NaCL discussion

This discussion comes directly from Rob's blog:

The confusing bit for me came when Rob mentions 2,4g Sodium (Na) being found as an ionised component of table salt (NaCl). Then, two lines below, he recommends 3,4g Chloride…

You could see how this could get complicated – and easy to overdose on certain chemicals if one is not careful to ensure that one is not taking in some of one particular ingredient from an unexpected source.

Rob was clear that one must be very careful when performing an experiment like this.

As for the step-by-step instructions, I think he was clear that this is his way of doing things, and it may or may not be consistent for others of different physiological makeup.

REPLY

Mike

March 14, 2013 at 2:48 pm

You get around 3.7g of chloride out of using pure NaCl to cover you sodium and chloride supplement. Close enough, .3g is not going to cause an overdose. Your body will just eliminate it.

Courtney

March 14, 2013 at 4:00 pm

That's because the molecular weights of sodium and chlorine are different. The ratio in grams of recommended sodium to recommended chlorine are 1:1.42. The ratio of the molecular weight of sodium to the molecular weight of chlorine is pretty close at 1:1.55.

Alex

March 14, 2013 at 4:05 pm

I was curious about the NaCl too, so I looked up the weight ratio of the molecule itself. An NaCl molecule weighs approx. 58.43 amu (Na = 22.98 amu, Cl = 35.45 amu). The mass ratio is about 60%-40%, which is about the same as the ratio between the Na and the Cl amouts he reccomends (2.4g Na + 3.4g Cl = approx. 5.8g NaCl, or salt). I'd guess he probably just adds 6-ish grams of salt to his mix.

Cernael

March 14, 2013 at 8:51 pm

"The confusing bit for me came when Rob mentions 2,4g Sodium (Na) being found as an ionised component of table salt (NaCl). Then, two lines below, he recommends 3,4g Chloride…"

That's because sodium and chloride have different molecular weights. Sodium weighs roughly 23g/mol; chloride roughly 35.5g/mol. The combination of equal parts of these, NaCl, weighs about 58.44g/mol (according to wikipedia). 0.1 mol of NaCl then weighs 5.844g, and contains 2.3g Na+ and 3.55g Cl-; you might need to bump up the Na+ with some other source, but pure table salt basically covers it.

Cernael

March 14, 2013 at 8:59 pm

In addition, most commercial table salt (at least here in Sweden) is enriched with iodine. Looking at the brand I have at home, it has 5mg of iodine per 100g of salt (though that could vary from brand to brand, of course); that comes out to 300ug for 6g, or almost double the dose recommended here, if I were to use it as my sole source of all three minerals.

G Townsend

March 14, 2013 at 9:22 pm

He is using the fda amounts, if it is available in another compound item like NaCl in the correct amounts then move on. This is similar with Iodine, as table salts are iodized.

This isnt rhat difficult to produce. Ive already found websites that will sell individual kilogram parcels of each component. The only concern is quality, possibly volitile substances and absorption rates

Matt

March 14, 2013 at 9:34 pm

Chlorine weighs more than Sodium! Sodium has a molecular weight of 22.98 and Chlorine 35.45.

3.4*(22.98/35.45) = 2.2

So his math is off a bit.

But I think he takes 2.4g of table salt a day (reccomended is 2g on most nutririon facts) and that gives him both Sodium and Chlorine that he needs

Jeff

March 14, 2013 at 11:10 pm

NaCl is easy to dose. The body will flush out any excess.