A Silent Fire cover art

A Silent Fire

The Story of Inflammation, Diet and Disease

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A Silent Fire

By: Shilpa Ravella
Narrated by: Suzie Althens
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Hidden inflammation lies behind many modern diseases. Shilpa Ravella, an expert in nutrition and the gut, explains why our immune systems are turning against us and what we might do about it.

'Controlling Inflammation is the key to good health and this beautifully written and researched book is the best way to understand it' TIM SPECTOR, #1 bestselling author of Food for Life
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Inflammation is the body's response to injury and foreign microbes. But as our environments and diets have changed, low-level inflammation, simmering quietly and undetected, has been identified behind everything from heart disease and cancer to mysterious autoimmune conditions.

Shilpa Ravella is a doctor at the forefront of this field, specialising in gut transplants, nutrition and the microbiome. In A Silent Fire she interweaves the latest research with unusual case studies from her own practice to explain what we know about this elusive phenomenon and the simple ways in which we can reform our relationship with food and our microbiomes to benefit our health.
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'As gripping as a mystery story and as useful as a self-help book' BEE WILSON, author of First Bite

'Compelling, thoughtful and rigorously researched' The Times

© Shilpa Ravella 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

 Biological Sciences Biology Physical Illness & Disease Science Nutrition Health Heartfelt Medicine

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Critic reviews

As gripping as a mystery story and as useful as a self-help book, A Silent Fire may change the way you eat as well as opening your eyes to the hidden connections between microbes and medicine, the food we eat and the air we breathe
Controlling Inflammation is the key to good health and this beautifully written and researched book is the best way to understand it (Tim Spector, #1 bestselling author of Food for Life)
Compelling, thoughtful and rigorously researched ... Ravella fuses scientific history with something more in the line of a self-help guide ... if your new year's resolution involves a promise to take care of yourself, this book might just help it stick too
A beautiful and authoritative deep dive into one of the most important scientific frontiers of our time. Big new ideas in health and medicine are explained brilliantly, using case studies, history and cutting-edge research. Every page is fascinating
A must read ... Shilpa Ravella, a gastroenterologist with a writer's gift for translating complex science into clean, beautiful prose, is the perfect person to tell this gripping tale (Kathleen McAuliffe, author of This Is Your Brain on Parasites)
Ravella's fascinating exploration of the body food, and history will sweep you up ... A book that could not only reshape readers' understanding of their own systems and choices but possibly medicine itself (Lauren Sandler, author of This Is All I Got)
A spellbinding tale ... unveils how the two-edged sword of inflammation shapes the past, present, and future of our health (Walter C. Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)
An enlightening dive into the medical science at the root of the modern epidemic of chronic diseases and what it all means for healthy eating (David R. Montgomery, co-author of What Your Food Ate and The Hidden Half of Nature)
Accessible and engaging, [winds] together a wonderful historical perspective with cutting-edge science (Justin Sonnenburg, coauthor of The Good Gut)
A fascinating primer on the crucial role of inflammation in our bodies ... Ravella's writing style keeps even the most dense page engaging. She breathes life into biological functions ... [this] book is perfect for those looking to delve deeper into the history and intricate workings of immunology, diet and disease
All stars
Most relevant
There's some interesting information but the book lacks focus or coherence, jumping between scientific discussions, potted biography, and rather weak philosophical and sociological commentary. Ultraprocessed people covers much of the same ground in a much more focused manner.

The reading is one of the worst audible performances I've heard. It's completely mechanical, not even pausing to signal paragraph endings, much less inflecting or stressing sentences in any sort of plausible way. This highlights the book's lack of coherence and makes it even more difficult to follow the threads of what arguments there are, As another reviewer suggests, it really does sound like it's been AI generated.

Scattered and badly read

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A Silent Fire takes a deep dive into the history of inflammation up to that of present-day understanding.

A deep dive into inflammation

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I had to give up even though the topic of inflammation fascinates me. A boring book read by a robot. The bot delivery means emphasis is often put on the wrong words rendering the phrase confusing or meaningless. And I don't understand why authors include long, dull passages about the history of hospital buildings or medical people from the past when they're only fleetingly relevant.

Fascinating topic tediously executed

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