Book Review

Freedom from the Fire: A Nutritionist’s Guide to Healing Inflammation with Food
by Carol G. Fazari
Fazari, 2011, 304 pages, $29.99
ISBN: 978-0-9877713-0-8

When it comes to understanding nutritional concepts and dietary models, simplicity speaks volumes. This is especially true when we first learn about a health condition or treatment. Hearing too much can make our heads spin, and we may put up barriers when the information or topic feels overwhelming. It can then take weeks or months before we’re ready to step back up on the learning curve. For this reason, it’s refreshing to see a book like Carol Fazari’s Freedom from the Fire.

Fazari is an Ontario-based holistic nutritionist who has first-hand experience living with and beating chronic inflammation-centred illness. She is well equipped to introduce readers to the subject while offering clear, straightforward instructions for regaining vitality and health. There is nothing daunting about this book. In fact, it’s perfect for anyone who doesn’t yet fully appreciate the negative role of chronic inflammation—a role that many experts attribute to health conditions ranging from diabetes and cancer to Alzheimer’s disease.

The first part of the book helps us identify the symptoms and causes of inflammation that present differently in everyone. Short sections of colour-coded pages tell at a glance which foods are safe to eat in abundance (green pages), which need caution (orange), and which are to be avoided (red). The simple “stoplight” approach is a user-friendly device that turns Freedom from the Fire into an easy reference tool.

Add a few meal-planning charts for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), arthritis, autism spectrum disorders, cancers, diabetes, menopause, and more, plus a practical layout, and the outcome is a book likely to be used by all who read it.

More than half the book consists of anti-inflammatory recipes, with ample white space between them (for readers to add personal notes). Don’t be fooled by the sparse appearance of these pages, each recipe is presented with brief cooking and nutritional tips, where the author’s experience really shines through.

Fazari’s nutrition tips contain substitutions and insights to further improve each healthy recipe to suit our individual preferences and nutritional needs. It’s like having a personal nutrition coach at our side giving us tidbits of advice with each recipe. Very comforting, very empowering, and just what the doctor should have ordered!