Championing metabolic health
for everyone
The Public Health Collaboration is a UK registered charity on a mission to widen access to real food and evidence-based lifestyle interventions for preventing and reversing chronic disease.
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Our Vision
A society where everyone enjoys good metabolic health.
Our Mission
To empower, inspire and educate people that most chronic diseases can be prevented and reversed by maintaining good metabolic health through sustainable lifestyle changes.
Our three ambitions
Everything we do is aimed at three big, measurable changes in the nation’s health.
Reverse Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes
Turn back the epidemic through evidence-based lifestyle intervention and by re-equipping healthcare professionals to deliver remission-focused care.
Get food addiction officially recognised
Have ultra-processed food addiction recognised as a diagnosable condition so that millions caught in obsessive eating can access meaningful support.
Undo the childhood obesity crisis
Reshape the food environment around children through schools, families and policy — so the next generation grows up with real food and real health.
Our core values
Ambitious
We have a strong desire and determination to create the change we want to see.
Attentive
We listen to everyone with care and attention.
Compassionate
We appreciate everyone's perspective and will do our best to support them.
Inquisitive
We like to ask questions and are always eager to learn.
Proactive
We like to take action and create the change we want to see.
Sincere
We genuinely want humanity to become healthier and happier.
10 years of impact
PHC Founded
The Public Health Collaboration is founded as a UK registered charity in March 2016.
Healthy Eating Guidelines Review
Our review of healthy eating guidelines is published in May 2016.
First Annual Conference
The first PHC annual conference is held in Birmingham in June 2016.
Ambassadors Programme
The volunteer Ambassadors programme is launched in September 2017.
Conference at RCGP
The annual conference is held at the Royal College of General Practitioners for the first time in May 2018.
RCT Summary Table
Our summary table of randomised controlled trials comparing low-carb to low-fat diets is published in February 2019.
Sugar Infographics
Dr David Unwin's sugar infographics are published on the PHC website in several languages for free download in May 2020.
The Lifestyle Club Pilot
In collaboration with X-PERT Health, The Lifestyle Club is piloted by NHS GP practices around the country in June 2021.
Real Food Runners
Our informal running club, Real Food Runners, is launched in April 2022.
Scottish Conference
The first Scottish annual conference is held in Edinburgh in March 2023.
HSJ Partnership Award
The Lifestyle Club is awarded Silver for Primary Care Project of the Year in the HSJ Partnership Awards in March 2024.
First Liberate Paper
Frontiers in Psychiatry publishes the first Liberate paper detailing outcomes of the ultra-processed food addiction course in October 2025.
10th Anniversary Conference
PHC celebrates 10 years of helping people enjoy good metabolic health at the Nourish to Flourish conference in May 2026.
Team, trustees & advisors
PHC is led by a dedicated team of healthcare professionals, scientists, and communicators passionate about metabolic health.
Core Team
Sam Feltham
Director
Sam drives PHC toward the vision of cultivating a society where everyone enjoys good metabolic health. His background as a website designer, personal trainer and health podcast host perfectly situated him to lead the charity.
Sarah James
Operations Manager
Sarah leads delivery of The Lifestyle Club and supports the day-to-day running of the charity. Having discovered how lifestyle change can transform lives when her family transitioned to a real food diet, she hopes her role at PHC will help other families discover this too.
Ellen Bennett RD
Liberate Operations Manager
Ellen is a Registered Dietitian, PhD researcher, and founder of the Liberate programme, working at the intersection of nutrition and addiction. Her background combines clinical practice, research, and lived experience of addiction recovery.
Elizabeth LePla
Volunteer Manager
Liz recruits and supports volunteers in delivering lifestyle courses throughout the UK. Having been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes eight years ago and successfully put it in remission, she is passionate about helping others do the same.
Shauna Davis
Social Media Manager
Shauna leads content strategy and digital growth to support PHC's mission. With a background in social media strategy and AI-driven marketing, she specialises in creating content that educates, engages, and drives meaningful behaviour change.
Board of Trustees
Dr David Jehring
Chair of Trustees
David is the CEO of Black Pear Software, a medical software house putting joined-up health and care records into the hands of patients and frontline staff. Alongside a 20-year career as an NHS family doctor, David designed the first Windows GP clinical system in the UK.
Olivia Khwaja
Co-Vice-Chair
Olivia has been a Consumer Strategist and Marketing expert for large brands for over 20 years, delivering award-winning campaigns at British Airways and British Gas. She has now directed her passion towards human health transformation.
Graham Phillips BPharm, FRPharmS
Co-Vice-Chair
Graham is a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Superintendent of a multi-award-winning pharmacy group. He has styled himself as 'The Pharmacist who Gave Up Drugs' and his project ProLongevity combines lifestyle interventions and de-prescribing.
Professor Susan Fairlie RN, BSc (Hons), MSc
Trustee
Susan is a clinician and organisational development specialist with extensive NHS experience. Her clinical leadership programmes have been recognised with the CNO Silver Medal for Nursing Excellence, and she is a Visiting Professor at the University of East London.
Giles Corby
Treasurer
Giles is a chartered accountant based in Exeter who uses his skills with numbers to help clients make a difference. He is deeply interested in health, regenerative agriculture, and wildlife restoration.
Catherine Rogers
Trustee
Catherine is an integrative therapist with over 25 years' experience, using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), NLP, EFT and nutrition to bridge physical and mental health. She is one of a handful of UK-based practitioners to have completed Dr Bredesen's ReCODE health coach training and is the author of Gut Well Soon. She founded Reset Your Health and Reset Your Brain Health to help others reduce toxic load and sustain lifestyle change.
Scientific Advisory Committee
Dr David Unwin FRCGP
Chair of SAC
Dr Unwin has helped 157 patients achieve drug-free Type 2 diabetes remission at his NHS Surgery in Southport. He won the NHS Innovator of the Year Award 2016 and is the RCGP National Champion for Collaborative Care in Obesity and Diabetes.
Helen Gowers RD
Vice-Chair of SAC
Helen is a Registered Dietitian who led The Lifestyle Club from a free pilot in 2021 to a QISMET-accredited, GP-commissioned service. She champions real-food dietary approaches to Type 2 diabetes remission.
Dr Joanne McCormack
SAC Member
A GP for 30 years and former GP Trainer, Dr McCormack was Named GP for Safeguarding Children for an area of 300,000 people. She is committed to reversing the national diabetes trend through lifestyle-focused care.
Dr Ian Lake
SAC Member
A GP in Cheltenham focused on preventive medicine, Dr Lake set up a weight management research project that won the GP Awards Clinical Team of the Year. He also helped get cycling on prescription commissioned locally.
Dr Trudi Deakin PhD
SAC Member
Trudi is Chief Executive of X-PERT Health, having trained over 1,500 healthcare professionals and enabled structured education for over 500,000 people with prediabetes or diabetes.
Dr Campbell Murdoch
SAC Member
Dr Murdoch is a GP in the South West focused on optimising metabolic health. His approach is informed by sports and exercise medicine, and he works at Combe Grove in Bath, the UK's first metabolic centre.
Dr Ali Ibrahim MRCPsych
SAC Member
Dr Ibrahim is a child and adolescent psychiatrist specialising in eating disorders, trained at Oxford and SLAM. His award-winning research explores the metabolic and neurobiological underpinnings of eating disorders.
Dr Kesar Sadhra
SAC Member
Dr Sadhra has been a GP partner in Slough since 1989, championing a low-carb approach to Type 2 diabetes for a predominantly South Asian patient population for over 20 years.
Dr Amber Steele
SAC Member
With a three-decade career in biomedical and healthcare research, Amber brings expertise in research design, health policy, and NHS commissioning. She co-founded the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Moira Newiss
SAC Member
Moira is a BANT-Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner specialising in ketogenic metabolic therapy for chronic fatigue and mental health. She leads PHC initiatives in Scotland, including two Scottish conferences.
Ally Houston
SAC Member
Ally is co-founder and CEO of MetPsy, using metabolic psychiatry to coach members to better mental health. He is conducting an RCT on treating ADHD and depression with the ketogenic diet.
Patrons
Steve Bennett
Benefactor & Patron
Steve turned his own health around after living with obesity for over 25 years. He founded Health Results and the Bennett Foundation, and is an adventurer and author of Primal Cure and Fat & Furious.
Hannah Sutter
Patron
Hannah is a solicitor-turned-entrepreneur who founded Natural Ketosis in 2004 and authored 'Big Fat Lies' in 2011 to challenge government dietary advice. She also founded The Natural Low Carb Store.
Giancarlo & Katie Caldesi
Patrons
Giancarlo and Katie are restaurateurs, cookery teachers and authors running two restaurants and a cookery school. They appear regularly on MasterChef, BBC Breakfast and other programmes.
Tom Redwood
Patron
Tom co-founded fu:di after transforming his health, losing weight and normalising his blood sugars within 3 months through a low-carb approach. He recreates favourites like ketchup, bread and granolas.
Ben Calderhead
Patron
Ben is a former Imperial College mathematics and statistics academic who co-founded fu:di, pairing data expertise with recipe development to create metabolically supportive foods.
Dr James Goolnik BDS, MSc
Patron
Dr Goolnik is a dentist, educator and founder of Optimal Dental Health. Former President of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, he lectures internationally on the mouth-body connection.
Governance & accountability
As a registered charity, we are committed to full transparency in how we operate and spend our funds.
Annual Reports
Read our latest annual report for a full account of our work, impact, and finances.
Download 2024–2025 ReportCharity Commission
PHC is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. View our public record.
Charity No. 1171887 / SC052248Join the movement
Whether you’re a healthcare professional, researcher, or someone who cares about real food and metabolic health — there’s a place for you at PHC.