Modern food technology advancements have made eating cheap and easy, but what exactly is it that we are eating?

Living in the modern day means that life has become significantly more convenient for most of us. Technology advancements in the food industry have been making it easier and easier to get a quick bite. It’s so quick that we call it fast food when purchased from a drive-thru window (so quick that we don’t even bother stepping out of our cars.) Another benefit of it is that it’s cheap, with most fast food restaurants offering dollar menus. Who can argue with that? I’ll tell you who – me.

Eating at [fill in your choice of any fast food franchise] can feel pleasing initially because it’s so fast, convenient, and cheap, and hey, the food fills up the hunger-hole that was once there, so job complete. But does it make us feel good?

For the past few years I have been taking better care of my body, not only physically with yoga but also nutritionally. I try my best to stick to the rules of eating mostly whole foods – foods that are purchased in their original shape and form, not processed into a box or plastic bag. I try my best to eat everything that isn’t quick and conveniently bought at a counter and because my body is more conditioned than it used to be, it doesn’t even agree with fast food or highly processed food.

After eating a combo meal my taste buds are happy because food scientists have designed the food to smell and taste good, but digestively my GI tract is not at all happy. I know that this may not seem like proper writing material, but digestion is a major part of health and it is something that we need to keep an eye on, quite literally – daily. That’s my yoga teacher tangent for the post though, back to what I was saying – I believe that my body rejects processed foods because I have been trying my best to take care of it and feed it real, whole foods.

Quick and convenient foods are everywhere, not just at highway rest stops and strip malls. They have made their way into our cupboards and refrigerators. Walk down every aisle and frozen food section in any typical grocery store or big box store and the “food” that you find there  will be distant cousins to the real food that it aims to mimic. Grab one of those “food” items off of the shelf and turn it on it’s side to have a read of the ingredients.  Good luck trying to recognize or pronounce most of the multisyllabic, chemical words. I’ve heard of a rule that I like to apply to my diet and my cleaning cupboards as well as my cosmetics, if I can’t pronounce it, I look for other options. Another good one to live by is if my grandmother wouldn’t know what it was when she was my age, put it back. Or a favorite of my boyfriend’s is, if we wouldn’t let Freddie (our adorable rescue dog) eat it, then we shouldn’t be using it or consuming it either.

It’s not easy to make the switch to eating better. Fast food and processed foods taste good and some have found that they’re as addictive as cocaine. I know personally that I’ve had a hard time keeping my fingers out of the Cool Rancher bag; no matter how many times I think to myself, “Just one more!” there always ends up being two or three more handfuls. That’s why the best thing to do is to keep unhealthy, processed foods out of your house. Switch to healthier options like fruit or veggies to snack on. Or if you have to have that addictive crunch of a chip, try  whole wheat crackers and humus instead.

A lot more could be said about this issue and I intend on writing a couple more posts on this topic and other ways that you can Get Real in your lifestyle, but for now I’ll leave you with encouragement to make some healthy changes in your diet and celebrate the healthy choices that you already make in the kitchen or when out to eat. It is not easy to be a health nut, especially if you already eat processed foods regularly, but I assure you that once you make the switch you will be glad that you did as your body and brain will be feeling and functioning much better.