Food shapes every part of our lives, yet many of us still treat nutrition as something separate from how we think, feel and perform. We eat for convenience, habit or comfort, rarely pausing to consider what that daily pattern might be doing beneath the surface.
In this episode of It’s Never About Money, I’m joined by Jackie Bowker – award-winning functional nutritionist, PhD candidate and CEO of the Global Feel Better Institute – to explore why nutrition is so often the missing link between energy, mood, sleep and decision-making, and why what we eat underpins everything from health to long-term performance.
From sugar highs to real food
Jackie’s journey into nutrition began with her own health unravelling. Years of being “obsessed with sugar” left her riding a blood sugar roller coaster she didn’t yet recognise, marked by fatigue, irritability, bloating and the unsettling feeling of being “wired but tired”. When conventional medicine couldn’t offer answers, she turned to real food – a shift that restored her energy and ultimately led her into nutrition research.
The true cost of an ultra-processed diet
We discuss how nutrition, sleep, stress and movement are deeply interconnected. Diets high in sugar and ultra-processed foods destabilise blood sugar, often disrupting sleep and leaving people exhausted, foggy and reactive the next day.
Jackie explains how modern diets interfere with hunger hormones, insulin and gut health. Our biology hasn’t changed, but our food environment has – and the body often struggles to interpret foods designed in a laboratory rather than grown or raised.
The gut-brain connection
A key part of the conversation centres on the gut and its role in inflammation, mood and cognition. The gut and brain are in constant communication, with many neurotransmitters produced in the digestive system itself. Supporting gut health, Jackie explains, can have powerful flow-on effects for mental clarity, resilience and decision-making.
Why nutrition belongs in the bigger life conversation
Nutrition isn’t about perfection or restriction – it’s about giving the body the stable fuel it needs to think clearly, sleep deeply and show up well in life. When energy is steady, everything else becomes easier.
To hear the full conversation with Jackie, listen to this episode of It’s Never About Money.
