I’d frequently see clients who came in for one thing: bloating, sluggish digestion, food sensitivities. Yet we’d often end up working on something else entirely: their blood sugar.
It happens so often it’s barely a coincidence anymore.
The connection between your gut and your blood sugar runs in both directions, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it. When your blood sugar spikes and then crashes through the day, your body releases cortisol and adrenaline to pull it back up. Those stress hormones don’t just affect your mood. They slow gut motility, change how your stomach empties, shift the balance of your gut bacteria, and make the gut wall more permeable than it should be.
Going the other way - when your gut is inflamed, your body becomes less efficient at handling glucose. Inflammation anywhere in the body nudges insulin resistance upward. So a long-running digestive issue can quietly worsen the very blood sugar pattern that’s making it harder for your gut to settle.
That’s why the symptoms so often arrive together:
Bloating that gets worse as the afternoon goes on
Energy crashes that come with brain fog and a sudden pull toward something sweet
Reactivity to foods that didn’t used to bother you
Worse digestion in stressful weeks, even when you haven’t changed what you’re eating
If you’ve been chasing one set of symptoms and feeling like you’re missing something — you might be. They’re often the same conversation.
What helps both at the same time:
Build meals around protein and fat first, with carbohydrates alongside rather than alone
Eat your vegetables and protein before the starchier or sweeter part of the meal
Notice your most reactive hours — many people’s digestion is worst at the same time of day their energy dips
You don’t have to choose one to work on. They’re connected. When you support the pattern underneath, both ends of it tend to ease.
That’s your data.
If you’ve been wondering whether blood sugar might be behind more of this than you’d thought, my free guide Is Your Blood Sugar Working Against You? Ten Signs Most People Completely Miss walks you through the symptoms most people miss. Download it at francesnorgate.com/#bloodsugarguide.
And if you’d like to understand what’s specifically going on for you, I’m offering free 30-minute Blood Sugar Audits for a limited time - no obligation, just a real conversation. Book at francesnorgate.com/blood-sugar-audit.
Thank you for being here.
See you next week,
Frances x
Frances Norgate
Qualified Nutrition and Lifestyle Advisor
francesnorgate.com
