The holidays will soon be upon us, and we all know food is a big part of the fun. This time of year presents the temptation of delicious meals whose ingredients don’t always fit the dietary guidelines Overcoming MS recommends.

On this episode of the Living Well with MS podcast we are pleased to welcome Ashley Madden, a full-time food lover and health enthusiast. She’s also a pharmacist, plant-based chef, certified holistic nutrition consultant and food photographer.

02:03 About Ashley and her passion for cooking

03:26 How long have you been following Overcoming MS?

05:20 Has it been challenging to switch to the Overcoming MS diet?

09:14 Best tips for making the transition to the Overcoming MS diet easier

11:53 Tips for making Overcoming MS-friendly holiday meals for large groups and smaller more intimate gatherings?

21:28 Special tips or meal ideas for holidays

31:37 Making Overcoming MS-friendly puddings and desserts

35:14 Top cooking advice when following an Overcoming MS compliant diet

• Read Ashley Madden’s food blog
• New to Overcoming MS? Learn why lifestyle matters in MS – begin your journey at our ‘Get started’ page
• Connect with others following Overcoming MS on the Live Well Hub
• Visit the Overcoming MS website

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• Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. Listen to our archive of Living Well with MS here.
• Make sure you sign up to our newsletter to hear our latest tips and news about living a full and happy life with MS.

If you enjoy this podcast and want to help us continue creating future podcasts, please leave a donation here.

Feel free to share your comments and suggestions for future guests and episode topics by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

If you like Living Well with MS, please leave a 5-star review.

In this episode of Living Well with MS, we meet adaptive world champion athlete Francis Loye, a Northern Ireland-based father of three who lives with MS.

Francis was diagnosed in 2021 after experiencing symptoms on a cycling holiday. Since then, he has transformed his life: following the Overcoming MS program, connecting deeply with community, and competing at the very highest level in hybrid and adaptive sport. From the Hyrox World Championships to the gruelling Mallorca 312 endurance race, Francis has shown what’s possible when determination meets lifestyle-led wellness.

This conversation is full of honesty and inspiration – whether you’re newly diagnosed, returning to exercise, or curious about what adaptive sport looks like in practice.

Watch this episode on YouTube. Keep reading for the topics and timestamps.

00:43 Francis’s MS journey: diagnosis, fear, acceptance and choosing empowerment

04:17 Discovering Overcoming MS: a lifeline of hope

06:23 Discovering the power of community

07:59 Adapting lifestyle: challenges and triumphs

11:04 Family health: balancing MS and parenting

13:40 The Retreat experience: vulnerability and connection

16:32 Understanding hybrid and adaptive athletics

20:01 Training regimen: balancing endurance and strength

25:29 Winning the Hyrox World Championships

29:19 Diet and nutrition: balancing performance and health

31:38 Advice for the newly diagnosed: finding peace and community

• Connect with Francis on Instagram
• Francis was on the Overcoming MS Webinar Physical Activity and MS
• Learn more about Joe Dispenza’s work
• Check out the Hyrox adaptive divisions
• New to Overcoming MS? Learn why lifestyle matters in MS – begin your journey at our ‘Get started’ page
• Connect with others following Overcoming MS on the Live Well Hub
• Visit the Overcoming MS website

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Pinterest

• Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. Listen to our archive of Living Well with MS here.
• Make sure you sign up to our newsletter to hear our latest tips and news about living a full and happy life with MS.

If you enjoy this podcast and want to help us continue creating future podcasts, please leave a donation here.

Feel free to share your comments and suggestions for future guests and episode topics by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

If you like Living Well with MS, please leave a 5-star review.

In this episode of Living Well with MS, Dr Jonathan White is joined by Dr Stephen Simpson-Yap, Senior Research Fellow at the Neuroepidemiology Unit (NEU) in Melbourne, Senior Research Fellow at the Neuroepidemiology Unit (NEU) in Melbourne, focusing on multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune conditions.

Together they unpack the complex relationship between diet and MS: why diet research is so challenging, what the current evidence tells us, how different MS diet programmes compare, and where the science is heading next. Steve explains how epidemiologists study diet, what makes high-quality research so difficult, and why large, long-term studies like HOLISM and the UK MS Register are so important to people with MS.

This episode is a webinar highlights special – originally recorded as a live Overcoming MS webinar and now edited for the podcast to bring you the key insights, questions and takeaways in one place.

You can watch this episode on YouTube. Keep reading for the topics and timestamps.

01:53 How diet might influence MS risk, progression and disability

04:24 Why diet research is so hard

07:31 Inside a diet study – what it really takes to measure what people eat

11:27 Comparing MS diets (Overcoming MS, Whals, Best Bet, and more.)

15:06 How researchers actually study diet in MS

24:54 What we know so far Key findings from existing diet studies,

28:02 The future of diet research for MS and how large data sets could change everything

33:35 What this means for people with MS

• Learn more about the NEU
• Read NEU research papers about MS
• Hear more research in S3E11 NEU: What’s on the research horizon with Associate Professor Sandra Neate
• New to Overcoming MS? Learn why lifestyle matters in MS – begin your journey at our ‘Get started’ page
• Connect with others following Overcoming MS on the Live Well Hub
• Visit the Overcoming MS website

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Pinterest

• Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. Listen to our archive of Living Well with MS here.
• Make sure you sign up to our newsletter to hear our latest tips and news about living a full and happy life with MS.

If you enjoy this podcast and want to help us continue creating future podcasts, please leave a donation here.

Feel free to share your comments and suggestions for future guests and episode topics by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

If you like Living Well with MS, please leave a 5-star review.