What Happened to Real Food? The Shocking Ingredients in Everyday Foods

Once upon a time, food was simple. Even treats were made from real ingredients — cream, eggs, butter, sugar, fruit, herbs and spices. They may have been indulgent, but they still offered us nutritional value.

Today, most of what we call “food” is no longer real food. It’s a food-like substance — ultra-processed, highly refined, stripped of nutrients, and packed with additives, flavour enhancers, and chemicals that our bodies were never designed to process.

These modern “foods” are not designed to nourish you. They’re designed to be addictive — triggering artificial dopamine hits that keep you reaching for more, while slowly damaging your health.

Let’s take a look at how some common foods have changed:

Ice Cream

Then: Cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla. Rich in healthy fats, fat-soluble vitamins, and natural flavour.

Now: Skimmed milk concentrate, glucose syrup, stabilisers, emulsifiers, vegetable oils, artificial flavourings and colourings.

No nourishment, just a sugar rush and chemical cocktail.

Chips (Crisps or Fries)

Then: Potatoes, tallow (beef fat), salt. Simple, satisfying, and nutrient-dense when made with good fat.

Now: Potatoes, sunflower or rapeseed oil, dextrose, anti-foaming agents, preservatives, flavour enhancers, sugar.

A crunchy addiction laced with seed oils and additives.

Lemonade

Then: Sparkling water, lemon juice, sugar. Naturally refreshing with a boost of vitamin C.

Now: Carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners (like aspartame), citric acid, “natural” flavours, preservatives, colourings.

An artificial drink that tricks your tastebuds and stresses your liver.

Bread

Then: Flour, water, salt, natural sourdough culture. Fermented, digestible, alive.

Now: Refined flour, sugar, vegetable oil, soya flour, emulsifiers, preservatives, enzymes (unlabelled), synthetic vitamins.

An ultra-processed sponge with no life left in it.

Yoghurt

Then: Milk and live cultures. A probiotic-rich, nourishing food.

Now: Skimmed milk powder, sugar or artificial sweeteners, starches, thickeners, artificial flavours, colourings.

Disguised dessert with gut-disrupting additives.

Peanut Butter

Then: Peanuts. Good fats, minerals, protein.

Now: Peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated oils (soy, cottonseed), stabilisers, sometimes corn syrup solids.

A processed paste designed for shelf life, not health.

Chicken Nuggets

Then: Chicken, flour, spices. Basic protein with seasoning.

Now: Mechanically separated meat, batter stabilisers, dextrose, seed oils, flavour enhancers (like MSG), preservatives.

Fast food that contributes to slow health decline.

The Bigger Picture

Most modern “foods” are no longer nourishing — they’re engineered to hit your brain’s pleasure centres and create dependency. They give you a quick dopamine spike, then leave you craving more, all while draining your energy and harming your gut, brain, hormones and metabolism.

Even our treats — the things that used to be a nourishing part of a celebratory meal — have become highly processed, synthetic imitations of real food.

So what can you do?

Go back to basics.

🍳 Cook from scratch.🌿 Use real ingredients.🥩 Eat nutrient-dense, traditional foods.🧠 Feed your body — not just your tastebuds.

Food should come from a farm, not a factory. From nature, not a lab.

Don’t be fooled by fancy labels or health claims. Turn the packet over. Read the ingredients. Ask yourself: Would my great-grandmother recognise this as food?

Let’s reconnect with food that heals rather than harms.Let’s bring back the nourishment — for ourselves and for future generations.

Need help cutting through the confusion around what to eat?

I offer personalised nutrition support rooted in traditional wisdom and real food principles — including GAPS consultations for gut healing, chronic health conditions, and children's wellbeing.

📞 Book a free 20-minute discovery call to chat about how I can support you or your family on the journey back to real nourishment.

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