By Ilene
On October 10, 2013, an international conference organized by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) adopted the “Minamata Convention on Mercury” an international treaty seeking to reduce environmental damage and food chain contamination caused by the use of mercury in industry. The name of the treaty is taken from the mass poisoning by consumption of mercury tainted fish which took place in the Japanese port city of Minamata in the 1950s. The need for a treaty curtailing mercury emissions was led by the country of Sweden, with the goal of reducing rising mercury levels in seafood, a growing threat to world health.
The treaty emphasizes the need to educate healthcare providers on how to recognize the symptoms of mercury poisoning. The condition is easily misdiagnosed if not specifically considered. If you eat more than 2 servings a week of large predatory fish, such as albacore tuna, swordfish, or shark, and have physical symptoms ranging from insomnia to joint pain and pain or numbness in the extremities, you may be suffering the consequences of mercury building up in your body. Interestingly (and the subject of a book recently published by a good friend of mine), the first symptoms of mercury exposure are emotional, an intensification of the emotions which manifest as anxiety, the inability to control anger, and depression.
Learn more about the crippling emotional effects of chronic mercury poisoning: Mercury and Social Anxiety, Why Limiting Your Exposure Can Ease Shyness, Anxiety and Depression.
