This is a fish tale, of sorts. It starts when the author, a San Francisco internist, encounters a surprising number of educated professionals with perplexing, nonspecific symptoms: chronic intermittent upset stomachs, headaches, hypertension, fatigue, trouble concentrating and even hair loss.
Hightower eventually traces the symptoms to diets rich in big fish such as tuna and swordfish, the types that accumulate high concentrations of methylmercury. Her cure: Forgo eating fish for up to a year.
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