I'm sorry but how is that possible? I'm here and I have eaten fish all my life, 50 years of it.
Had bloodwork done a few weeks ago that included count for heavy metals.
No sign of any kind poisoning.
The whole country should have from mild to heavy poisoning by now... And yet they don't.
How do you explain this discrepancy?
How much mercury did your friend had before coming here? How much was it acquired here?
Fish of all kinds is a staple of mediterranean common diet, there should be people dropping left and right...
Erasmus is a semester up to max of one year.
It is impossible that condition came from eating normal food here, compared to a lifetime somewhere else.
Take my grand aunt with 102 years of age as an example, she would be a walking pot of mercury by now.
She ate fish all her life and due to location, way more fish than meat.
What about me at 50 years old and not even an hint of poisoning. I eat more fish than meat.
How does that work?
Here are the numbers for heavy metal poisoning for 2022, ordered by rank and Country:
https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2022/component/hmt
I'm very sorry for your friend and wish the best without reservation, but her condition was not from eating fish during a semester in Portugal.