Since salt undergoes a chemical change causing it to become Na(aq)+ and Cl(aq)- why does drinking aqueous Sodium and Chlorine not harm you?
In: Chemistry
Well, drinking sea water does have [negative health effects](https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-you-drink-saltwater1.htm), but sodium and chlorine ions are not immediately poisonous to us (again, even this depends on concentrations) because your stomach acid is HCl, and your table salt is NaCl, so the body is used to handling and/or digesting these ions.
At the cell level, your cells have mechanisms for [transporting sodium and potassium](http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Biology/nakpump.html) ions into and out of the cell, and sodium and potassium play important functions in the cell biology.
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