The most important health question: Does this Nourish or Deplete Me?
- Gemma Westfold
- Jun 29
- 7 min read
I have been asking myself a simple question lately.
Does this nourish me, or does it deplete me?
Not whether I enjoy it. Not whether everyone else is doing it. Not whether I can get away with it for a while longer.
Does it genuinely nourish me, or am I borrowing from tomorrow?
When we are younger, we can tolerate a surprising amount of depletion. We sleep too little, eat poorly, spend our days indoors and somehow bounce back. Youth provides a buffer. Growth provides a reserve.
But adulthood is different. Particularly in midlife, the margin becomes smaller. We cannot keep spending from an account that we never replenish.
The truth is that many of us are living in a state of chronic depletion without even recognising it. We feel tired, foggy, irritable or disconnected, and we assume it is simply a consequence of modern life. Yet I wonder how much of it comes down to the choices we make every single day and whether those choices are adding to us or quietly taking something away.
This is why I keep returning to the same question.
Does this nourish me, or does it deplete me?
Food that gives more than it takes
Food should provide energy, but it should also provide the tools needed to create that energy.
Whole foods are remarkable because they arrive as complete packages. Whole grains contain carbohydrates, but they also contain B vitamins, magnesium, iron and fibre and much more. Many of the nutrients required to convert food into usable energy are built into the food itself. When grains are refined, much of that is removed. We are left with calories, but far fewer of the nutrients that helped our ancestors thrive on those foods in the first place.
Ultra-processed foods take us even further from nourishment. They tend to be high in sugar, salt and industrial fats while providing relatively little fibre, potassium, magnesium and other nutrients that support health. They are convenient and hyper-palatable, but they often leave us undernourished despite being overfed.
Food should give us more than it takes.
That does not mean perfection. It means asking whether a meal leaves us feeling steady, energised and satisfied, or whether it creates another cycle of cravings, fatigue and reaching for something sweet two hours later.
Be honest are we nourishing ourselves, or borrowing from tomorrow?
Breakfast sets the tone for the day
I think breakfast deserves special attention because it can either nourish us deeply or set us up for depletion before the day has even begun.
Many people begin the morning with little protein and a great deal of refined carbohydrate. A pastry grabbed on the way to work, a sugary cereal or simply coffee in place of food can create a rapid rise and fall in blood sugar. The result is often poor concentration, irritability and hunger long before lunchtime arrives.
A nourishing breakfast looks very different. Eggs, Greek yoghurt, oats, berries, nuts, seeds, smoked salmon or even leftovers from the previous evening provide protein, fibre and nutrients that create steadier energy and greater satiety.
The question is not whether breakfast is fashionable or convenient.
The question is whether it nourishes.
See my instagram post here for inspiration
Meat can nourish, or it can deplete
Processed meat and real meat are not the same thing.
Highly processed meats are often rich in salt, preservatives and additives. Regular consumption has been linked with poorer health outcomes, and they rarely represent nourishment in its truest sense.
Minimally processed meat, on the other hand, provides complete protein, highly absorbable iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and choline. These nutrients are particularly important for women and become increasingly valuable as we age. High-quality, well-raised meat remains one of the most nutrient-dense foods available.
The broader principle matters more than any individual food.
The closer something remains to what nature intended, the more likely it is to nourish rather than deplete.
What are we drinking every day?
Hydration is one of the simplest forms of nourishment, yet many of us overlook it completely.
Water participates in virtually every process within the body. Digestion, circulation, energy production, temperature regulation and cognitive performance all depend upon adequate hydration. Even mild dehydration can leave us feeling tired, irritable and unable to concentrate.
Water nourishes. Herbal teas nourish. Mineral-rich broths nourish. Milk can nourish.
Coffee deserves nuance. For many people, it forms part of a healthy routine and offers pleasure as well as benefits. But when caffeine becomes a substitute for sleep, sunlight and proper meals, it stops being supportive and starts becoming another form of borrowing from tomorrow.
Energy drinks are perhaps the clearest example of this. They offer stimulation rather than nourishment. They may help us override exhaustion for a few hours, but they do little to restore what has been lost. They are big depleters.
Sometimes the kindest question we can ask ourselves is whether what we are drinking is genuinely creating energy or simply helping us ignore depletion...
The way we eat matters too
Nourishment is not only about what we eat. It is also about how we eat.
Many of us consume meals while answering emails, rushing between commitments or scrolling through our phones. We eat in a state of mild stress and wonder why digestion feels uncomfortable.
The body digests best when it feels safe.
Sitting down, chewing properly and allowing ourselves time to enjoy a meal is not indulgent.
It is part of nourishment itself.
Variety matters too. Different plants, herbs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds feed different communities within the gut. Diversity appears to support resilience, both within the microbiome and within ourselves.
Nourishment is less about restriction and more about abundance. More colours. More plants. More time. More attention.
Are you living in rhythm with your biology?
One of the greatest sources of depletion in modern life is our complete disregard for circadian rhythms. We wake to artificial alarms, spend the morning indoors, work under bright lights and stay awake long after our bodies have begun asking for rest.
Yet our biology still expects the same cues it always has.
Morning light helps set our internal clocks. It influences cortisol patterns, melatonin production, metabolism, mood and the quality of our sleep. When we spend our days disconnected from natural light and our evenings immersed in artificial stimulation, we ask the body to work against the signals it was designed to follow.
Sleep is not simply downtime.
It is one of the body's most profound acts of nourishment.
During sleep we repair tissues, regulate hormones, strengthen immunity and consolidate memories. When we repeatedly ignore our natural sleep cues, we are often borrowing energy from tomorrow in ways that eventually catch up with us.
I wrote more about this in my blog on circadian rhythms because I believe it is one of the most overlooked aspects of modern health. The closer we live in alignment with natural cycles of light and darkness, the more resilient and nourished we become.
The question remains the same.
Does this way of living nourish me, or does it deplete me?
Is your phone nourishing you?
Technology itself is not the problem. The problem is that many of us never allow our minds to rest.
We reach for our phones during every spare moment. We scroll while waiting, while eating and sometimes even while spending time with the people we love. What begins as a quick check often ends with fragmented attention and a curious sense of emptiness.
There is a difference between rest and distraction.
Rest restores us. Distraction simply postpones our awareness of exhaustion.
I have started asking myself whether opening an app will genuinely nourish me or whether I would feel better after a walk, a conversation, a chapter of a good book or ten quiet minutes with my own thoughts.
Attention is one of our most precious resources. Where we place it each day shapes the people we become.
We were designed to move
Human beings evolved to move throughout the day. Our muscles regulate blood sugar, support metabolism and contribute to overall resilience. Long periods of inactivity gradually diminish those benefits, even in people who manage to exercise regularly.
That does not mean nourishment requires punishing workouts or endless discipline.
Movement should add to our lives.
Walking after dinner nourishes. Gardening nourishes. Playing with children nourishes.
Stretching while listening to music nourishes. Dancing in the kitchen nourishes.
The point is not perfection. The point is remembering that movement is one of the ways we replenish ourselves rather than another item on a list of obligations.
When movement leaves us feeling stronger, calmer and more alive, we know we have found something that truly nourishes.
The people around us matter
Relationships nourish us in ways that no supplement or health protocol ever could.
The right people make us feel safer in our own skin. They encourage growth, offer support and remind us that we do not have to carry everything alone. Other relationships leave us anxious, exhausted or perpetually giving more than we receive.
Most of us already know the difference.
We simply do not always want to acknowledge it.
A nourishing relationship is not perfect, but over time it contributes more than it consumes. It allows honesty, forgiveness and mutual care. It leaves us with greater reserves rather than constant depletion.
The same question applies here as it does everywhere else.
Does this relationship nourish me, or am I paying for it with energy I can no longer afford to lose?
A few ways to nourish yourself every day
The older I get, the less interested I become in dramatic transformations and the more interested I become in small practices that quietly restore what modern life takes away.
Drink water before reaching for another coffee.
Get outside within an hour of waking and allow natural light to reach your eyes.
Eat a breakfast rich in protein and fibre.
Sit down for meals without your phone.
Move your body in ways that bring pleasure rather than punishment.
Protect your sleep as fiercely as you protect your productivity.
Spend time with people who leave you feeling more fully yourself.
Learn to say no to commitments that take more than they give.
None of these habits are revolutionary. Their power lies in their consistency.
Health is rarely built through grand gestures. It is shaped by thousands of tiny decisions, each one either replenishing our reserves or quietly drawing from them.
And so I keep returning to the same question, because it cuts through complexity better than almost anything else.
Does this nourish me, or does it deplete me?
The answer is often simpler than we think. We usually know. The challenge is having the honesty to listen and the courage to choose nourishment often enough that we stop borrowing from tomorrow and begin investing in the years ahead.
If you would like to discover more about working with me in Nutritional Therapy, then book a free 20-minute Health Review where we can talk through your current health and your health goals, and I can tell you how I would work with you. There's never any pressure to book a programme. It has to be right for both of us.
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