• Question: Apparently, a full tablespoon of salt eaten in one go is meant to be fatal? Is this really true?

    Asked by sammieblues to David, Luna, Mark, Melanie, Probash on 22 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Luna Munoz

      Luna Munoz answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      It’s not true. But don’t try it; it’s not pleasant.

    • Photo: Probash Chowdhury

      Probash Chowdhury answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      Not sure but there might be some truth. Firstly the amount of salt will make you sick so you loose water and electrolytes (chemicals in your body needed to balance many processes). If you don’t sick it all up, the sudden influx and high concentration of sodium and chloride (two of the electrolytes essential to the body) floods the processes using them processes to over work or stop. These processes include your heart beating, your nerves to communicate with each other, your kidneys to work, to name but a few. As the processes stop they become fatal – especially processes affecting your heart beating.

    • Photo: Mark Vesey

      Mark Vesey answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      No. I wouldn’t like to try though!

    • Photo: David Pyle

      David Pyle answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      It may be true for a very small child, but for adults a few grammes of salt is very unlikely to be fatal. It may have other consequences, though!

      According to the Material Safety Data Sheet, the lowest known lethal dose for salt in an adult human is about 1g (salt) per kg (human). I wouldn’t like to test this – but an average adult would need to consume at least 50 – 60 grammes of salt in one go exceed this dose.

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