What role can diet play in supporting brain health and living well with multiple sclerosis?

In this episode of Living Well with MS, we explore the evidence behind the Overcoming MS diet recommendations and how small, consistent changes to the way we eat can support long-term health. Overcoming MS Program Facilitator and nutritionist Karen Lee explains the research linking diet quality with MS outcomes and introduces the principles behind the Overcoming MS dietary approach.

Karen is joined by fellow Program Facilitator and health coach Ingrid Adelsberger, who shares her personal experience of following the program for over a decade. Ingrid reflects on the practical realities of adapting to a new way of eating, from navigating label reading and meal planning to finding family-friendly recipes that make the diet sustainable.

Together, they explore why the Mediterranean-style dietary pattern underpins the Overcoming MS diet, how reducing saturated fat may support brain health, and why consistency matters more than perfection when making lifestyle changes.

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.

Watch this episode on YouTube. Keep reading for the topics, timestamps, and our guest’s bio.

00:00 Introduction to the Overcoming MS diet

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How do you build a sustainable career with multiple sclerosis? In this episode of Living Well with MS, Heather Carrasco shares how her diagnosis reshaped her relationship with work, rest and self-advocacy.

Diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2023 – though her symptoms likely began years earlier – Heather reflects on navigating the US healthcare system, learning to manage fatigue at work, and deciding whether to disclose her diagnosis professionally.

She also shares how discovering the Overcoming MS Program and finding community helped her move beyond denial and make sustainable lifestyle changes.

This episode will resonate with anyone adjusting to life after an MS diagnosis, managing invisible symptoms like fatigue, or trying to create a healthier balance between career and wellbeing.

Keep reading for the key episode takeaways and Heather’s bio.

02:12 Early symptoms, delayed diagnosis and navigating healthcare in the US

We are pleased to welcome Dr Valter Longo to this episode of Living Well with MS. Dr Longo is the scientist behind the Fasting Mimicking Diet. He is a bio-gerontologist and cell biologist serves as a professor at the USC Davis School of Gerontology and as the director of the USC Longevity Institute. He is the creator of the fasting-mimicking diet, a program that claims to mimic the effects of periodic fasting. To read Dr Longo’s full bio, click here. 

Originally broadcast in 2020, this episode has been edited to remove out-of-date content and reuploaded in 2026 to ensure it remains relevant and useful.

02:08 Today’s rising fascination with fasting diets 

03:50 Main differences between the fasting-mimicking diet and other fasting diets 

05:03 Diving into blue zones, where a higher percentage of the population lives to 100 

06:55 The correlation between the centenarians and people who are fasting  

11:04 Does fast mimicking help people with MS live better and longer? 

14:03 The different types of fast-mimicking diets including 5:2, 16:8 and occasional water fasting 

24:54 What should we eat between fasts? 

29:28 What is the ProLon diet, and for those on a budget, how can peopel get some of the benefits on their own? 

What does it really mean to parent with multiple sclerosis, and how do you talk to your children about something so unpredictable?

In this episode of Living Well with MS, we’re joined by Julie Stamm – MS advocate, author and mother – for an honest and uplifting conversation about raising a child while living with MS.

Diagnosed in 2007, Julie turned her experience into advocacy, determined to be open with her son about her condition in ways that are truthful but age-appropriate. She shares how parenting reshaped her perspective on resilience, how listening to children can ease the guilt many parents carry, and why adapting as a family is a sign of strength, not failure.

We explore storytelling as a tool for empowerment, the importance of peer support and community, and why the outlook for people newly diagnosed today is more hopeful than ever. Julie also reflects on her children’s book Some Days and her work to promote inclusion and diverse abilities through advocacy and education.

This episode will resonate with anyone parenting with MS, considering starting a family, supporting a loved one with MS, or looking to turn lived experience into meaningful advocacy.

Keep reading for the key episode takeaways and Julie’s bio.

00:00 Introduction and Julie’s diagnosis journey

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Feel free to share your comments and suggestions for future guests and episode topics by emailing [email protected].

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If you’ve ever felt stuck between knowing what could help you live well with MS and actually making it stick, this conversation is for you.

In this episode of Living Well with MS, Overcoming MS Program Facilitator Laura Crowder explores the ‘change your life for life’ pillar, the inner work that helps make lifestyle changes feel sustainable rather than overwhelming. Laura is joined by Overcoming MS Program Facilitator Hayley Baker, who shares her personal experience of building confidence, resilience and self-compassion while following the Overcoming MS Program.

Together, they reflect on why mindset matters, how hope and empowerment can support wellbeing, and what to do when life inevitably knocks you off track.

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.

Watch the full webinar on  YouTube. Keep reading for the topics, timestamps, and our guest’s bio.

00:58 Exploring the pillar: Change your life for life 

04:36 Choice, autonomy and taking control after diagnosis 

09:56 The role of hope in living well with MS 

12:37 Awareness, acceptance and managing difficult days 

16:02 The power of language in habit formation 

21:13 Empowerment and making lifestyle change sustainable 

22:45 Community support and shared experience 

25:36 Hayley’s personal journey with MS 

35:01 Advice for people new to the Program 

37:50 Q&A: common challenges, motivation and self-compassion 

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 [email protected].

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

How can mental health support be better tailored to the real, lived experiences of people with MS? In this episode of Living Well with MS, we’re joined by Dr Eva Fragkiadaki, counselling psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Counselling Psychology at the University of the West of England. Her whose work focuses on developing personalised, evidence-based mental health interventions for people living with MS.

Eva shares insights from her research into group-based psychological support, including her co-designed MyMS-Ally intervention. Together, we explore why traditional mental health approaches don’t always work for people with MS, the power of peer connection, and how concepts like identity, self-compassion and visibility of disability shape emotional wellbeing.

This conversation will be especially valuable for anyone living with MS, supporting someone with MS, or interested in how mental health care can become more person-centred, inclusive and accessible.

Keep reading for the key episode takeaways and Eva’s bio.

00:00 Introducing psychosocial interventions for MS

03:38 Researching group therapy and therapeutic change

06:07 Gender, representation and inclusion in MS research

08:19 What kinds of mental health support help in MS?

10:30 Why group interventions matter

12:47 Peer support, safety and community connection

15:10 Integrative and personalised therapy approaches

17:29 Visible and invisible disability in MS

20:15 Self-compassion and identity

22:23 Future directions for mental health care in 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 [email protected].

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

Originally broadcast in 2020, this episode has been edited to remove out-of-date content and reuploaded in 2026 to ensure it remains relevant and useful. 

In this episode of the Living Well with MS podcast, and we are pleased to welcome Dr Aaron Boster, an Ohio-based board-certified clinical neuroimmunologist specializing in MS. Given we are surrounded by temptations – from that delicious pint of ice cream to the lure of sleeping in instead of hitting the gym – we are happy to tap his expertise to help us understand how lifestyle choices impact MS and our overall health. 

How does gut health affect MS – and what role can diet really play in supporting the immune system? In this episode of Living Well with MS, Geoff is joined by Overcoming MS Program Facilitator Karen Lee – retired intensive care nurse, nutritionist, author and recipe developer. Karen shares her MS journey and explains, in clear and accessible terms, how gut health, inflammation and diet are connected in autoimmune conditions such as MS.

They explore dysbiosis and “leaky gut”, why fibre and the microbiome matter, and how whole-food plant-based eating fits within the Overcoming MS dietary recommendations. Karen also talks about her new book Healing from the Inside Out and shares practical, fatigue-friendly tips for eating more plants – without overwhelm.

Watch this episode on YouTube. Keep reading for the topics, timestamps, and our guest’s bio.

00:56 Welcome and introduction to Karen

01:49 Karen’s MS journey: diagnosis, optic neuritis and early changes

04:46 From intensive care nursing to nutrition, writing and teaching

09:32 Understanding the Overcoming MS diet recommendations

10:36 Why diet matters for immune health: nutrients, fats, fibre and the microbiome

17:57 Dysbiosis explained – and how it relates to autoimmunity and MS

22:02 “Leaky gut”: what it means and why inflammation matters

23:16 Inside Karen’s new book Healing from the Inside Out

26:46 How whole plant foods support overall health

29:50 Protein and plant-based diets: common concerns addressed

31:39 Practical tips for eating more plants and increasing variety

37:58 Favourite recipes, sauces and simple ways to add flavour

39:41 Batch cooking and freezing for low-energy days

41:26 Running the Taunton Half Marathon and fundraising for Overcoming 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 [email protected]

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

Host Geoff Allix speaks with Caroline Clarke, Chief Executive of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and former trustee of Overcoming MS, about her MS journey, why she chose to follow the Overcoming MS Program, and the practical habits that help her manage stress while working in a high-pressure role. 

This episode of Living Well with MS was recorded at Living Well Live, Overcoming MS’s one-day event held at the University of Warwick in November 2025, with people joining both in person and online. Host Geoff Allix shares conversations with community members, speakers and guests from across the MS sector, exploring what’s new in MS lifestyle research and the practical tools people are using to live well with MS.

You’ll hear about the evolving evidence behind the Overcoming MS Program, why personalised approaches matter (including vitamin D), and the role of community connection in building confidence after diagnosis. Together, these conversations capture what makes Overcoming MS so powerful: the combination of evidence-based guidance and genuine community support. You’ll also hear how donations help fund trusted information, courses and spaces where people with MS – and those around them – can feel informed, connected and empowered.

Watch this episode on YouTube. Keep reading for the topics, timestamps, and our guest’s bio.

00:00 Geoff Allix introduces the event and Overcoming MS

03:07 Linda Bloom & Alex Holden on the origins of Overcoming MS, community and purpose

11:21 Dr Jonathan White on MS research, treatment and the role of lifestyle medicine

12:44 Lina Nielsen on elite sport, MS and training at Olympic level

14:51 Lina Nielsen on exercise, mindfulness and neuroplasticity

17:00 Tessa Miles on resilience, preparation and the power of community

22:09 Dr Rachel Hunter on the nervous system, stress and self-management

24:12 Dr Rachel Hunter on how MS self-management has evolved

28:19 Community member Maureen Haith on her top takeaways from the day

33:25 Miriam Jordan Keane on how Overcoming MS is evolving

37:56 Neil Stanley on sleep, MS and practical tips for better rest

43:22 Rabiah Coon on laughter, mental health and coping with MS

49:19 Amy Thompson from MS Together on supporting young adults living with MS

50:54 Holistic MS care – combining medication, lifestyle and community

55:13 Advice for newly diagnosed people with MS – reassurance and practical guidance

57:48 Dominic Shadbolt,The MS Guide, on AI, innovation and the future of MS care

59:43 Eleanor Bate, Shift.MS, on peer-led community support and connection

01:06:31 Sarah-Jane Elliot, MS-UK on accessing support, resources and online activities

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 [email protected].

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