Diet, lifestyle and environment do not just affect a person's health, they also determine the health of their children and possibly the health of their grandchildren. Non-communicable disease is a global epidemic because of the combined effect of the modern diet (including drug abuse) and a sedentary lifestyle. A low energy dense, drug-free diet rich in bioavailable nutrients-plus-exercise is most effective for preventing non-communicable disease throughout life. Nanocellulose and calorie-free monk fruit extract could be used to lower the energy density of processed foods/drinks (<1.6 kcal g−1), and their bioavailable nutrient content including cofactors can be increased using bioactive encapsulation. Drug abuse must be made socially unacceptable. Aquatic biotechnology can provide all the nutrients needed to make processed foods really nutritious. The nutritional value of processed and farmed foods should be based on the nutritional value of the late Palaeolithic human diet to help prevent cardiovascular disease, mental ill health, cancer, obesity, and other postprandial insults.