Processed Foods: Convenience That Comes at a Cost

More than half of the calories Americans eat today come from ultra-processed foods. In 2025, these foods now make up nearly 60% of total calorie intake for adults in the U.S. — and close to 70% for children. Packaged snacks, refined breads, sweetened drinks, and fast-food meals have quietly become everyday staples, reshaping how the nation eats and feels.

That means the majority of what’s fueling the country isn’t real food at all — it’s manufactured products designed to be addictive, shelf-stable, and profitable. They’re easy to reach for, but they keep the body in a constant state of stress: blood-sugar spikes and crashes, inflammation, digestive strain, and an overworked immune system that never gets a break.

The issue isn’t just willpower. It’s about access, cost, and convenience. Healthier foods can feel out of reach — especially with rising prices and limited availability in many areas — but there are still practical ways to make better choices. Discount grocery stores and warehouse chains often carry more organic and minimally processed staples than people realize, sometimes at prices comparable to their processed counterparts.

When the body is overloaded with preservatives, refined oils, dyes, and artificial flavorings, it doesn’t just make weight management harder — it disrupts gut integrity, immune balance, and hormone regulation. Chronic inflammation builds quietly, setting the stage for fatigue, autoimmune flare-ups, and long-term metabolic issues.

Small, Practical Ways to Start Resetting

• Simplify your swaps. Trade refined oils for olive or avocado oil. Choose real ingredients — meat, produce, grains — over heavily processed items.
• Buy organic frozen fruits and vegetables. They’re affordable, nutrient-dense, and last longer than fresh.
• Read labels, not packaging. If you can’t pronounce half of it, your body can’t process it easily either.
• Cook once, eat twice. Batch-cook proteins or vegetables to make weekday meals easier.
• Hydrate before you snack. Mild dehydration often shows up as cravings for salty, processed food.

Even small changes start shifting the body away from inflammation and toward recovery. But when you’re ready for a more structured reset, a cleanse can help the body clear that buildup faster and restore balance to digestion, hormones, and energy.

Jumpstart Your Reset

Each Aster Elliott cleanse is designed to help the body break free from the processed-food cycle and reduce the internal stress that keeps inflammation alive:

• Balance Cleanse — Gut & Digestive Reset A targeted system to calm the gut, support digestion, and restore regularity.
• Renew Cleanse — Full Body Reset Comprehensive support to clear buildup, re-energize, and rebalance from head to toe.
• Cravings Cleanse — Sugar & Metabolic Reset Helps break the sugar loop, steady energy, and support healthy metabolism.

A diet built around ultra-processed foods doesn’t just affect how you feel — it shapes your future health. Over time, it can increase the risk of autoimmune disease, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic conditions that stem from unchecked inflammation and nutrient depletion.

Processed foods may be everywhere, but you’re still in charge of what fuels you. Real food, clean systems, and consistent support — that’s how the body rebuilds balance.

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