Seawater

[James Carmichael]

Why aren't humans supposed to drink seawater? Animals do it. All life comes from it and surely its the most nutrient rich, rawest and natural form of water there is. I know about the salt content, but I eat loads of sea vegetables and I never seem dehydrated. i thought the body would just get rid of the excess salt on its own.

[MysticTree]

Bars snacks are salty because it makes the customer thirsty. Salty water won't quench thirst. We need fresh water to remove salt from our bodies. That's why we don't drink sea water.

[siennagray]

Some people use seawater instead of crystalized salt for the times that they desire added salt in their food- as a more natural, fully mineralized option.

As far as drinking it though, our bodies are designed to utilize fresh water, so salt water is pretty useless for our needs in that respect. Have you ever heard of a saltwater flush? At a specific salinity level, saltwater will go straight through, and out the other end.

Rain water and natural spring water are also very raw, natural forms of water.

[kaybee]

its true though that ive seen animals really suck down diluted seawater... some of the horses at the stable i used to work at were delighted whenever they got a chance to drink the water where the stream mixed into the sea....and animals such as deer seek out saltlicks in nature...

[MysticTree]

its true though that ive seen animals really suck down diluted seawater... some of the horses at the stable i used to work at were delighted whenever they got a chance to drink the water where the stream mixed into the sea....and animals such as deer seek out saltlicks in nature...

Because they want salt though not water

[rawready]

Why aren't humans supposed to drink seawater? Animals do it. All life comes from it and surely its the most nutrient rich, rawest and natural form of water there is. I know about the salt content, but I eat loads of sea vegetables and I never seem dehydrated. i thought the body would just get rid of the excess salt on its own.

Somebody told me that the seawaters salt content is too high that osmosis occurs when we consume it. The water from our body floods into the digestive tract causing us to dehydrate. On the MC they do a saltwater flush. Our table foods salt content is not that high.

[Revvell]

Google is your friend ~

Take a lot of salt into your body and your metabolism very quickly goes into crisis. From every cell, water molecules rush off like so many voluntary firemen to try to dilute and carry off the sudden intake of salt. This leaves the cells dangerously short of the water they need to carry out their normal functions. They become, in a word, dehydrated. In extreme situations, dehydration (http://www.health.com/health/library/topic/0,,dehyd_hw86827,00.html) will lead to seizures, unconsciousness, and brain damage. Meanwhile, the overworked blood cells carry the salt to the kidneys, which eventually become overwhelmed and shut down. Without functioning kidneys you die. That is why we don't drink seawater.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2131/what-would-happen-to-you-if-you-drank-seawater