Welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break #23, where we are pleased to welcome Katy Glenie as our guest!   Our Coffee Break series is your chance to get to know members of our diverse OMS community. In each episode, you’ll join Geoff Allix for an intimate chat with a different member of our global community. Our guests will share their personal stories and talk about their challenges and victories, large and small. We hope you find common cause and a source of inspiration from the stories of these very special people.   As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. We hope you enjoy this episode’s conversation with Katy, coming to you straight from Taupō, New Zealand.   Bio:   Katy is an outdoor loving adventurer who lives on the shores of Lake Taupō in New Zealand. She is mom to 4-year-old Rosie, wife to Mike and runs a communications consultancy that supports businesses who are making a positive impact in the community and on the environment.    Katy is currently training to climb a 3,000-meter peak in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. It will be the first mountain she has climbed since her MS diagnosis in 2019. She keeps her mind and body strong through a daily program of exercise, meditation and OMS-friendly diet. She wants to use her journey to show others that having MS doesn't mean the end of adventure. In Katy’s own words: "The training might look a little different, the journey might be a little slower, and the goal might change, but the joy of a life filled with adventure is still out there waiting for you."   Questions:   Katy, welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break. We’re so pleased to have you on our program. The purpose of this series is to better get to know some of the diverse members of our community from around the world, and today you’re in the hot seat. You live in what sounds like an idyllic place. Can you tell us about Lake Taupō in New Zealand? When were you diagnosed with MS? Can you provide some context on that? When were you diagnosed and how did you initially deal with it? You live in a remote place. What are some of the challenges of having MS and living in a beautiful yet distant paradise? At which point did you come across the OMS program? How was that experience for you? Why did you decide to start following it? What are some of the challenges you’ve faced at first in adopting the OMS program? How did you overcome them? When did you first start to see any kind of positive indicators in following OMS guidelines? What were these? One of your core philosophies is that nature if the best medicine. Seems that’s led you to take up mountain climbing. Can you share the backstory about how you got into climbing, and how your balance your own health needs with what seems like a rigorous physical activity? And how, if at all, has OMS helped with this? You’re training to climb a 3,000-meter mountain in NZ’s southern alps. Wow! Tell us more. Shifting gears slightly, one of your other passions is caring for the environment and reducing consumption. How do you put that into practice in your daily life and can you share some perspectives or ideas that may enlighten our listeners? If you tap into your experience with MS generally and OMS specifically for a nugget of wisdom that would help people ease into and better adopt the OMS program, what would that advice be?   Katy’s Mountain Climbing Adventures:   Katy completed her first alpine climb since her MS diagnosis in August 2021, climbing Single Cone in the Remarkables, near Queenstown, NZ. This was part of her training program for the big 3,000m climb, which is due to happen in November 2021.   According to Katy: “The climb was incredible, and although I was a bit slower than before my diagnosis, and was very tired afterwards, my body was able to keep going. Hooray!”   Katy’s Links:   Check out Katy’s Instagram Learn more about climbing mountains in New Zealand from Katy’s climbing website   Katy’s Glossary of Māori Phrases   I'd love to share some of our local Māori phrases that are commonly used here in Aotearoa (New Zealand in Māori). Our indigenous language is unique to our country and is seen locally as a treasure (or taonga) and an important connection to our land and people:   Kia ora = hello  Mōrena = good morning Ka kite anō = see you again / later Ngā mihi = greetings (commonly used as a sign-off on emails / letters) Kaitiakitanga = guardianship / care and protection of our land and native species   A macron over a vowel indicates a longer vowel sound, and Māori vowel sounds are:   a (‘a’ as in ‘car’) e (‘e’ as in ‘egg’) i (‘i’ like the ‘ee’ in ‘tee’) (‘o’ as in ‘four’) u (‘u’ like an ‘o’ in ‘to’)   Coming up on our next episode:   Starting October 20, Living Well with MS welcomes back Dr. Aaron Boster, an Ohio-based neurologist specializing in MS. This time we tap his expertise to grapple with an important topic that isn’t discussed as often as it should be – sex. Sex and sexuality are vital dimensions of a healthy life, but how are they impacted by MS? Our discussion with Dr. Boster digs into the science and practical implications behind this topic, so let’s talk about sex and MS! Also, the final installment of Ask Jack for 2021 premieres on November 10, and it’s our special holiday cooking edition. Remember, you can submit your questions early for the next and all future Ask Jack episodes by emailing them to podcast@overcomingms.org.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis

Coffee Break #23 with Katy Glenie | S3E42 bonus

Getting pregnant is a topic that often spawns many questions, but this is especially so when you have MS and must balance health and lifestyle considerations against the desire to have a healthy pregnancy and starting a family. Pregnancy and MS is an area that Overcoming MS covers extensively, but to really delve into this important discussion we at Living Well with MS thought there’s nothing better than getting a firsthand account. That’s where Ingrid Adelsberger comes in. Ingrid has followed the OMS program for several years. She is the editor of the OMS cookbook, the former ambassador of the OMS Circle in Los Angeles, and the current co-ambassador of the global OMS Circle. Ingrid is also a proud mom to a two-year-old daughter named Romy.   Questions:   Welcome to Living Well with MS, Ingrid. We’re here to discuss your experiences with pregnancy, but first off, can you tell our audience a little bit about yourself? When were you first diagnosed with MS and how long was it till you came across the OMS program? How has the experience of following the OMS program been for you? Can you share some of your ups and downs, and any lessons you’ve learned? On to the topic of pregnancy. I understand you welcomed Romy, your lovely daughter, into your life over 2 years ago. But when you first started thinking about getting pregnant and starting a family, what were your initial concerns as it pertains to having a healthy pregnancy while having MS? How much of a consideration was your MS in your decision to try to get pregnant? Did you take any specific precautions or measures to ensure your pregnancy would be smooth without flaring up any MS symptoms? Was it hard to maintain the OMS program while being pregnant or immediately thereafter? Are there any tips you can share with our audience about doing so? What was the experience of being pregnant like, in the sense of how it impacted, if it did at all, your MS? Did you consult any specialists before or during pregnancy to enlist their aid? And if so, did it help? Did you have any expectations about how the pregnancy would go, and was the reality what you expected or different? Is there anything you would have done differently in hindsight? Did the pregnancy or the time immediately thereafter see any kind of impact on your MS symptoms or general state of physical or mental health? Having a newborn makes a dramatic impact on your life under any circumstances. How did you stay centered and keep your stress levels as low as possible while facing the challenges of being a new mom? Thanks so much for being on our program, Ingrid, and enlightening many mothers to be with your experiences with pregnancy and MS. As a final thought, if you could offer some key suggestions or advice for women with MS who are considering getting pregnant, based on your own personal experiences and what worked really well for you, what would these be?   Bio:   Ingrid was born in Vienna, Austria and moved to New York in 2005 where she lived until 2016. She then moved with her husband Dat to Los Angeles where her daughter Romy was born in 2018. Her first career in New York was event planning, but her experiences with MS and especially OMS, focused on the power of lifestyle change, made her want to change careers. She started a course in health coaching in 2016 which led her wanting to learn more, so she completed a master’s degree in health coaching in 2019. Ingrid wanted to apply her newly acquired skills as a health coach, which she did by working independently as well as for a health services company. She currently resides in Vienna with her husband and daughter. Ingrid is also the editor of the OMS cookbook and served as the ambassador of the OMS Circle in Los Angeles before moving back to Austria. She is currently the joint ambassador (with Sean Kressinger) of the global OMS Circle.   Links:   Ingrid used The Bump as a tracking tool throughout her pregnancy, and still uses it today. Ingrid gained much insight about pregnancy from a classic resource, What to Expect When Expecting. Now there’s a website, too! Ingrid practiced hypnobirthing, which you can learn more about from this book.   Coming up on our next episode:   Buckle up and jet (the virtual kind, with zero carbon footprint) to New Zealand to meet OMSer and mountain climber extraordinaire Katy Glenie on Coffee Break #24, premiering on October 4. You’ll want to hear all about her OMS journey, as well as her latest adventures scaling a 3,000m peak in New Zealand. Also, the final installment of Ask Jack for 2021 premieres on November 10, and it’s our special holiday cooking edition. Remember, you can submit your questions early for the next and all future Ask Jack episodes by emailing them to podcast@overcomingms.org.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Pregnancy and MS: A Firsthand Account | S3E42

Welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break #22, where we are pleased to welcome Jen DeTracey as our guest!   Our Coffee Break series is your chance to get to know members of our diverse OMS community. In each episode, you’ll join Geoff Allix for an intimate chat with a different member of our global community. Our guests will share their personal stories and talk about their challenges and victories, large and small. We hope you find common cause and a source of inspiration from the stories of these very special people.   As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. This episode is a little departure from our normal guest format, but we hope you enjoy the conversation with Jen, coming to you straight from Montreal, Canada.   Bio:   Jen DeTracey was diagnosed with MS in 2010. Within six months, she thought she’d never work again. At the time of diagnosis, she was at the peak of her career as a marketing consultant. After navigating rough waters for several years, Jen explored how to begin thriving while living with MS and fatigue.    Fast forward to 2019, Jen became a certified life coach. As a result of this training, she uncovered how to dramatically improve the quality of her life, recognizing that mindset is paramount to wellness and well-being. Jen launched the Women Thriving with MS YouTube channel and Facebook group. In 2021, she launched the weTHRIVE membership to support women who want to connect with others and discover how to thrive with MS.  We are better together.    Questions:   Jen, welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break. We’re so pleased to have you on our program. The purpose of this series is to better get to know some of the diverse members of the OMS and larger MS community from around the world, and today you’re in the hot seat. Can you tell our audience a little bit about yourself, what you do, where you’re from, etc.? When were you diagnosed with MS and how did you initially deal with it? Did you find the healthcare infrastructure in Canada, where you live, supportive and useful in getting and managing your diagnosis? When you were diagnosed, I believe you were full steam ahead with your marketing career. What kind of lifestyle changes did you have to make to deal with the new MS reality, and how did that affect your work? Sounds like you dealt with some difficult emotional and physical barriers after your diagnosis. Can you give us a little insight into what you experienced and what helped you manage some of these challenges? Can you tell us about Lift Strategies, the book you wrote? What’s it about and why did you decide to write it? You also ultimately founded Women Thriving with MS. Our listeners can get a whole host of links in our show notes, but perhaps you can tell us what Women Thriving with MS’s mission is, and the impact you hope to make on the MS community through this effort? If there is one thing you can do to make a positive impact on the MS community – let’s call it your legacy – what would that be? So, what’s next for Jen DeTracey? Finally, if you tap into your experience with MS for a nugget of wisdom that would help people ease into and better adopt the necessary changes they need to make to their mindsets and lifestyles to live a healthier physical and emotional life with MS, what would that advice be?   Katy’s Links:   Check out Women, Live Better with MS - Discover 4 Powerful ways to REDUCE Stress, a four-part coaching series for women living with MS Check out Jen’s coaching website, Women Thriving with MS Check out Women Thriving with MS on Facebook Check out Women Thriving with MS on YouTube Check out Women Thriving with MS on Twitter Check out Jen’s book on marketing on Amazon   Coming up on our next episode:   Thinking of getting pregnant or already are? Join us on September 29 for the next episode of Living Well with MS, featuring OMSer Ingrid Adelsberger’s firsthand account of pregnancy while having MS. You won’t want to miss hearing her story and her insights on this important life experience.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Coffee Break #22 with Jen DeTracey | S3E41 bonus

Welcome to our third installment of Ask Jack, featuring the prodigious culinary talents of professional holistic chef Jack McNulty answering food-related questions generated by you, our community. Check out the show notes below that dig deeper into the topics covered on this episode. Set your dials to this station for this season’s final episode, Ask Jack #5, premiering on November 10, 2021, just in time for the holidays. Beat the rush and submit your questions for the next Ask Jack early by emailing them to podcast@overcomingms.org.   Introduction   In this episode, we have received a smorgasbord of questions from all over the world on all sorts of saucy, nutty, oily yet all delicious topics. So, let’s see what food- and cooking-related questions are coursing through the culinary minds of the OMS community.   Questions 1 + 2   Our first question is about vegan cheese. Rebecca from Scotland is wondering about tips for making a fermented cashew cheese.  She’s thinking about using probiotics or cider vinegar. Her main concern is how to know if it's gone bad to ensure eating it doesn’t make her ill.   Pro tip from Jack: for those who are interested in pursuing the art of making vegan cheese at home, Jack recommends Artisan Vegan Cheese, by Miyoko Schinner (available through all major book outlets). For a more in-depth dive into the world of Vegan Cheese, visit Berlin-based Cashewbert - they offer online information and instruction, as well as supplies to those based in Europe.     Rebecca also wanted some tips on eating out and how to make decisions about what to compromise on? What if she’s really stuck while out somewhere and one option contains coconut oil and another contains palm oil and another is fried in a small amount of vegetable oil, how is she supposed to decide on the lesser of all evils in a pinch?   Questions 3 + 4   Emma in the UK had a couple of questions for our resident foodie: firstly, what is your best recommendation for a halloumi replacement? Secondly, what’s your best recommendation for OMS-friendly takeaway food (that’s takeout for our listeners in the US)?   Question 5   Let’s talk veggie fritters. Kay in New Zealand used to love vegetable fritters of many different sorts. Some just with the vegetables, some with flour, maybe herbs or spices, etc. They were one of her favorite lunches. She’s tried to make them by baking them in the oven but finds they come out dry and a bit leathery compared to frying in oil, meaning they lack that lovely crispiness. Is there a solution or something she could do to improve the crisp factor in her fritters in an OMS-friendly way?   Pro tip from Jack: have a look at Jack’s recipe for making OMS-friendly vegan sweet corn fritters.   Question 6   Here’s a saucy question from Nicola in Canterbury. She was wondering whether you have any good ideas for a bechamel type sauce. She’s experimented with various recipes to use in a lasagna but hasn’t found anything yet that tastes great. What’s your secret bechamel replacement?   Pro tip from Jack: there are several recipes that will make you forget what dairy-based bechamel sauce ever tasted like, include Jack’s eggplant mushroom lasagna, Jack’s vegan bechamel, and Jack’s Sicilian tomato sauce. Try one or try them all and let us know what you think!   Question 7   Belkis from Istanbul just got a machine called a Thermomix and there are a lot of recipes which makes cooking much easier. Plus, there are lots of recipes in their database. Many of these have you add extra virgin olive oil while cooking with other liquid and the machine shows the temperature and often it is not above 120 C. So, if you’re cooking with some other liquid like vegetable stock or water or chopped tomatoes, plus you add olive oil, is it OK to cook under 180 C, just like with the baking and oven rules? Is what they recommend OMS-compliant?   Question 8   Fran from New Zealand is going to open a can of legumes for us. She doesn’t tolerate this food group well, though many OMS recipes call for lentils and such. So, what’s your suggestion for getting around legumes but still retaining the substance they bring to cooking?   Question 9 + 10 + 11   We’re going to end on an oily note with some questions from Tania in Australia that relate directly or indirectly to oils: firstly, is it OK to “sweat” onions and garlic with oil free vegetable stock instead of water? And other than olive oil, what’s the next best oil to have in one’s pantry?   Lastly, from Fran is a question about air fryers, which we delved into on a previous episode. She’d like to know if using one if healthy on an OMS diet. She’s concerned they may release some sort of emissions.   Close   Thanks so much for another fantastic and informative round of food Q&A. For those of you listening, you’ve probably built up an appetite. Join us again starting November 10th for the holiday edition of Ask Jack, so submit your questions early to podcast@overcomingms.org. Till then, happy OMS-friendly cooking and eating!   Links:   Connect with Jack in a number of ways if you’d like to follow his work or gain some more insight into his OMS-friendly vegan culinary world:  Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook   In addition, Jack has started a newsletter publication called VeganWeekly that shares three vegan recipes weekly to try at home. Subscribe to it here.    Coming up on our next episode:   Join us on September 20 for the 22nd installment of our Coffee Break series, where we “travel” to Montreal, Canada to meet Jen DeTracey: marketing expert, author, certified life coach, and founder of Women Thriving with MS. We hope you’ll be inspired by her story!   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Ask Jack #4 | S3E41 bonus

Dive into the what’s happening at the forefront of MS research with the guidance of Dr. Michael Kornberg, Associate Director of the Neurology Residency Program and Assistant Professor of Neurology at the world-renowned Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.   Questions:   Why did you decide to choose neurology and specifically neuroimmunology as an area of medical practice? Why the focus on MS? Were there any personal experiences that shaped this path? You have your own lab at Johns Hopkins; can you tell us a little bit about the research you conduct? Are there any specific epiphanies you’ve had as an MS researcher that made you step back and say ‘wow’? Anything that’s surprised you? What in your view is the connection between diet and inflammation in people with MS and other autoimmune conditions? Are there specific dietary recommendations you offer to your patients connected to your research? What is the clinical evidence to support your perspectives on the connection between diet and MS? Switching gears for a moment, how disease pathology differs between relapsing-remitting and progressive disease? How does this difference explain the failure of current therapies in progressive MS? What do you see as the most promising areas in MS research today? There has been some discussion about the symptoms of extended duration, or long, Covid-19 are similar to those of MS, namely fatigue, brain fog, headaches, etc. This makes me wonder if the treatments for Covid could be repurposed for MS, and vice-versa. Any thoughts on this? 5 years from now, what’s your forecast for the state of MS research and advances? What are the greatest obstacles to our making progress in understanding MS, and how can we overcome them?   Bio:   Dr. Kornberg completed his undergraduate studies at Yale University. He then received M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and stayed at Johns Hopkins for neurology residency and a clinical and research fellowship in neuroimmunology. He is committed to a career that combines the competent and compassionate care of patients with multiple sclerosis and other immunologic disorders of the nervous system with basic and translational research aimed at developing improved therapies.    Dr. Kornberg is also a Program Director of eMultipleSclerosis Review, which is a continuing medical education program accredited by Johns Hopkins. It includes a podcast featuring discussions about clinical topics and patient scenarios with doctors and nurses treating people with MS, in order to educate health care providers on best care for people living with MS.    Links:   Kornberg’s LinkedIn profile Kornberg’s PubMed bibliography Kornberg’s lab website Kornberg’s Johns Hopkins profile   Coming up on our next episode:   Jack is back! Starting September 15, catch the fourth installment of Ask Jack, our special 5-part series where certified OMS foodie and professional chef Jack McNulty answers cooking- and food-related questions from you, our OMS community. The final installment of Ask Jack for 2021 premieres on November 10, and it’s our special holiday cooking edition. Remember, you can submit your questions early for the next and all future Ask Jack episodes by emailing them to podcast@overcomingms.org.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

A Window into MS Research from Johns Hopkins | S3E41

Welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break #21, where we are pleased to welcome Julie Pankhurst as our guest!   Our Coffee Break series is your chance to get to know members of our diverse OMS community. In each episode, you’ll join Geoff Allix for an intimate chat with a different member of our global community. Our guests will share their personal stories and talk about their challenges and victories, large and small. We hope you find common cause and a source of inspiration from the stories of these very special people.   As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. We hope you enjoy this episode’s conversation with Julie, coming to you straight from Surrey, England.   Julie’s Professional Bio (in her own words):   I trained to be a software engineer straight out of school in the mid 80s. There weren’t many female engineers at that time, which appealed to me a lot as at age 18, I wanted to prove that I was just as good as any man out there! This perhaps stemmed from the friendly competitive nature between my brother and me (a friendly rivalry that still exists today!)   In 1999, while pregnant with my first of two daughters, I used a website called phonenumbers.net and literally over a weekend I was able to track down my grandfather, who had left his wife and child (my father) in the 1940s to set up home in Denmark.  This was the first time that I recognized the enormous power of the Internet. In the 1990s it seemed that everyone was looking for the next big Dotcom idea. While many people were putting their shop online, I sought ideas that could appeal to an even wider range of people. This was when I had the thought that everyone in the UK went to school and might like to know what had happened to their old primary school friends, just like I did in the case of a friend who had left London to live in Edinburgh when she was 10. This was the simple idea behind FriendsReunited, which was set up in 2000: a UK website through which people could easily track down their old school chums by searching for the year group within their school.    My husband and I sold the company in 2005 and since then have taken great delight in being parents, philanthropists, and travelling.   Julie’s MS Bio (in her own words):   Over the last seven years or so I’d seen my GP once a year with issues that were niggling me: memory problems, pins and needles in my feet, incontinence, balance, and walking issues, etc. These were all dismissed as nothing significant. My memory problems concerned me greatly but when I suggested that I wanted to pay for a full health check I was told not to waste my money. A year later, on Valentine’s Day 2019, my husband and I each had a full health checkup which included brain MRIs. The doctor first thought my symptoms were due to being peri-menopausal until she saw the results from the brain MRI. This is when it was pointed out to me that I had lesions in my brain which could be MS. I visited a neurologist who diagnosed me with primary progressive MS. My world fell apart. All the dreams that I had to travel the world once our daughters left school disappeared. In June 2019 a friend mentioned the OMS program. On researching further, I learned that there was going to be an OMS retreat the next month. I signed up straight away. I did not know anyone with MS and went to this retreat feeling very alone and scared of seeing how my future was going to be. I left the retreat having made many supportive friends and incredibly positive about my future. OMS gave me the tools to be proactive daily rather than simply seeing a neurologist just once a year.   In November 2019, an agonizingly long time after my first diagnosis, I got to meet a NHS neurologist who almost immediately said that she did not believe I had primary progressive MS but instead she thought it was relapsing remitting MS.     I still am not sure what type of MS I have but whatever it is I am hopeful that by following the OMS lifestyle and having Ocrevus infusions I can stop it in its tracks!   Questions:   Julie, welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break. We’re so pleased to have you on our program. The purpose of this series is to better get to know some of the diverse members of our community from around the world, and today you’re in the hot seat. Can you tell us a little about your day-to-day life? When were you diagnosed with MS? Can you provide some context on that? When were you diagnosed and how did you initially deal with it? At which point did you come across the OMS program? How was that experience for you? Why did you decide to start following it? I understand you used to be a vegetarian and then a pescatarian pre-OMS for over 15 years. Did that help you adjust to the OMS diet? You also have quite an interesting daily fitness regimen. Tell us more about Zoom yoga. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced at first in adopting the OMS program? How did you overcome them? When did you first start to see any kind of positive indicators in following OMS guidelines? What were these? In looking at your professional past, you and your husband started a company in the early days of the Internet boom, which you then sold in 2005 allowing you to focus much of your time on philanthropy. In full disclosure, your charitable trust is one of the supporters of this podcast, for which we’re very grateful. Why is philanthropy so important to you? What kind of impact would you like to make in the world? Why was it important for you to offer philanthropic support to OMS, and what advice would you give to others about supporting OMS? I learned about an interesting hobby you have – exploring family ancestry. In fact, your ancestry was indirectly responsible for the successful Internet company you and your husband launched. Can you share a little more about your genealogical bug? Back to the topic of MS, something quite topical these days is the question of people with MS and the need to get vaccinated. You’ve been vaccinated but the DMD you’re on has had a strange effect on your antibodies. Can you speak to that and share your thoughts on what it might mean to our audience? Julie, we are ever so grateful for you being on Living Well with MS Coffee Break and allowing our community to get to know one of its own a little better. One last question before you go, and it’s a bit of a tradition in that we ask it of all our Coffee Break guests. If you tap into your experience with MS generally and OMS specifically for a nugget of wisdom that would help people ease into and better adopt the OMS program, what would that advice be?   Interesting Factoids About Julie   Julie loves photography, and she intends to focus (pun intended) on it more in the future.  Julie is passionate about researching her family ancestry through a website she created, genesreunited. Through the site, she has been in contact with her father’s half-sister, who never knew she and her brother even existed! Julie keeps fit physically and mentally through daily Zoom yoga sessions. Julie and her husband are active philanthropists (including support provided to this podcast through The Happy Charitable Trust). Two of her other favorite charities to support are Plan International and Kiva, as their focus is to empower people in less economically-developed countries. Through Plan International UK, Julie and her husband have sponsored children and helped to build several schools around the world and have been privileged to visit them, too.   Julie’s Links:   Follow Julie on Twitter Check out other Twitter feeds Julie loves: Aaron Boster, Dr. Brandon Beaber, and Prof. Gavin Giovannoni Julie loves the yoga website Taming the Walrus, run by OMS facilitator Veronique Gauthier-Simmons Julie gets great health tips from Chatterjee   Coming up on our next episode:   Tune in on September 8, 2021, for the next episode of Living Well with MS, where Geoff sits down with Dr. Michael Kornberg, an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the world-renowned Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Kornberg is on the forefront of scientific research in MS, and he’ll share some of his insights into what’s on the research horizon for today and beyond.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Coffee Break #21 with Julie Pankhurst | S3E40 bonus

Ritu Kaur is no ordinary woman. She is creative, accomplished, life-loving and, after getting diagnosed with MS, has made it her single-handed mission to educate people about MS to reduce the stigma around it and lessen undiagnosed and misdiagnosed cases. MS is not the same for everyone. Nor does MS define a person; only their courage and strength do. With love and kindness in her heart, Ritu has taken to spreading awareness about MS and building community around the globe to create acceptance of MS among people with MS and their families, friends, colleagues, and society. Through her deft use of social media, Ritu is building a platform where people with MS and their supporter can get counsel and emotional support… where they feel loved, accepted, and confident.   Questions:   Welcome to Living Well with MS, Ritu! I believe your full name is Surjeet. Is Ritu a nickname? There are many thousands of people around the world that know the name Ritu thanks to the work you’ve undertaken to build a community around the cause of raising MS awareness. First off, can you share a little bit about your personal background and connection to MS? After receiving your diagnosis, what were some of the chief factors that pointed you in the direction of the work you do to raise awareness of MS? Why do you think it’s so important for MS awareness to improve? How does what you’re doing supplement the work of MS organizations like the MS Society? Where’s the gap that you saw from your own personal experience with MS? You’ve been quoted as saying “through my efforts I am trying to remove the fear about MS and the taboo associated with the disease.” Can you speak to the stigma around MS you’ve witnessed and how you’ve decided to confront and overcome it? You’ve built an amazing global community of over 17k people on Instagram, the link to which can be found in our show notes, and as I understand it you have 121 personal relationships with many of them. Why do you feel community is so important? How do you feel the community you’ve built has made a difference in the lives of people with MS? You’re based in India. What do you see as the specific challenges there in terms of MS awareness and acceptance, and how are you working to address this closer to home? Shifting gears a bit, you have a background in marketing, and I know you’ve applied some of these skills to creating some pretty amazing awareness campaigns, the links to which can be found in our show notes. How have these made an impact? If all the work you do building community and raising MS awareness isn’t enough, you’re also giving me a run for the money by being a creator and host of a podcast, 10 Minutes for MS. I suppose that’s yet another great way to reach people with your message, but since we’re chatting as part of a podcast, what do you think that platform provides you for advancing your cause that others don’t? On a personal note, how do you find time to stay healthy and balanced given how much time you dedicate to the cause of MS awareness? Your motto is to “spread awareness with love and happiness”, which is beautiful. But sometimes, and hopefully rarely, you might find yourself suffering the blues. How do you personally cope with that, and what advice would you give to others? Thanks so much for being on our program, Ritu. You are truly an inspiration to the MS community, and the work you’ve done has already helped transform the MS landscape. On a final note, if you look back 5 or 10 years from now, what is the single greatest change or impact you would have liked to have made with the work you’re doing?   Bio:   Since her diagnosis in 2012, Ritu has gone on to create a global community for MS patients and caregivers. Ritu has created a hub for education, awareness and acceptance of MS amongst the PwMS’ families, friends, colleagues and society. Through her efforts, she is also trying to remove the fear, social stigma and taboos associated with MS to create acceptance. She believes that anything can be overcome with Love and Positivity and that is her motto: Spread Awareness with Love and Happiness. With the support of her family and using her marketing skills, she has single-handedly taken up this mission of bring a change to the way MS is perceived today around the world.   Links:   Ritu and multiplesclerosis.awareness on Instagram Ritu’s story as featured in Rare Revolution Magazine Ritu’s YouTube channel Ritu’s Facebook page Ritu’s podcast, 10 Minutes for MS Check out some of Ritu’s global MS awareness campaigns: #BeatMSWith #WeSwitchMS #WorkOutMS #HowMSFeels Some of Ritu’s live interviews with doctors on IGTV and MS Warriors: Ingels:MS and Covid 19 Michael Murray:Diet & MS Tom O’Bryan:Gut Health & MS E Stem Cells Therapy:Part 1 , Part 2   Coming up on our next episode:   Pack your listening bags for Surrey, England on the next episode of Living Well with MS Coffee Break #21, premiering August 30, 2021, when we introduce you to entrepreneur and philanthropist Julie Pankhurst. You won’t want to miss her fascinating personal story, and hopefully her shared experience with MS and the OMS program will enlighten and inspire you!   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Ritu Kaur: A One-Woman MS Awareness Machine | S3E40

Welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break #20, where we are pleased to welcome Gillian Robertson as our guest!   Our Coffee Break series is your chance to get to know members of our diverse OMS community. In each episode, you’ll join Geoff Allix for an intimate chat with a different member of our global community. Our guests will share their personal stories and talk about their challenges and victories, large and small. We hope you find common cause and a source of inspiration from the stories of these very special people.   As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. We hope you enjoy this episode’s conversation with Gillian, beaming to you straight from Grimentz in Switzerland.   Gillian’s Story   Gillian has been living in the ski resort of Grimentz in Switzerland for 14 years, after relocating for work 18 years ago from the UK to Switzerland.  She and her husband have three grown daughters and two grandchildren, all now living in England. In April 2016, Gillian began feeling numbness and pins and needles in her feet, which gradually spread causing problems with her walking and balance. After various tests and referrals, she was diagnosed with RRMS in January 2017.  Following physiotherapy, she started to take a disease modifying drug and decided to follow the OMS program, which she learned about after doing a lot of her own research on MS.  She has since been able to return to her favorite sports: hiking, running, yoga, and skiing.  She also completed a two-year Diploma in cuisine and patisserie at the Cordon Bleu culinary school and has started a new career as a private chef.  Gillian volunteers for Overcoming MS by contributing and testing recipes. She is also a member of the OMS Communications Advisory Group.    Questions   Gillian, our audience wants to know a little bit about you and your life. Can you share some background on where you’re from, what you do, any snippets of your family or personal life or anything about you that would give our listeners a sense of who Gillian Robertson is? How about your experience with MS? Can you provide some context on that? When were you diagnosed and how did you initially cope with it? At which point did you come across the OMS program? How was that experience for you? Why did you decide to start following it? What are some of the challenges you’ve faced at first in adopting the OMS program? How did you overcome them? When did you first start to see any kind of positive indicators in following OMS guidelines? What were these? You’ve been a valuable contributor to the OMS community. For example, contribute recipes to the OMS website. What’s that experience like? On a personal note, do you have any unusual interests or wacky hobbies you can tell us about? What kind of stuff will we find you doing on a weekend? If you tap into your personal experience for a nugget of wisdom that would help people ease into and better adopt the OMS program, what would that advice be?   3 Fun Facts About Gillian (in her own words)   I am passionate about food, cooking and eating!  Always have been. I am someone who lives to eat, rather than eats to live.  Following the OMS program has not changed that, and whilst there are some limitations on the types of food I can eat now, meals can still be just as delicious at the same time as being OMS-friendly. I love the outdoors and feel very lucky to be living in the mountains, where I can ski in the winter and run, hike, and bike in the summer. I really believe that making the most of the outdoors greatly improves our physical AND mental health. I am always working to improve my foreign language skills.  Having lived in Italy and Switzerland I have had plenty of opportunity to do so, and can now speak French, German, and Italian to varying degrees.  Great brain-training!   Gillian’s Links   Follow Gillian on Instagram, where she posts OMS-friendly recipe ideas, as well as photos of her cooking and life in Switzerland. This is a great site for vegan and vegetarian recipes, many of which are OMS-friendly or easily adaptable. This is a great Swiss recipe resource to browse through, with lots of vegan and fish recipes which are OMS-friendly or easily adaptable. Here’s a free app for guided meditations/music for relaxation. Here are some free yoga videos for all levels. Gillian clearly loves languages, and she thinks this app makes learning a language a lot of fun.   Coming up on our next episode   On August 18, you can “meet” India’s Ritu Kaur, who has taken up a one-woman effort to raise awareness about and destigmatize MS. She truly is an MS awareness machine! And don’t forget to submit your questions for Ask Jack #4 by August 23 by emailing them to podcast@overcomingms.org. Ask Jack #4 premieres on September 15.   Don’t miss out   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Coffee Break #20 with Gillian Robertson | S3E39 bonus

We all know that exercise is a key component of healthy living, and particularly important too if you have MS, which is why it plays such a prominent role as one of the steps of the OMS Program. But did you know that when you’re exercising your body, you’re working out your nervous system as well? Our guest on this episode of Living Well with MS, Dr. Gretchen Hawley, will explain neuroplasticity (for us lay people, that’s the brain’s ability to continually change, a sign of brain health) and how exercise can impact it, as well as share her insights on helping people with MS improve their strength, balance and mobility.   Bio:   Gretchen Hawley is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist. After graduating from Simmons University in Boston, she developed a Multiple Sclerosis program alongside two of the city's top MS neurologists. Dr. Hawley utilizes the concept of neuroplasticity to improve strength, balance and walking in those with MS by using specific, functional exercises. She has been a keynote speaker at several National MS Society events and other MS focused conferences in 2018 and 2019 and presents frequently to MS groups. Dr. Hawley brings a keen understanding of the challenges faced by people living with MS and has developed a virtual physical therapy program to help people improve their MS symptoms while in the comfort of their own home and guided by an MS specialist. Dr. Hawley resides in Buffalo with her dog, Finn.     Questions:   We hear a lot about new training methods, such as HIIT (high intensity interval training); is it effective for people with MS? How long should the intensity intervals be? If you’re doing strength training as well, should you do cardio before or after? What are different types of strengthening for people with MS? How does an “MS-specific” exercise differ from regular training? Can you provide some examples of “MS-specific” exercise? What’s the right exercise order for different types of exercises? Is it better to do an exercise like walking even if you’re having an off day and do it badly or wait till you can do it well with good form? How do you find the motivation to exercise consistently? Do you recommend days off from exercise? You have an online wellness program called The MSing Link. Can you tell our audience a bit about it?   Links:   Learn more about Dr. Gretchen Hawley’s online MS wellness program, The MSing Link (SPECIAL OFFER! $15 off any membership if you use promo code OMS2021) Check our Dr. Gretchen Hawley on YouTube Check out Dr. Gretchen Hawley on Facebook Check out Dr. Gretchen Hawley on Instagram Watch Dr. Gretchen Hawley’s Behind the Scenes video Learn more about Gretchen Hawley   Coming up on our next episode:   Next up from the OMS podcast family: starting August 9, meet Gillian Robertson, who lives in the UK and volunteers as a recipe contributor to the OMS website, on Living Well with MS Coffee Break #20, part of our ongoing series introducing you to members of the dynamic OMS community from around the globe.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show.

Rethinking Exercise for People with MS | S3E39

Welcome to our third installment of Ask Jack, featuring the prodigious culinary talents of professional holistic chef Jack McNulty answering food-related questions generated by you, our community. Check out the show notes below that dig deeper into the topics covered on this episode. Set your dials to this station when Ask Jack #4 premieres on September 15, 2021, just in time to kick off autumn (for one half of the world, at least). Don’t forget to submit your questions for Jack by emailing them to podcast@overcomingms.org.   Introduction   Now, on to this episode’s main theme: Summer is for Eating Well!   In this episode, we dig into (literally) into some topical questions about foods and activities that are part of every summer culinary package, and Jack makes sure to advise you on how to make sure they align with your OMS diet and still taste great. Given how central a role grilling (or BBQing to some of our listeners) plays in summer eating, we focus mostly on understanding the growing segment of meat replacers and how they fit into the OMS diet, plus addressing summer cooking ideas and techniques.   Questions 1 + 2   Our first question comes from Mathilde in London, and it harkens back to a popular theme on earlier episodes – cooking appliances:   I know that Jack already talked about various cooking appliances, but I was wondering what were his thoughts about induction? My understanding is that it is a great one when it comes to controlling temperature. Is that true?   Our next question, from Gina in Bristol (UK) is about reheating food, which is relevant for summer and all seasons:   When I make a stir fry or soup, I sometimes add olive oil or sesame oil after cooking while the food is still hot. I also like to batch-cook and am wondering what is the best way to reheat foods that have some oil in or on them (roasted vegetables come to mind)? Is it problematic to microwave leftovers?   Question 3   There was a flurry of questions from our audience about how healthy meat substitutes and chicken substitutes are, given they often have loads of chemicals or other “unnatural” ingredients. Jack and Geoff dig into this topic to unpack some of the key points to be mindful of when considering whether to consume one of the many meat alternatives and plant-based “meat” options on the market.   Question 4   Eating outdoors and picnicking are summer fixtures. Many of our listeners wanted to know what are the best types of OMS-friendly foods to bring with you to a picnic?   Question 5   On a sizzling BBQ note, Nicola from Canterbury (UK) wanted to hear ideas for things to try on a BBQ. In her experience, most homemade bean burgers just fall apart, and she worries about cooking fish over direct heat. She has had some success with mushrooms in foil but otherwise is out of ideas. Any tips?   Question 6   What are the main factors and considerations to ensure your summer cooking is healthy and fun? Jack provides some great overall guidelines to make sure you spend more time enjoying your summer fare and less time deliberating over it.   Question 7   Most people associate grilling with proteins, but many of our listeners are curious about the best veggies to make on an open flame and wanted to get some good tips on grilling vegetables. Jack offers some great advice on this topic. Here are some further thoughts on how best to cook veggies.   Question 8   Most meals end with dessert, and so does this episode. One of our listeners asked the following:   Do you have any suggestions on what I can bring as a dessert if I'm invited to a picnic?   Links:   Connect with Jack:  Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook   Coming up on our next episode:   On July 28, tune into the next episode of Living Well with MS for a topic that’s critical to everyone’s good health: exercise. Specifically, one of our favorite guests – Dr. Gretchen Hawley – rejoins us to discuss ways in which we can rethink exercise to make it more accessible to everyone. You’ll really get a great dose of advice on how to get into the great exercise groove at all levels of ability, tapping into Dr. Gretchen Hawley’s expertise as a Doctor of Physical Therapy specializing in MS and creator of The MSing Link, and online MS wellness program.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Ask Jack #3 | S3E38 bonus

Welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break #19, where we are pleased to welcome Joia Lewis as our guest!   Our Coffee Break series is your chance to get to know members of our diverse OMS community. In each episode, you’ll join Geoff Allix for an intimate chat with a different member of our global community. Our guests will share their personal stories and talk about their challenges and victories, large and small. We hope you find common cause and a source of inspiration from the stories of these very special people.   As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. We hope you enjoy this episode’s conversation with Joia, beaming to you straight from the Estoril in Portugal.   Bio:   Joia Lewis was born in Portugal to missionary parents and lived there for 10 years until the family returned to the United States. In college she studied violin at the Boston Conservatory and Russian at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow, before spending a year traveling throughout Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East. Seeking to continue studies in both the humanities and sciences, she completed graduate work at Indiana University for a PhD in the Philosophy of Science. 30 years of teaching scientific reasoning, logic and medical ethics also include raising her daughter in California and working for a software company there and in Minnesota. She was diagnosed with PPMS in 2009 and taught 5 more years until full medical retirement and disability in 2014. Her symptoms were fortunately stable enough to allow for moving back to her birthplace in Portugal in 2018, where she currently lives near Lisbon and works on her many writing projects.   Questions:   Joia, welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break. We’re so pleased to have you on our program. The purpose of this series is to better get to know some of the diverse members of our community from around the world, and we couldn’t have a more representative example than you. You’ve had quite an international and multicultural life, which has taken you full circle back to Portugal. Can you tell us a bit about this whirlwind trajectory? When were you diagnosed with PPMS? Can you provide some context on that? When were you diagnosed and how did you initially deal with it? You have had a rich career as an academic, serving as a professor of philosophy of science. And now you’re an essaying, blogger and occasional editor. How did your academic focus at all inform your approach to dealing with the realities of experiencing MS? At which point did you come across the OMS program? How was that experience for you? Why did you decide to start following it? What are some of the challenges you’ve faced at first in adopting the OMS program? How did you overcome them? When did you first start to see any kind of positive indicators in following OMS guidelines? What were these? As I understand it, you have some thoughts to share with our community about ways in which one can deal with the anxieties surrounding experiencing MS symptoms. As this is a critical area for anyone with MS, do you have any personal lessons or tips to share? You’ve been a valuable member of the OMS community. As an example, you’re the ambassador of the OMS Circle currently covering all of Portugal. What’s that experience like? Shifting gears, literally, I’m curious to understand how you work exercise and meditation into your daily regimen. What kind of exercise do you do regularly, and how do you feel it impacts you physically and emotionally? If you tap into your experience with MS generally and OMS specifically for a nugget of wisdom that would help people ease into and better adopt the OMS program, what would that advice be?   Joia’s Links:   Check out Joia’s blog Read Joia’s essay about her PPMS journey Joia’s interview on the Women Who Walk podcast Joia’s LinkedIn profile Joia’s Twitter feed   Coming up on our next episode:   Tune in on July 21, 2021 for the third installment and special summer edition of Ask Jack, our special 5-part series where certified OMS foodie and professional chef Jack McNulty answers cooking- and food-related questions from you, our OMS community. This episode is all about picnics and grilling, so have a listen and you’ll be sure your summer meals are both tasty and OMS-friendly. And remember, you can submit your questions for future Ask Jack episodes by emailing them to podcast@overcomingms.org.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Coffee Break #19 with Joia Lewis | S3E38 bonus

Meet David Lyons, bodybuilding champion, media personality and founder of a global fitness training program. Did we mention David also has MS? Through the MS Fitness Challenge among many other endeavors, David has dedicated his personal and professional life to helping people with MS of all abilities learn how to overcome their physical challenges and lead healthier lives.   Questions:   Welcome to Living Well with MS, David! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background and anything our audience should know to get a sense of who you are? You’re the creator of the MS Fitness Challenge. What exactly is that? What are the key things people with MS are missing when it comes to fitness, in your view? Does the MS Fitness Challenge program work for people with different kinds of MS, different levels of mobility, etc.? How does your approach to helping people with MS improve mobility through exercise and strength training differ from other offerings out there? Have your methods been part of any scientific research or published studies that support their efficacy? If you could give someone with MS 3 quick hacks to fitness that would allow them to see a difference in the way they feel relatively quickly, what would these be? You established an MS Fitness Challenge as a nonprofit organization. How come? What is the difference between MS Fitness Challenge and your virtual personal fitness program, Optimal Body Personal Fitness? What’s next for you in the MS fitness space? Any new programs or ideas on the horizon to enable you to reach more people with MS?   Bio:   In 2006, David Lyons was hospitalized and diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 47. David, a former bodybuilder and health club owner, exercised regularly and lived a healthy lifestyle. He was devastated by the diagnosis and frustrated by the physical limitations of his condition. While in the hospital the doctors told David he would most likely leave in a wheelchair and would not return to his normal workout routine. So what does David do? At the age of 50, he decided to compete in an NPC bodybuilding competition!   David Lyons, founder of the MS Bodybuilding Challenge and co-founder of the MS Fitness Challenge (MSFC) with wife Kendra, has dedicated his life to helping people with MS understand and be educated on the importance of fitness in their lives. He is the recipient of the National MS Society Milestone Award and faith based author of David’s Goliath, a book on his journey to a bodybuilding stage with MS; a speaker/writer for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes; writer for Everyday Health, reaching more than 50 million visitors monthly; owner of the OPTIMALBODY fitness brand; and president/executive producer at Lyons Entertainment, one of Hollywood’s top production companies; amongst other endeavors.   In 2013 David received the Health Advocate of the Year Award with Lou Ferrigno. And in 2015, at almost 57 years old, he was the only person with MS to receive the Health Advocate Lifetime Achievement Award from Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as the Lifetime Fitness Inspiration Award in Feb 2016, next to bodybuilding legend Mike Quinn at the Global Bodybuilding Organization’s International Fitness Expo. In January, 2017 David received the Special Recognition Award from the National Fitness Hall of Fame and later in the year he was honored as a Founding Partner of the organization’s Institute for learning.   David is considered the face of MS and fitness worldwide and his fitness book, Everyday Health & Fitness with Multiple Sclerosis was a #1 New Release on Amazon while his MS Fitness Training Specialist certification partnered with the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT) educates trainers internationally on how to work with MS clients. David has appeared on Good Morning LA, FOX News Orlando and other TV and radio shows nationwide as well as in print media, and Bodybuilding.com has released a feature on him and the MSFC. David is also the Senior Fitness Director of MS Workouts and is the Vice President of Adaptive Sports for the United Intercontinental Bodybuilding Fitness Federation (UIBFF). Lyons is a 2019 inductee in the National Fitness Hall of Fame for his work as a fitness educator.   Links:   Learn more about MS Fitness Challenge founder David Lyons Check out the MS Fitness Challenge charity organization Read David’s articles on Everyday Health Watch a recent interview with David Learn more about David becoming a finalist for the 2021 MS Innovation Challenge Check out Optimal Body Personal Fitness, David’s virtual fitness training program   Coming up on our next episode:   Join Geoff on July 12th for the 19th instalment of Living Well with MS Coffee Break, beaming to you straight from Portugal, as he welcomes Joia Lewis, a writer and former professor of philosophy who shares her OMS journey with PPMS.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

The MS Fitness Challenge | S3E38

Welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break #18, where we are pleased to welcome Rachel Knight as our guest!   Our Coffee Break series is your chance to get to know members of our diverse OMS community. In each episode, you’ll join Geoff Allix for an intimate chat with a different member of our global community. Our guests will share their personal stories and talk about their challenges and victories, large and small. We hope you find common cause and a source of inspiration from the stories of these very special people.   As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. We hope you enjoy this episode’s conversation with Rachel, beaming to you straight from the New Zealand.   Bio   Rachel moved to New Zealand from Chester, England in 1996 while working in the electricity industry. She left the corporate world nine years later to start her own business helping people grow their own food. She was diagnosed with MS in March 2017 but was fortunate to go to an OMS retreat in Australia six weeks later. She is the OMS Ambassador for the Hawke’s Bay OMS Circle and develops and tests recipes for the OMS website.   Rachel enjoys getting out and about with her two Labradors, she makes many of her own clothes and has recently upgraded to an e-bike for more comfortable local commuting.   Questions:   Rachel, our audience wants to know a little bit about you and your life. Can you share some background on where you’re from, what you do, any snippets of your family or personal life or anything about you that would give our listeners a sense of who Rachel Knight is? How about your experience with MS? Can you provide some context on that? When were you diagnosed and how did you initially cope with it? At which point did you come across the OMS program? How was that experience for you? Why did you decide to start following it? What are some of the challenges you’ve faced at first in adopting the OMS program? How did you overcome them? When did you first start to see any kind of positive indicators in following OMS guidelines? What were these? You’ve been a valuable member of the OMS community. As an example, you’re the ambassador for the OMS Circle in Hawke’s Bay. What’s that experience like? You also test OMS-friendly recipes for our website. What does that entail? On a personal note, do you have any unusual interests or wacky hobbies you can tell us about? What kind of stuff will we find you doing on a weekend? If you tap into your experience with MS generally and OMS specifically for a nugget of wisdom that would help people ease into and better adopt the OMS program, what would that advice be?   Coming up on our next episode:   Get your fitness hat on June 30 for the next episode of Living Well with MS, when Geoff Allix talks to MS Fitness Challenge creator and exercise maestro David Lyons about the life-changing power of exercise and fitness to people with MS at all ranges of ability.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Coffee Break #18 with Rachel Knight | S3E37 bonus

Bio:   Hana is an event project manager, traveler, health freak, and most importantly, an OMS volunteer coordinator. She started following the OMS program after being told she might have MS. After reading everything about the brain, neurons, nutrition and the health benefits of a plant-based diet and finding the OMS website, she decided to give it a try. Her efforts slowed down the progression of her condition and now, after five years, many OMS-friendly recipes, countless liters of flaxseed oil and hours of yoga and journaling, her neurologist informed her that whatever she’s been doing she should keep it up, and her file was placed in the ‘let's observe’ folder indefinitely. Hana believes following the OMS protocols was one of the best decisions she has ever made.   Questions:   Welcome to Living Well with MS, Hana! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background and anything our audience should know to get a sense of who you are? How did you discover the OMS program… describe the path that led you there? What’s your experience been like on the OMS program… tell us about the ups and the downs? OMS is marking this month to recognize the amazing contributions our volunteers make to the organization. You’re a volunteer coordinator for OMS. What exactly is that role about? What kind of impact do you think the volunteers you work with make in helping OMS further its mission to make more people aware of the positive impact of healthy lifestyle changes for people with MS? Do you have a history of volunteering for other causes or organizations? What inspires you personally to be a volunteer? Why did you decide to dedicate so much of your volunteer energy to OMS? If you had to provide some advice to people considering volunteering for OMS, what would it be? Can you share any inspirational moments or experiences you’ve had as an OMS volunteer? Thanks for much for sharing these perspectives on volunteering, Hana, and for the service you provide to the OMS community. Before we part, I wanted to ask you one last thing: if there is one tip or piece of advice you can give to new members of the OMS community, perhaps something that’s served you well in your own journey, what would it be?   Hana’s Favorite Instagram Feeds:   Gretchen Hawley MS Diet for Life Staying Healthy with MS Tanya’s Living (Organic Raw Deli in London) Amy Levin (Healthy Chocolates and Desserts) Vegan Bowls (Vegan Recipes)   Coming up on our next episode:   Next up from the OMS podcast family: starting June 21, meet Rachel Knight, the OMS Ambassador for the Circle in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand on Living Well with MS Coffee Break #18, part of our ongoing series introducing you to members of the dynamic OMS community from around the globe.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.  

The Joys of Volunteering | S3E37

Welcome to Living Well with MS Coffee Break #17, where we are pleased to welcome Yasmin Neves as our guest!   Our Coffee Break series is your chance to get to know members of our diverse OMS community. In each episode, you’ll join Geoff Allix for an intimate chat with a different member of our global community. Our guests will share their personal stories and talk about their challenges and victories, large and small. We hope you find common cause and a source of inspiration from the stories of these very special people.   As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. We hope you enjoy this episode’s conversation with Yasmin, coming to you straight from Cardiff, Wales.   Bio   Yasmin owns and runs several successful businesses and has expertise in human resources, property and coaching. Yasmin is a Master Coach of Neuro Linguistics Programming, which means she really understands how the unconscious mind works and has a whole range of tools to help people achieve long lasting change in their personal and professional lives. Yasmin has overcome a number of personal challenges in her life and is currently learning to live well after a diagnosis of MS. She is passionate about wellbeing, mindsets, self-sufficiency and helping others to achieve their goals. Yasmin has transformed every aspect of her life and isn’t afraid of living a slightly unconventional life in the country.     Questions:   Yasmin, our audience wants to know a little bit about you and your life. Can you share some background on where you’re from, what you do, any snippets of your family or personal life or anything about you that would give our listeners a sense of who Yasmin Neves is? How about your experience with MS? Can you provide some context on that? When were you diagnosed and how did you initially cope with it? At which point did you come across the OMS program? How was that experience for you? Why did you decide to start following it? What are some of the challenges you’ve faced at first in adopting the OMS program? How did you overcome them? When did you first start to see any kind of positive indicators in following OMS guidelines? What were these? You’ve been a valuable member of the OMS community. As an example, you’re part of an OMS Circle in Cardiff. What’s that experience like? On a personal note, do you have any unusual interests or wacky hobbies you can tell us about? What kind of stuff will we find you doing on a weekend? If you tap into your experience with MS generally and OMS specifically for a nugget of wisdom that would help people ease into and better adopt the OMS program, what would that advice be?   Yasmin’s Top 3 Passions (in her own words):   I am passionate about the mind-body connection and how our thoughts become our reality. Reconnecting with nature is a powerful healing tool for me and it can be so simple. Just taking a moment to really look at a flower or listen to water or taking your shoes off and feeling the ground beneath me are daily habits which help keep me grounded and reduce my stress levels.   Self-sufficiency and the environment are two additional key areas (along with health) which drive me to live a holistic life.   Yasmin’s Links:   Check out Yasmin’s HR and coaching website here. Yasmin is very active on Instagram; check out some of her feeds: Yasmin’s personal page Yasmin’s farm page The food page from the OMS Circle in Cardiff   Coming up on our next episode:   Starting June 9, tap into the joys of volunteering by meeting one of our volunteer coordinators, Hana Javurkova, as OMS honors those who give so much of their time and expertise in the service of our community. And remember to submit your questions by June 15 for the next Ask Jack episode on summer eating, picnics and grilling by emailing them to podcast@overcomingms.org.   Don’t miss out:   Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. You can catch any episode of Living Well with MS here or on your favorite podcast listening app. Don’t be shy – if you like the program, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune into the show. And feel free to share your comments and suggestions by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org.

Coffee Break #17 with Yasmin Neves | S3E36 bonus

Welcome to the Overcoming MS | Living Well with MS podcast. In each episode, your host Geoff Allix will explore a different aspect of the OMS 7-Step Recovery Program in greater depth. New episodes will be published approximately once per month, and will feature interviews with scientists, fitness specialists, diet experts, stress reduction professionals and OMSers themselves. The podcast will also feature inspirational, real-life stories from people with multiple sclerosis about the daily challenges and small victories of successful lifestyle modification.

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Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis

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