A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet, and Disease
About this audiobook
A riveting investigation of inflammation―the hidden force at the heart of modern disease―and how we can prevent, treat, or even reverse it.
Inflammation is the body’s ancestral response to its greatest threats: injury and foreign microbes. But as the threats we face have evolved, new science reveals simmering inflammation underneath the surface of everything from heart disease and cancer to mysterious autoimmune conditions.
In A Silent Fire, gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella takes us on a lyrical quest across time, around the world, and into the body to reveal hidden inflammation at the root of modern disease―and how we can control it. We meet an eccentric Russian zoologist, the passionate yet flawed inventor of Kellogg’s Cornflakes, and dedicated researchers working on the frontiers of medical and nutritional science today. With fascinating case studies, Ravella debunks common myths about “anti-inflammatory” lifestyles―adding or eliminating any one food, for example, is not a cure-all―and unmasks the links between food, the microbiome, and inflammation. A paradigm-shifting understanding of human health, A Silent Fire shows us how to live not only long, but well.
About the author
Shilpa Ravella is a transplant gastroenterologist with expertise in nutrition and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, New York Magazine, Slate, Discover, and USA Today, among other publications, and she has appeared as an expert on ABC's Good Morning America and in print media outlets including Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Food and Wine, Glamour, and Women's Health. Her TED-Ed lesson, 'How the Food You Eat Affects Your Gut,' has garnered over five million views.
Suzie Althens is an experienced narrator who works regularly with major publishers. She narrates titles in a wide variety of genres, including nonfiction, cozy mysteries, chick lit, suspense, and romance. A resident of Alaska, she spends her free time gardening, sketching, cooking for friends and family, and staring at the mountains.
