was not dissuaded - another invitation was sent for an early dinner, which Barbara gladly accepted. Not even royalty can alter Barbara’s lifestyle habits.

I wanted to meet Barbara in person and do her week-long retreat at the Meridien Hotel in Phuket. I met Barbara in the hotel lobby on our first day in Phuket.  She was with her husband Michael. We walked together to the dining room, where 40 other retreat guests were waiting for her.

During dinner, I asked Barbara who was the most interesting person she had met in her travels. Her answer took me by surprise. Thinking she would tell us about her invitation to dinner by Saudi royalty or her encounters with celebrities, she told the story of how she once met an unassuming woman, who had healed herself through diet alone. The woman ate only steamed vegetables for a week, gradually introducing one new food each week, until she found the cause of her digestion problems. Barbara was impressed with how this woman had healed herself through diet - by simply listening to her body.

The next day, Barbara used the same story in her lecture to demonstrate the importance of listening to our bodies.

“If you give your body the right conditions for healing, you will heal. Conventional drugs don’t address the cause of illness. They only mask the symptoms and can have nasty side effects.”

Barbara is a marvel to watch. She breaks down the functions of the human anatomy and the cause of disease in ways most people can easily understand. Her lectures focus on the body’s inherent ability to heal itself.

Barbara emphasises the importance of following the eight laws of health:  sunshine, air, nutrition, exercise, temperance(abstinence), water, rest and trust in God.  These principles of health are outlined in her book Sustain Me.

As a Seven Day Adventist, Barbara believes that a plant-based diet promotes longer life. She cites studies of the blue zones, the world’s longest-lived people, including the Sardinians, Okinawans (an indigenous ethnic group from Japan) and the Seven Day Adventists, who eat mostly plant-based diets. An active lifestyle and strong community are other contributing factors that add to a long lifespan.

Barbara predominately eats a vegan diet - free of processed foods, dairy and sugar.

“Carnivore diets are too acidic for the body – whereas plant foods are mostly alkaline. A rule of thumb is to consume 80% alkaline to 20% acidic.”

Food allergies can also cause inflammation. The big five allergens are wheat, sugar, dairy, oats and peanuts. Lectins found in improperly cooked legumes, grains and night shade vegetables can also increase inflammation in sensitive people.

Exposure to mould and chemicals, hormonal imbalance, dehydration and a negative mental state are other factors that increase inflammation in the body.

 “Bacteria and viruses are not the root cause of illness. Microbes exist everywhere all the time, but you get sick when your body’s internal environment is toxic or stressed.” 

Microbiome in the gut is the body’s key defence against disease. Gut flora is responsible for the absorption of nutrients into your blood. Gut flora also has a vital role in hormone production- specifically melatonin - essential for healing and sleep.

Heavy antibiotic use disrupts the microbiome balance in the gut -killing ‘friendly’ flora and weakening the body’s natural immune defence system.

Harmful pathogens like bacteria and fungus can be targeted with natural antibiotics like oregano oil, which protects your ‘friendly’ flora. Alternate oregano oil with other natural remedies- like garlic, olive leaf extract or grapefruit seed extract- every one or two weeks to stop microorganisms from adapting.

Cultured foods - like sauerkraut, miso, unsweetened coconut yogurt and sourdough bread - are natural probiotics that help nourish the gut and support the healthy lining of your gastrointestinal tract, protecting your blood from harmful pathogens. If you have a histamine reaction to cultured foods, stop eating allergen foods like dairy and wheat until your system has settled. Gradually introduce cultured foods in small amounts, like a teaspoon of sauerkraut, until your body adapts.

Hormone imbalance occurs when your estrogen levels are too high, compared to progesterone. Thyroid problems, infertility, weight fluctuations, cysts and fibroids are some of the symptoms of hormone imbalance.

Estrogen is a cell proliferator as its primary role is to stimulate growth. It becomes a problem when it is not balanced by progesterone.

Excess estrogen could be caused by the contraceptive pill, and exposure to foreign estrogens found in plastics, herbicides and commercial meats. If the liver is congested, the excess estrogen gets recycled back into the bloodstream.

A diet rich in cruciferous vegetables - like broccoli and cabbage - help the liver get rid of excess estrogen. Consuming 1-2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds daily also stimulates estrogen clearance. Mexican Wild Yam Cream can help restore balance and counteract estrogen dominance.

Wearing natural fibres, avoiding plastics and adopting a chemical free lifestyle are other steps you can take to help you improve your hormonal balance.

Heavy caffeine use puts a significant strain on your hormonal system. Caffeine puts the body into a perpetual fight or flight state – continually diverting progesterone to create stress hormones. This leaves little progesterone available for its primary functions. When progesterone levels are depleted by caffeine, the body becomes estrogen dominant.  Easing off the caffeine allows the progesterone levels to recover.

Dehydration is a key contributing factor to many illnesses. “You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty “ was written by a doctor in prison, who treated his cellmates without medicine, only water. They all recovered with only water.

Many people are severely dehydrated because they are not absorbing water in their cells. If you drink too quickly, it will just flush through the kidneys without being absorbed by the cells. A crystal of Celtic sea -taken before each glass of water - allows the magnesium to pull water into the cells and remineralises the body.

Most healing takes place at night during rest and sleep. Between 9PM and 2AM, the pineal gland releases its highest levels of rejuvenation hormones, like melatonin and serotonin.  Early to bed and early to rise will not only keep you younger, but also help you live a longer, happier life.

Sunshine is nature’s most potent healer. It regulates your hormones, releases serotonin (the happy drug) into the brain, builds strong bones and boosts your immune system.  Sunshine builds and repairs bones as it helps you absorb calcium and other minerals. Early morning sun is particularly powerful as it resets your circadian rhythm, so you are alert during the day and sleep deeply at night.

“Sunshine is absorbed through the skin and eyes – but the use of sunscreens and sunglasses prevent us from getting the maximum healing benefits of the sun. Expose your skin to the sun in small doses, using your common sense.”

“Many people don’t get enough full spectrum sunlight through their eyes.  Wear a hat instead of sunglasses. Indirect light can still enter your eyes when you wear a hat. Sunglasses, prescription glasses and contact lens block UV light, which will take a toll on your visual system.”

Barbara also recommends using the Bates Method of eye exercises to increase your eye strength, eliminating the need for prescription glasses.

Daily physical exercise like High Interval Intensity Training (HIIT) boosts your energy levels by improving your oxygen uptake in your bloodstream. Barbara says we can get effective results with only 15 minutes daily of HIIT. We practiced HIIT with Barbara every morning at 6:30 am on the beach in Phuket. Our HIIT practice involved running for 30 seconds, followed by walking for 90 seconds. We repeated the same sequence several times over a 15-minute period.

Another exercise Barbara recommends is rebounding on a trampoline - for developing bone strength and fighting bone loss as you age. It also improves your cardiovascular endurance and assists with lymphatic drainage.

Over the week, we learned how to make poultices to draw out inflammation - using ginger, potato, cabbage and onion. Castor oil, known for its ability to penetrate deeply and break up congestion, not only heals internal growths like cysts, fibroids, lumps, and tumours - but is also effective for eye health. A drop of castor oil on your eyelid at night can help you get rid of floaters and cataracts, while promoting thicker eyelashes. 

“We need to learn to listen to our bodies and take responsibility for our health.  But common sense and critical thinking don’t prevail these days. We would sooner give up control over our bodies to BIG Pharma - than give up the foods and chemicals that are harming us.”

Barbara’s message about the body’s inherent power for self-healing is one that resonates deeply for those of us who are looking for alternative ways to heal – without relying on drugs.

To learn more about natural remedies and experience first-hand the healing benefits of a natural lifestyle, you can treat yourself to a week at Barbara’s retreat at Misty Mountain Lifestyle Retreat in NSW, Australia. For more information, visit their website www.mmh.com.au or contact them at (02) 6567 2221.

Written by Eva Burbury