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
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
An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans’ relationship with the water.
A study of swimming as sport, survival method, basis for community, and route to physical and mental well-being.
For Bay Area writer Tsui (American Chinatown: A People's History of Five Neighborhoods, 2009), swimming is in her blood. As she recounts, her parents met in a Hong Kong swimming pool, and she often visited the beach as a child and competed on a swim team in high school. Midway through the engaging narrative, the author explains how she rejoined the team at age 40, just as her 6-year-old was signing up for the first time. Chronicling her interviews with scientists and swimmers alike, Tsui notes the many health benefits of swimming, some of which are mental. Swimmers often achieve the “flow” state and get their best ideas while in the water. Her travels took her from the California coast, where she dove for abalone and swam from Alcatraz back to San Francisco, to Tokyo, where she heard about the “samurai swimming” martial arts tradition. In Iceland, she met Guðlaugur Friðþórsson, a local celebrity who, in 1984, survived six hours in a winter sea after his fishing vessel capsized, earning him the nickname “the human seal.” Although humans are generally adapted to life on land, the author discovered that some have extra advantages in the water. The Bajau people of Indonesia, for instance, can do 10-minute free dives while hunting because their spleens are 50% larger than average. For most, though, it’s simply a matter of practice. Tsui discussed swimming with Dara Torres, who became the oldest Olympic swimmer at age 41, and swam with Kim Chambers, one of the few people to complete the daunting Oceans Seven marathon swim challenge. Drawing on personal experience, history, biology, and social science, the author conveys the appeal of “an unflinching giving-over to an element” and makes a convincing case for broader access to swimming education (372,000 people still drown annually).
An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans’ relationship with the water.Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-61620-786-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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