Ep #88 - Sugar Cravings, Gut Health & Real Energy (with Sue Thomas, The Sugar Free Coach)

If you’re running on caffeine, raiding the biscuits at 4pm and wondering why you still feel exhausted (hello, brain fog and zero motivation), this conversation is for you. I’m joined by Sue Thomas — The Sugar Free Coach — to unpack the powerful link between gut health, sugar cravings and steady energy for busy women over 40. We get real about antibiotics, perimenopause wobblies, soil depletion (yep, it’s a thing), and simple ways to feel human again without the crash-and-burn. 

We cover:

• Why poor gut health fuels sugar cravings (and vice versa) — and how the vagus nerve ties your gut to your mood and motivation. 
• The ripple effects of antibiotics and what “repairing the garden” of your microbiome actually means. 
• Why many women 40+ feel “off” (weight shifts, sleep, brain fog) even when bloods look fine — and what to focus on instead. 
• Food quality today vs the 1970s (hello, soil depletion) and when high-quality supplementation can help fill the gaps.
• Nicky’s non-negotiables for calm and resilience (magnesium + immune support) and how that helps the “dread” that crept in with perimenopause. 
• A natural, sugar-free energy option (E9) — what’s in it and why it doesn’t spike/crash like coffee or fizzy energy drinks. 

Takeaways you can use today:

• Think mind–body–spirit: brain (mindset), gut (body), heart (spirit) — all three matter if you want sustainable energy. 
• Treat your gut like a cottage garden: diverse, colourful, well-fed — not depleted and flat. 
• If you’re stuck in the stress → sugar → slump loop, start with stabilising blood sugar, fibre, minerals (hello magnesium), sleep and hydration.

Products mentioned: 

E9 - The Best thing EVER! - https://www.synergyworldwide.com/GB/en-GB/Shop/Product/e9?referralID=2306751

Synergy intestinal reset ()https://www.synergyworldwide.com/GB/en-GB/Shop/Product/purify-kit?referralID=2306751 

Greens - https://www.synergyworldwide.com/GB/en-GB/Shop/Product/pro360-wholefood-performance-greens?referralID=2306751

Magnesium - https://www.synergyworldwide.com/GB/en-GB/Shop/Product/body-prime?referralID=2306751

Immune Booster - https://www.synergyworldwide.com/GB/en-GB/Shop/Product/proargi-9-immune-booster?referralID=2306751

About my guest:
Sue Thomas has spent 23 years in wellness — from PT to qualified Nutritional Therapist — specialising in sugar freedom and gut health for women who want their energy, focus and confidence back. 

Website - https://www.suethomaswellbeing.co.uk/

IG - https://www.instagram.com/suethomas_thesugarfreecoach

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Transcript

NICKY BEVAN:
Welcome welcome welcome, everyone, to this week’s podcast! I’m delighted to have with me today Sue Thomas, who has been a bit of a mentor, teacher, and an inspiring person in my life. Sue introduced me to a company called Synergy, which I now use for my supplements. We’ll talk more about that shortly. I’ve asked Sue to come on because she’s a nutritional expert, incredibly knowledgeable about sugar cravings, energy lows, and overall health. We don’t have a strict plan for this chat—we’ll just go with what feels natural, but I know it’ll be valuable to you. So, Sue, would you like to introduce yourself?

SUE THOMAS:
Thank you for having me, Nicky. I’m Sue Thomas, The Sugar Free Coach. I’ve been in the wellness industry for 23 years, which sounds a bit frightening to say! I started as a personal trainer before becoming a nutritional therapist.

Back in 2009, after years of running a busy personal training clinic and having three children, I developed a knee infection that required 25 days of antibiotics. A few years later, my health began to deteriorate—my gut was a mess, I was exhausted, and I wasn’t fully present for my clients or my family. I was eating and drinking the wrong things, using sugar and coffee to try to keep myself going.

By 2013, I’d had enough and went to see a nutritional therapist. She helped me start healing my gut and balancing my blood sugar. I remember her telling me to ditch the lunchtime sandwich and turn it into a big salad with protein—and it transformed my energy levels! That experience inspired me to qualify as a nutritional therapist in 2016.

At the same time, I discovered Synergy and their intestinal reset program, which had an incredible effect on my gut health. I started integrating that into my work, helping clients reset their microbiome and balance their energy. Eventually, I shifted fully into nutrition, especially during lockdown, when I began focusing deeply on the link between sugar and gut health.

Poor gut health feeds sugar cravings, and sugar feeds poor gut health. They’re completely intertwined. To get cravings under control—physically and mentally—you need a healthy gut. Yeast in the gut feeds on sugar and influences the brain through the vagus nerve, which is why gut health impacts mood and cravings so strongly.

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NICKY BEVAN:
It’s crazy, isn’t it? We take antibiotics to heal an infection, but because they kill all the bacteria, they can really mess up our gut biome. I think I read that in Dr. Michael Mosley’s Clever Guts Diet book. Have you read it?

SUE THOMAS:
I haven’t read it, but I’m aware of it.

NICKY BEVAN:
He says that in our stomach, we have the same number of brain cells as a cat has in its head. You think—cats are intelligent animals—and we’ve got that many brain cells in our stomach! It really explains that whole idea of “gut instinct.”

SUE THOMAS:
Absolutely. We have three brains: our head brain, our heart brain, and our gut brain. Our heart connects through emotion, our logical thinking comes from the brain, but that gut feeling—that instinct you get in your stomach—is your intestine communicating with your brain via the vagus nerve. When something feels off, you really need to tune into that.

Anything going on in your gut will show up in your emotions. If your gut is sluggish or toxic, your mood will be low, and you’ll struggle to motivate yourself. I like to picture the gut like a flowerbed—it should be diverse and colourful, like a cottage garden full of different flowers. That’s how your gut bacteria should look—rich in variety.

But in modern life, our gut tends to be flat and depleted because of antibiotics and other factors. I’m not against antibiotics—they’re absolutely necessary—but we need to know how to repair the gut afterwards to restore that healthy microbiome.

NICKY BEVAN:
Yes, it’s so important. When I first discovered you and Synergy, I used to think I could get everything I needed just from wholesome foods. I eat pretty healthily—being coeliac helps, as I’ve never been into ultra-processed treats—but what fascinated me was when you explained that even fresh foods today aren’t as nutrient-rich because of overfarming and soil depletion.

SUE THOMAS:
That’s right. I’ll give you an example. A farmer near us has a huge field. This year alone, he’s had three crops from it—spring greens, spring onions, and now cabbages. At no point has he replenished the soil with nutrients. I completely understand—farmers are under pressure from supermarkets and need to maximise their fields—but the result is that the soil becomes exhausted.

When there are no nutrients left in the soil, the crops can’t absorb much either. For instance, one bowl of spinach from the 1970s would give you the same nutrition as forty-four bowls of spinach today. So even though we think we’re eating healthily, we’re often not getting enough nutrients.

That’s why I encourage people not to be afraid of supplementation—as long as it’s good quality. There’s a lot of poor-quality stuff out there, but with the right supplements, you can fill the nutritional gaps that our food can’t provide anymore.

NICKY BEVAN:
Yes, and that’s what’s so brilliant about Synergy. They’re so focused on quality. Because supplements aren’t a regulated industry, it’s reassuring to know they test their products properly and that they do what they say they’ll do.

SUE THOMAS:
Exactly. For instance, we have an amazing greens product, a great base supplement for people who know they need something but aren’t sure where to start. It’s full of fibre to support gut health, magnesium, and adaptogenic herbs to help with hormone balance and mood. It’s designed to provide that foundational nutrition we’re missing from food. You just take it as one drink and can feel the benefits quite quickly. The fibre also helps with blood sugar balance and sugar cravings.

NICKY BEVAN:
That’s great—I’ll put links to the products we mention in the show notes. My non-negotiables are magnesium and the immune booster. I really notice if I don’t take my magnesium. Within a couple of days, the anxiety or “dread” creeps back in. That only started for me during perimenopause—I’d never been an anxious person before.

Magnesium really helps lower that. Because, although I’m an expert in mindset and emotions, I’m not a physical health expert. For me, it’s all about mind, body, and spirit. The mind is the brain, the body is the gut, and the spirit connects to the heart.

SUE THOMAS:
Exactly.

NICKY BEVAN:
So magnesium is my absolute must-have, and because my immune system is a bit weak, I take the immune booster every evening too. But my favourite product of all is E9—it gives me such an instant lift.

SUE THOMAS:
I knew you were going to say that! Mine too.

NICKY BEVAN:
I love it so much. I think everyone should be drinking E9—even if they don’t like the taste at first. I didn’t, but now I love it because of how it makes me feel. Can you describe it better than me?

SUE THOMAS:
Sure. E9 is our natural energy drink. It comes in sachets that you mix with water—anywhere from half a litre to a litre. It contains two South American herbs: guarana seed and yerba mate, both traditionally used by tribes for energy and endurance.

Guarana naturally contains a little caffeine, giving a gentle lift, while yerba mate is great for relieving headaches. In fact, I often recommend E9 to clients who get migraines—it can help more naturally than painkillers.

It’s rich in B vitamins, which help your body metabolise energy for up to five hours, and L-Arginine, which improves blood flow and oxygen delivery. It’s sugar-free, only 12 calories, and it doesn’t cause energy crashes like coffee does. It’s perfect for anyone who wants consistent focus and energy throughout the day.

NICKY BEVAN:
Yes, and unlike coffee, it doesn’t affect my sleep! I can take it most days during the week without it interfering at all. It makes me feel incredible.

SUE THOMAS:
Exactly—it keeps your energy steady and helps you stay alert and productive all day. It’s a great way to beat that afternoon slump without caffeine crashes. It’s also a healthier alternative to things like Diet Coke or energy drinks, which have no real benefits.

NICKY BEVAN:
Yes! I didn’t like the taste at first, but now I do—especially the coconut one, it reminds me of a pina colada!

SUE THOMAS:
I love it cold with ice—it’s so refreshing.

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NICKY BEVAN:
So, if someone was listening and thinking about their own health, just before we started recording you were talking about your clients’ main pain points. I wonder if it’s worth going through what you see most often, so our listeners can identify with those and know they’re not alone — and also know how they can reach out for help. What would you say those common issues are?

SUE THOMAS:
Most of my clients are women over forty who feel like their bodies are changing and they don’t understand why. It can be quite frightening. They might be putting on weight even though they’re eating the same, trying to be healthy, maybe even cutting calories — but the scales don’t budge. Their clothes fit differently, which affects their confidence and self-esteem, and they start to withdraw a little bit.

Often they also experience brain fog, mood changes, tiredness, or sleep problems. They might have gone to the doctor and been told, “Your bloods are fine — it’s just your age.” But they still feel off. And I really want women to know: it’s not just their age.

It’s about what we’re exposed to daily — the food quality, environmental toxins, stress, and hormone fluctuations. All of that creates internal stress, which leads to inflammation. When we’re stressed internally, we reach for quick fixes like sugar and caffeine to feel better, but that actually makes things worse. Then we get stuck in a loop — feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, guilty, and unmotivated.

I want women to know that’s not how it has to be. You can absolutely take back control of your health, energy, and confidence.