12 Foods You Didn't Know Could Kill You
48 Teaspoons of Salt
As any reader of castaway survivor stories will know, do not drink the seawater. There is far too much salt in it for our bodies to handle. Like potassium, sodium is an electrolyte that regulates the water flowing in and out of our cells. When there is too much sodium in the interstitial fluid that bathes our cells, water will naturally leave those cells by osmosis to restore the balance. This causes the cells to shrink. The most obvious symptoms of hypernatremia, or an excess of salt, are neurological: unresponsiveness, lethargy, weakness. Too much salt, and it can cause seizures or a coma.
