How to Be a Whole Human in an Ultra-Processed World

Everything around us is being processed, optimized, and packaged for maximum convenience and appeal—but at what cost? We already know how ultra-processed food hijacks our biology, but have you considered how the rest of our lives have been ultra-processed too?

Our relationships, faith, exercise, even our emotions—all reduced to snack-sized, hyper-palatable versions of what they once were.

Our world is pushing us toward convenience over depth, efficiency over authenticity, and consumption over creation. And after consuming all these ultra-processed experiences, do we not become what we consume?

It’s time to rebel and take back our wholeness.

Ultra-Processing: More Than Just Food

We all recognize ultra-processed food—those irresistible, Frankensteinian concoctions of fat, sugar, and salt engineered to hack our biology rather than nourish us. These foods aren’t whole; they’re a deception, tricking our instincts without offering the substance our bodies expect. They are designed to keep us wanting more, More, MORE!—but they never truly satisfy.

But this goes beyond food.

👉 Our relationships are ultra-processed—filtered, curated, and surveilled through social media. We settle for shallow, algorithmically managed interactions instead of genuine, unfiltered community. We’ve lost the ability to navigate nuance, which comes from spending real time with people, simply shooting the breeze. Real-life connection fosters trust, grace, and forgiveness. It reminds us that we matter—just as we are.

👉 Our bodies are ultra-processed—shaped by machines in the gym rather than by the natural labor of daily life. The muscles of an Olympic athlete tell the story of their sport. The muscles of a carpenter tell the story of his work. But a gym-built body tells the world that you paid for the labor that built you.

👉 Our intimacy is ultra-processed—pornography strips sex of its emotional and spiritual depth, replacing it with artificial intensity, much like junk food removes the fiber and nutrients from real food. It creates cravings without true satisfaction—and often makes the real thing dull in comparison.

👉 Our faith is ultra-processed—some churches have become hyper-stimulating, competing with the entertainment industry rather than providing the stillness we need to center ourselves and foster deep, quiet, transformative connection with God.

👉 Our emotions are ultra-processed—quick-fix therapy, self-diagnosing through social media, and dismissing real emotional work because it’s inconvenient. And when things get uncomfortable, it’s all too easy to therapist shop rather than commit to real growth.

At every turn, our world is pushing us toward cheap, easy, and artificial substitutes for the things that actually make us human. But we don’t have to accept this as the default.

Reclaiming Our Whole Humanity: 5 Steps to Unprocessed Living

1. Remove Ultra-Processed Foods from Your Home

Did you know that 70% of the average diet is ultra-processed food? Let’s work on bringing that number down. This isn’t about deprivation—it’s about reconnecting to wholesome food and therefore humanity.

Try this:

• Cook simple meals with whole ingredients. It takes less time to steam vegetables and prepare a protein than it does to wait in a drive-thru.

• Batch-cook on weekends so that whole, nourishing meals are as convenient as processed ones.

• Take a break from your favorite processed foods so that when you return to them, you taste them with fresh, mindful awareness.

Time isn’t the issue—it’s habit. Once food prep becomes part of your routine, it will feel effortless. Try it for a month and see.

2. Reclaim Genuine Social Connections

Ultra-processed community is scrolling through social media alone in your home and posting highly curated content. Whole community is gathering around a table, laughing, debating, sharing stories, and sometimes talking about nothing in particular.

Here are some ideas:

• Host a neighborhood potluck—real food, unrehearsed conversation, and trust building, often across ideologies.

• Join or create a group—check out your local library for book clubs and writing or journalling clubs. See what local clubs are available on Meetup or on Nextdoor, and if there is nothing that sparks your interest, consider creating one. If you build it, who knows, they might actually come.

• Practice deep listening—have conversations where you listen with your full attention, without interruption or trying to formulate a response until they have completed their thought.

3. Engage in Physical Activities with Others

The body thrives when it moves with purpose and in community. Instead of isolating your workouts to a treadmill. It’s almost like your body’s labor and social life naturally go hand in hand. So, let’s try:

• Joining free running or walking clubs, or any kind of club that suits your interests. I am seriously looking for a Forest Frolicking club, I might just have to create it myself using Next Door or Meetup.

• Exercising with a friend or group—hiking, cycling, or even donate your labour to charity, for instance Homes for Humanity

• Dancing—Jazzercise, Belly Dancing, Aerobics, see what your local community center has to offer.

4. Be Mindful of Social Media Consumption

Social media isn’t inherently bad—it’s just ultra-processed community. And like junk food warps our taste buds, overconsumption of social media distorts our sense of reality.

Here’s how to take control:

✅ Curate your algorithm – Actively remove content that doesn’t serve you. Let the algorithm know when you’re not interested in certain content, and most importantly, don’t engage with it. The algorithm responds more to your actions than your intentions, so changing your behavior is key.

✅ Set time limits – Use social media as a tool, not a distraction. Think of it as an event—like going to the movies. I personally set aside time for it, which makes me excited to watch specific YouTube videos rather than mindlessly scrolling.

✅ Engage intentionally – Comment thoughtfully because you’re conversing with real people who have real feelings. Avoid engagement farms that ask meaningless questions just to trigger knee-jerk responses. Steer clear of rage farms, where the goal is to spark contention and drive engagement through outrage.

By using social media mindfully, you can regain control over your attention and mental well-being.

5. Cultivate Mindfulness and Spiritual Practices

If our world is constantly overstimulating and over-processed, then stillness is an act of rebellion.

• Practice gratitude—combat social media envy by appreciating the simplicity of what you have.

• Spend time in silence—walking meditation, centering prayer, deep listening.

• Engage in faith-based or values-driven communities that remind you of what matters.

Final Thoughts

In a world that prioritizes profit over authenticity, our own precious lives are being subtly engineered to make us better consumers. Our time, attention, and even our desires are being redirected, fragmented into niches, repackaged, and sold back to us in ways that serve the market, not our well-being. Choosing to be a whole human—one who slows down, reconnects, and resists this ultra-processed existence—is the ultimate act of defiance.

How are you reclaiming your humanity in a world designed to keep you consuming? Let’s talk in the comments.