Interesting story emerging from New York surrounding actor Jeremy Piven.

Apparently, a twice daily sushi habit, along with ingesting Chinese herbs, has given him mercury levels 6 times the upper limit of normal. He went to see his doctor complaining of fatigue and nausea, and was subsequently “ordered” off the play he was starring in.

There is some dubious speculation about the claim, with a doctor suggesting that Piven’s mercury level, estimated to be about 12 to 18 micrograms per liter, is not high enough to generate toxicity. An expert from Johns Hopkins says “most doctors in traditional medicine would not call that mercury poisoning”¦. I’ve seen a lot of patients within that level and they are not debilitated.”

Indeed, when I looked up the topic on UptoDate, it is rare for symptoms to manifest at levels below 100 micrograms per liter, lending credence to the theory that something other than mercury is causing Mr. Piven’s symptoms.