Holy tuna! So you know the high mercury levels that Jeremy Piven cited in his decision to abruptly quit his Broadway play? It was apparently the result of … too much sushi?
“He was eating sushi twice a day and taking some Chinese herbs,” Dr. Carlon Colker, Piven’s physician and the executive officer and medical director of Peak Wellness, tells E! News. “I tested his heavy metals and his mercury was amazingly, shockingly high.”
Colker said that Piven’s mercury levels were roughly six times the amount an average body can handle. Colker said he made the diagnosis, as well as the play-exiting recommendation, after weeks of the Entourage star complaining of fatigue, with symptoms coming to a head this week.
The good doctor said the recently minted Golden Globe nominee experienced a dizzy spell and was unable to remember his lines, a one-two combo that apparently so worried the doc, he sent the actor to receive medical care.
“He was literally paralytic. He couldn’t move after the shows.”
Colker was quick to note that his recommendation to leave the play after two months, as well as Piven’s decision, did not come about lightly.
“He is someone who has been acting for three decades, 17 hours a day. He’s really been an iron horse, so this is unusual for him. He really wanted to tough this out. It’s always been his dream to be on Broadway. But sometimes, the risks outweigh the benefits.”
The risks associated with mercury poisoning run the gamut from cardiac arrest, kidney failure, psychological problems and sometimes even death.
So there you have it, kids. Next time, think twice before downing a shitload of spicy tuna rolls at happy hour. Just stick to the martinis.
Has anyone ever heard of this problem? I’ve never heard of anyone overdosing on sushi before.
