Processed Food

What technology would you be better off without, why?

By Tracy Schruder

I would’ve been better off if I’d never believed processed food was real food. I can live without it now. I learned that the hard way—there was no other choice but to eat healthy.

I spent most of my adult life consuming processed foods, restaurant meals and take‑out. As a kid, my mother rarely served anything processed, except for canned beans, hot dogs, cheese slices and lunch meat. I didn’t know any better, and I didn’t care. Mom was a good‑old‑fashioned “make it from scratch” kind of lady.

But once I moved out, I didn’t cook much. If I did, it was so handy to just open a box or a can and have a meal ready in under an hour. That, mixed with unhealthy eating out for over twenty‑some years, finally caught up with me. I packed on way too much weight. I never felt hungry, but I never felt satisfied. My blood pressure shot up and my doctor threatened medication if I didn’t get it under control.

I didn’t listen at first—until I got physically ill. I got really sick. It got so bad I couldn’t eat anything without having an attack. I tried to eat healthy, but my body rejected it. It was an eight‑month painful period of discomfort and discovery. I was given some medication and it worked.

Now I’m seeing a dietitian and I eat only non‑processed foods. Thank heavens it’s working. I have more energy to exercise and do the things I enjoy.

I reconfirm that the one technology I can live without is poorly processed food. Processing strips good living food of nutrients and vitamins.

We need real, good food to survive and stay healthy through our lifetime.