Why is seawater bad for your body, but salt water is recommended during the summer?
In: Biology
It’s all about the concentration, salt levels are about 0.9% inside the body, while sea water is at least double that in the least salty seas(and quadruple on average). That’s why drinking sea water means you’ll only need more fresh water to bring the salt concentration to the normal balance.
On the other hand in the summer as you sweat you lose both salt and water, so if you don’t get replacement salt, only replenishing water the concentration falls too low.
You need a balance of salt and water. Seawater generally has more salt than you need for that volume of water. Speaking strictly on math (ignoring things like the fact that you might get sick from the taste, or that you may not physically be able to drink enough water) you could drink sea water with no negative effects from the salt if you also drink enough pure water.
Your body needs a balance of salt and water at all times. If you drink water with the perfect amount of salt in it, then it is ‘ideal’. If you eat salt, then you need to drink water with less salt in it. If you drink water with more salt than this balanced amount, then you still need more water to bring your body back to balance.
There’s a lot of leeway in this balance before things actually start to go wrong in your body, but drinking seawater will simply push you further from this balance (unless you’re suffering from hyponatria or lack of salt).
Seawater has much more salt in it to the point where it’s toxic to you. Your kidneys aren’t powerful enough to filter out all that salt. Cats on the other hand, can drink seawater just fine.
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