A thoughtful and well-informed discussion of a misunderstood subject.
A chronicle of the history of inflammation and suggestions for remedies for chronic inflammation.
In her debut book, gastroenterologist Ravella takes a deep dive into the scientific and medical history of inflammation. Rather than focusing on specific organs or systems, the author looks at the body as a whole, exploring how scientists and physicians came to understand inflammation as both a cause and consequence of disease. She traces the strengths and weaknesses of the immune system; discusses how and why it might turn against the body by creating autoimmune disorders; and explains the role of “invisible” inflammation in afflictions such as heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. Ravella makes a compelling case for the role of diet in reducing chronic inflammation, and she offers a host of recommendations for alleviating it: Eat a plant-based diet with few processed foods; experiment with fermented foods; don't overeat; get plenty of rest; and exercise. Regarding the latter, she issues a warning: “Exercising too much, or in the wrong way, injures and inflames. Long, intense periods of exercise, particularly for those unaccustomed to such rigor, can increase the risk of chronic, hidden inflammation.” Though the author’s suggestions are straightforward and largely unsurprising, she provides a full justification for each of them from the point of view of a medical doctor as well as a researcher. Examples of cases from her medical practice serve as cautionary tales for those who fail to take the effects of inflammation seriously. While the amount of medical detail included can be daunting, Ravella's prose is clear, nuanced, and restrained. Readers fascinated by the science behind her assertions will be satisfied, while those more interested in the takeaways can access them easily. A full set of endnotes provides possibilities for further reading, and Ravella’s ability to connect the concrete and the abstract makes this a worthwhile study of a complex process.
A thoughtful and well-informed discussion of a misunderstood subject.Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-393-54190-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
Skloot's meticulous, riveting account strikes a humanistic balance between sociological history, venerable portraiture and...
A dense, absorbing investigation into the medical community's exploitation of a dying woman and her family's struggle to salvage truth and dignity decades later.
In a well-paced, vibrant narrative, Popular Science contributor and Culture Dish blogger Skloot (Creative Writing/Univ. of Memphis) demonstrates that for every human cell put under a microscope, a complex life story is inexorably attached, to which doctors, researchers and laboratories have often been woefully insensitive and unaccountable. In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, an African-American mother of five, was diagnosed with what proved to be a fatal form of cervical cancer. At Johns Hopkins, the doctors harvested cells from her cervix without her permission and distributed them to labs around the globe, where they were multiplied and used for a diverse array of treatments. Known as HeLa cells, they became one of the world's most ubiquitous sources for medical research of everything from hormones, steroids and vitamins to gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, even the polio vaccine—all without the knowledge, must less consent, of the Lacks family. Skloot spent a decade interviewing every relative of Lacks she could find, excavating difficult memories and long-simmering outrage that had lay dormant since their loved one's sorrowful demise. Equal parts intimate biography and brutal clinical reportage, Skloot's graceful narrative adeptly navigates the wrenching Lack family recollections and the sobering, overarching realities of poverty and pre–civil-rights racism. The author's style is matched by a methodical scientific rigor and manifest expertise in the field.
Skloot's meticulous, riveting account strikes a humanistic balance between sociological history, venerable portraiture and Petri dish politics.Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4000-5217-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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