By Rosie Millen, Registered Nutritionist (RNutr)
Founder of Miss Nutritionist
If you’ve ever opened a blood test report and thought, “I have no idea what I’m looking at”, you’re definitely not the only one!
Most people are told one of two things: either something is wrong, or everything is “within normal range”. Neither explanation is especially helpful if you’re still feeling tired, foggy, inflamed, or just not quite yourself.
As a nutritionist, my job isn’t to diagnose - it’s to help people understand what their bodies might be asking for. Blood markers can be incredibly useful, but only when we stop treating them like a verdict and start treating them like information.
A blood test is a snapshot, not a judgement
Blood tests don’t tell your whole story. They show how your body is responding right now, influenced by stress, sleep, exercise, illness, travel, and even what you ate the day before.
That’s why one “off” result doesn’t automatically mean there’s a problem - and why “normal” results don’t always explain why you feel exhausted or wired-but-tired.
What matters most is context: patterns over time, how markers interact with each other, and how they line up with how you actually feel day to day.
The areas I look at first with clients
Rather than getting lost in every abbreviation on a results page, I usually start by grouping markers into a few key themes. These tend to explain the most, the fastest.
Energy and fatigue
If low energy is a constant, markers linked to iron status, B12, folate, and vitamin D often come up.
What’s important to understand here is that “low” doesn’t always mean “deficient”, and more isn’t always better. Fatigue can be about absorption, digestion, chronic stress, or under-fuelling just as much as intake.
This is where a food-first approach really matters, alongside looking at how and when you eat - not just what you eat.
Blood sugar and crashes
Blood sugar isn’t just about diabetes. It plays a role in energy dips, irritability, cravings, poor sleep, and afternoon slumps.
Markers like fasting glucose or HbA1c can give clues, but everyday patterns often tell us just as much. Skipping meals, living on coffee, or eating very “clean” but not enough can all show up here.
In practice, improving blood sugar regulation is often about adding rather than removing: more protein, more fibre, more regular meals, and less pressure to be perfect.
Inflammation and recovery
Inflammation gets talked about a lot, often in a dramatic way. In reality, it’s a normal part of being human.
Problems arise when low-grade inflammation becomes constant. This can show up as stiffness, bloating, headaches, skin issues, or feeling generally run down.
Markers like CRP can hint at this, but they don’t tell you why it’s happening. Stress, poor sleep, gut health, training load, and ultra-processed foods all feed into the picture.
Supporting recovery is often less about cutting things out and more about lowering the overall load on the system.
Nutrients and absorption
Sometimes people eat well and still show low nutrient markers. That usually points to digestion, stress, or long-term restriction rather than poor food choices.
This is where personalised nutrition becomes useful. Supporting gut health, easing digestive strain, and stabilising eating patterns can change markers just as much as supplementation.
Hormones and stress signals
Hormones respond quickly to lifestyle. Thyroid markers, cortisol patterns, and sex hormones are all sensitive to sleep, energy intake, and psychological stress.
From a nutrition point of view, this often comes back to the basics: eating enough, resting properly, and creating a sense of safety in the body rather than constantly pushing it.
“Normal range” doesn’t always mean “feels good”
Reference ranges are broad. They’re designed to flag disease, not necessarily to reflect how well you feel.
You can sit comfortably within range and still feel flat. Equally, a slightly out-of-range result isn’t automatically a problem. What matters is the trend, the combination of markers, and your symptoms.
This is why chasing “optimal” numbers can sometimes do more harm than good.
What I usually recommend after seeing results
The instinct is often to fix everything at once. In my experience, slower and simpler works better.
- Start by looking for patterns rather than single numbers.
- Get the foundations right: regular meals, enough protein and fibre, hydration, sleep, and stress regulation.
- Use supplements thoughtfully, not reactively.
- Retest with purpose, not out of anxiety.
Small, consistent changes tend to shift blood markers more sustainably than aggressive protocols.
A calmer way to think about personalised health
One of the positives of modern wellness is that we have more access to information about our bodies than ever before. The downside is that it can quickly become overwhelming.
At Cannaray Wellness, the aim is to help people use insight as a support, not a source of pressure. Blood markers are there to guide better habits, not to demand perfection.
Good health isn’t about optimising every number. It’s about feeling steady, resilient, and able to live your life with more ease.
Final thought
Your blood results don’t define you. They’re simply one piece of the puzzle.
When they’re interpreted with care, they can help you make kinder, more informed choices about how you eat, rest, and support your body - and that’s where their real value lies.
About the author
Rosie Millen is a registered nutritionist and founder of Miss Nutritionist. She works with individuals and brands to simplify nutrition, support sustainable health habits, and cut through wellness noise with practical, evidence-led advice.
