Chloride in Water

[vivian maxine]

Is chloride a natural element in clean drinking water?

[TheVat]

No. Chlorine is added to inhibit bacterial growth. Letting water sit for 24 hours will greatly reduce the chlorine level, as aquarium enthusiasts and orchid gardeners know. Some water systems, however, add chloramine, which lingers much longer, so it's good to check with your water dept. if you need to know. I know about this due to a mild heart murmur which reacts to too much chlorine.

[vivian maxine]

No. Chlorine is added to inhibit bacterial growth. Letting water sit for 24 hours will greatly reduce the chlorine level, as aquarium enthusiasts and orchid gardeners know. Some water systems, however, add chloramine, which lingers much longer, so it's good to check with your water dept. if you need to know. I know about this due to a mild heart murmur which reacts to too much chlorine.

Woops! Not chlorine. Chloride as in sodium chloride. Since it is in sea salt and in sea weed, I wondered if it is also a nutritional element in just plain drinking water. Thanks.

[TheVat]

Yes, chloride is an ion that is one half of a salt molecule. Most drinking water has some salts in it. Sodium and magnesium chloride are both commonly found. They aren't usually present in amounts that would be "nutritional" (especially not sodium, since everyone gets more than enough salt in their diet), but they do give tapwater a more pleasant flavor than distilled water.

[vivian maxine]

Yes, chloride is an ion that is one half of a salt molecule. Most drinking water has some salts in it. Sodium and magnesium chloride are both commonly found. They aren't usually present in amounts that would be "nutritional" (especially not sodium, since everyone gets more than enough salt in their diet), but they do give tapwater a more pleasant flavor than distilled water.

Ah, that's what I wanted to know. It is but not enough to be of a nutritional-value. Thank you.

Biv, I know (knew) a woman who would say "not everybody" but it was her own uninformed fault. She went to great extremes to remove all sodium from her diet. Even to the point of washing any canned foods that she used. She was bragging about this one day. I told she needs some sodium to keep her cells healthy. Some weeks later I ran into her and she had been to the doctor feeling miserable. He asked her about salt and she started bragging - until he stopped her. Then he explained how sodium keeps body fluids in balance inside and outside the cells.

Of course, she was an exception. Just pointing out how some people react to these popular and well-meant instructions.

[vivian maxine]

Woops again and this time it is I who woke up. A little voice sent me searching for chlorine and I found this at Live Science.

"Chlorine is a very "sociable" element, meaning it likes to bond with other elements rather than occur on its own. A highly reactive substance, it is usually present in nature, forming compounds with sodium, potassium and magnesium. In fact, probably the most known form of a chlorine compound is sodium chloride, otherwise known as table salt. Potassium chloride is a drug used in the prevention or treatment of low potassium levels in the blood, whereas magnesium chloride is used to prevent or treat magnesium deficiency."

I'll go back and get the address in a minute. I do not know how to do both at the same time. Thank you for waking me up to something new. I never realized these were so closely related.

http://www.livescience.com/28988-chlorine.html

[TheVat]

Biv, I know (knew) a woman who would say "not everybody" but it was her own uninformed fault. She went to great extremes to remove all sodium from her diet. Even to the point of washing any canned foods that she used. She was bragging about this one day. I told she needs some sodium to keep her cells healthy. Some weeks later I ran into her and she had been to the doctor feeling miserable. He asked her about salt and she started bragging - until he stopped her. Then he explained how sodium keeps body fluids in balance inside and outside the cells.

Viv, yes, there are a few exceptions, and this woman you knew is one of them. Someone who ate only unsalted plant foods could conceivably suffer from hyponatremia, which can be life-threatening. It could also happen to someone who works in a foundry or other high-heat area and hydrated only with water to replace copious water lost in sweating. Sports drinks tend to have electrolytes like sodium, potassium, magnesium, added to help those who are sweating heavily. (many actually don't have enough, so it's advisable to add some salted almonds, bananas, salted melon slices, or other electrolyte sources, along with the drink)

If you look at chlorine in the Periodic Table, you will see there are other elements in its column with similar chemical properties. Glad you are exploring this topic.

[vivian maxine]

Salted Cracker Chips? :-) I knew they were putting fluoride in our water. I did not know they were adding chlorine. Why am I not surprised? Maybe I should have studied chemistry? All sorts of things going on there.

[zetreque]

Related fact. Water softeners pull Ca and Mg out of water. Many water softeners require Sodium Chloride to eliminate the Ca and Mg from the resin balls in the water softener which flows down the drain.

[vivian maxine]

Related fact. Water softeners pull Ca and Mg out of water. Many water softeners require Sodium Chloride to eliminate the Ca and Mg from the resin balls in the water softener which flows down the drain.

Hmmm? Interesting because don't we also have potassium chloride and - I think - sodium chloride? Might be wrong about that second but we have several of those mixes. Do you ever wonder how many of our ailments are "man-caused" as we fool around with stuff? "Enriched foods"?

[zetreque]

Do you ever wonder how many of our ailments are "man-caused" as we fool around with stuff? "Enriched foods"?

I'd say most.

I don't wonder. I feel victim to it! And why I am so passionate about fighting for the environment and original foods... because that's how I cured myself and through that process discovered countless others who have.

[richardsalvo]

Chlorine helps to clean our water.

[BioWizard]

Chlorine helps to clean our water.

That's a good point richard. As much as I like talk of how reversing some of our food industrialization practices can yield health benefits, it is important to keep some perspective on the things that have taken humanity out of dark ages into healthier living. Someone might argue that they prefer it if plagues still run amok and people die in the thousands as long as it's the "natural" thing. But I'd personally prefer it if that wasn't the case. On the other hand, I've experienced tremendous health and fitness gains from simply cutting out anything with refined sugar or carbs, sticking to whole foods, and megadosing daily on herbs with known health benefits (ginger, curcumin, cumin, blackseed) and some apple cider with raw honey.

In accordance with the implicit message of this thread, I think extreme positions are rarely the most intelligent ones. Yes there are things about modernization that can be bad for our health, but there's also a tremendous amount of good that has been offered. Don't throw the baby with the bathwater (zetreque).