Newcastle Skeptics August talk with Maeve Hanan

Pay-as-you-feel ticketing (suggested price £5).
All civil humans welcome!

We are thrilled to host the fabulous Maeve Hanan to deliver our August talk with the title: “When healthy eating turns harmful: How ultra-processed food panic fuels anxiety and disordered eating.”
From best-selling books to viral TikToks and food documentaries, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become public enemy number one in the world of nutritional ‘wellness’. But is the panic justified – or are we being fed a different kind of harmful message?

In this talk, registered dietitian Maeve Hanan will break down what UPFs actually are, the roots of UPF panic and what the evidence really says about them. We will also explore how the cultural obsession with purity and perfection in eating can do more harm than good, all too often spiralling into food anxiety and disordered eating. This talk challenges black-and-white thinking around food, encourages a more balanced perspective, and asks: what if our fear of food is more dangerous than the food itself?

Maeve Hanan is a Registered Dietitian who specialises in disordered eating and food freedom. She’s the founder of dieteticallyspeaking.com, a platform offering evidence-based information, practical tools, courses, and one-to-one support to help people build a healthier relationship with food. Maeve advocates for a compassionate, weight-inclusive approach to nutrition, and is passionate about cutting through the online noise by sharing clear, evidence-based messages (primarily via her newsletter and Instagram page via @dieteticallyspeaking).