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Sarah Whittaker is the founder of Phoenix Homeopathy Ltd, a private holistic healthcare practice in Hove. A former solicitor and law lecturer, Sarah is now a fully-qualified homeopath, having turned to homeopathy when she became wheelchair-bound due to multiple sclerosis in 1996. Sarah now has a worldwide client-base, and won a national award for her work in 2007. Here, she writes about alternative approaches to health, beauty and relationships, and about her experiences running a busy homeopathy practice.

Eat less, move more?

Can one greedy blogger lose weight naturally?

Alternative view of swine flu

Can homeopathy help protect us against swine flu?

Health in Balance

I usually reckon that guilt is a pretty unhelpful emotion, but I confess that I have been guiltily aware of rather neglecting this blog recently. I blame my own homeopath.

Prince Charles launches new range of herbal medicines

The Prince of Wales gets a fair bit of flack from time to time (including from the Phoenix Homeopathy clinic’s practice manager, who’s a staunch anti-royalist, and who’ll probably give me a really hard time about this post), but I reckon he’s ok. Yes, he was born into privilege, but through The Prince’s Charities Foundation, he raises over £110 million annually for good causes – not bad!

Homeopaths are Here to Help

Dear oh dear, oh dear. There’s a chap who writes a column in the Guardian who really seems to dislike homeopaths. That’s fine – he’s entitled to his opinion, of course (though I do wonder at a national newspaper condoning his repeated little digs). This week, he writes about having a cold, and says “I have a cold...throughout the nation, homeopaths and self-declared nutritional therapists are celebrating”, presumably thinking that, just because he repeatedly mocks homeopathy and nutritional therapy, therapists like me will be happy he’s suffering.

Informed consent to gynaecological procedures

I’m getting rather concerned about the number of women who are telling me that, during gynaecological investigations, their doctors fitted them with a Mirena IUD, saying “now you’re here, you might as well have this fitted”. It worries me, because although the Mirena IUD may well suit many women, there are forums online that run to 135 pages, full of postings from women who blame the Mirena IUD for a whole raft of horrible side-effects, such as hair loss, acne, mood swings and prolonged bleeding.

Flu-Jab Fuss

I realised recently that I’m turning into my mother. My mum has strong opinions about certain things, and as a teenager I remember cringing with embarrassment and shame when she decided to take a stand about something in public. And now I speak out, too.

A fool for a homeopath

Patients often assume that I treat my family with homeopathic remedies, but the truth is that I try to avoid prescribing for those close to me if I can, at least for all but the most minor ailments – of course, we do all use homeopathy, but I have my own homeopath, as does my husband, and our cats see a homeopathic vet.

What to do after diagnosis

I seem to have got away with tempting fate in last week’s blog about coughs and colds, but Jane, a patient of mine who’s asked me to share her story with you, hasn’t been so lucky.

Your gut feelings

As it’s thought that over a third of the UK population regularly suffers with digestive problems, I’ve been learning more about poo this week – well, more specifically about new stool sample tests to help patients with irritable bowel syndrome, overgrowth of candida in the gastro-intestinal tract, constipation, diarrhoea, and other digestive disorders, and about new formulations of probiotic and other natural products to help these problems.

A Homeopathic Remedy on the Occasional Day Keeps the Doctor Away

I might well come to regret tempting fate like this, but at this time of year, I’m always reminded how different my health has been in the years AH (after homeopathy), compared with BH (before homeopathy).

We all need help

Like most people who run their own small business, I have two quite distinct roles – I’m a homeopath of course, but I have an equally important role as a small business manager.