drinking-water

Why is Drinking Salt Water Not Allowed?

We all know that drinking salt water is frowned upon but most of us don't actually know why. Strangely enough we stick to this rule even though we are not aware of the consequences. We can drink water and most people tend to ingest a lot of salt, so what is the difference between this and drinking salt water? The basic answer to this question is that the human kidneys can only make urine that is less salty than salt water. Therefore a person who is only drinking salted water would eventually die of dehydration. The salt levels in salt water are much higher than the salt that is in our food which is removed by us drinking water anyway, so essentially, if we are using water as a way to rid our bodies of salt then drinking salt water would defeat the purpose of drinking water at all.

Salt is something we do not need in our diets, which is another reason why drinking salt water is off the agenda. We do need sodium but salt is not basic sodium; it is sodium plus chloride, which is not necessary in large quantities in a human diet. Salt was originally made in order to cure and dry meats so that they would last longer. So this begs the question, if salt was created in order to dry out meat, then what effect is it having inside the human body? This thought is enough to keep my hands away from the saltshaker and cure my curiosity on the effects of drinking salt water.

The Effects of Drinking Salt Water

Drinking salt water is not a good idea for the reasons already mentioned as well as the fact that most salt water has not gone through any kind of filtration system and may not be clean. The more salt water you drink, the thirstier you will become so it has no thirst quenching benefits no matter how thirsty you are. Drinking salt-water leads to dehydration, continuous drinking of this water leads to severe dehydration, which can lead to death. First the metabolism system goes haywire trying to hydrate the body with every water molecule available, which can cause the rest of the body to stop functioning properly. Once dehydration sets in, the body becomes vulnerable to seizures, comas and even brain damage. In the meantime, the excess salt is being carried to the kidneys that cannot handle the load and eventually shut down leading to death.

However, there are now many people who believe that drinking salt water can detoxify the body and cleanse the intestines. Some even boast of the healing effects of salt water in the body. They may not drinking water with high quantities of salt in it such as sea salt water but they usually add salt to boiled water and perhaps lemon to cover the taste. There has been a long standing tradition of gargling salt water to heal sore throats but now there are claims that drinking salt water can provide pain relief throughout the body. Obviously, anyone using this type of treatment would not intake enough salt water to become dehydrated but any detoxification plan should be followed with caution.