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  • Published: 31 January 2023
  • ISBN: 9781847926647
  • Imprint: Bodley Head
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $40.00

A Silent Fire

The Story of Inflammation, Diet and Disease




A radical new vision of human health and illness revealing the hidden but most significant cause of death in the world today

Inflammation has traditionally been thought of as the body's response to injury and foreign microbes. But as the threats we face have evolved, what if it were now the root cause of modern disease?

New science has revealed low-level, smoldering inflammation, simmering quietly and undetected, behind everything from heart disease and cancer to mysterious autoimmune conditions. Hidden inflammation even weakens our immunity, increasing the likelihood that our immune system will mount an overwhelming, inappropriate attack against infections such as COVID-19.

In this beautifully written story of scientific discovery by a doctor at the forefront of this field, A Silent Fire brings together the science of immunology, nutrition and the microbiome to explain what we know of this elusive phenomenon. 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 reveals how we can live not only long, but well.

  • Published: 31 January 2023
  • ISBN: 9781847926647
  • Imprint: Bodley Head
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $40.00

About the author

Shilpa Ravella

Dr. Shilpa Ravella is a transplant gastroenterologist and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, where she oversees the care of rare-disease patients who have undergone intestinal and multiple-organ transplantation. Unlike other solid organ transplants, the intestines are not sterile - the germs that live in the gut are also transplanted - and so Dr. Ravella's expertise lies in the interactions between food, the gut microbiome and the immune system, especially the potential of nutritional therapy to prevent and treat disease. Dr. Ravella speaks and writes regularly on food, health and wellness. She has written for a variety of media, including the Atlantic, New York, Slate, Discover and USA Today and her TED-Ed lesson, 'How the Food You Eat Affects Your Gut' has garnered over two million views.

Praise for A Silent Fire

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

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

Accessible and engaging, [winds] together a wonderful historical perspective with cutting-edge science

Justin Sonnenburg, coauthor of The Good Gut

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

Bee Wilson, author of First Bite and The Way We Eat Now

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

Daniel M. Davis, author of The Beautiful Cure and The Secret Body

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

The Times

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

New Scientist

[A] fascinating, case-oriented, story of inflammation, diet and disease

Nature