Friday, June 14, 2013

Lessons from the Father of Toxicology - The Dose Makes All the Difference

What do you get when you hold a steak knife and garlic salt? A-salt with a deadly weapon.
What happens when you drink a quart of soy sauce on a dare? You could die.

Paracelsus, the "Father of Toxicology" said the dose makes the poison. Actually, in German he said, "Alle Ding' sind Gift, und nichts ohn' Gift; allein die Dosis macht, daß ein Ding kein Gift ist," which means "All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; only the dose permits something not to be poisonous."

The band Circa Survive said it best: The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is in the Dose.

 This story is covered in the article by Food Product Design: Teen nearly dies from soy sauce overdose

This article covers the biological fallout from overdosing on salt, but if science is not your forte, no worries - the key takeaway is the understanding that whether it's water (remember that "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest?) or caffeine or salt, anything can hurt you at the wrong amounts. 

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