Re: [Paddlewise] Fresh water vs. seawater for cooking?

CA Kayaker wrote:
> 
> Thor's theories on the movement of S. American Indians to the S. Pacific
> and other things don't make much sense.
> 
> Can one of our educated chemist types calculate the per cent salt in such a
> mixture? [see below]  I think it sounds like gastrointestinal upset except
> that it might be close to a normal saline solution.

I can do the math.  **Unless diluted with torrential rainfall** to form a
low-saline layer on top, sea water is usually about 3.3 % salt.  A 40 % sea
water mixture would come in at about 1.3 % salt, roughly 0.4 % higher than
normal saline (0.9 %).  I believe modern electrolyte replacement fluids
(Gatorade, etc.) are pretty close to normal saline.

Don't think the salt content of sweat nearly approaches the salt content of
Heyerdahl's mixture.  Conseqently, Heyerdahl (sp?) is all wet on his sodium
replacement theory.  OTOH, if what he did **worked** and none of them suffered
renal damage (etc.), then who are we to quarrel with success?

I'm not a physiologist, and know not enough to comment on the effects of
long-term maintenance on Heyerdahl's regime.  However, I'm skeptical. 
Heyerdahl was one hell of a promoter.  He had near-iconic status at the time of
his adventures, and you were either "for 'em or ag'in 'em."  I'd like to hear
from a physiologist on this -- and I'm NOT trying Heyerdahl's regime.  I caught
hell on the last trip to the Charlottes by trying to extend our water supply
with drip from our smoke-saturated tarp.  Like George C. Scott's character
(General Buck Turgid?) in the Strangelove flick said:  "don't mess with mah
bodily fluids!"

> At 10:05 PM 4/25/2000 -0400, Gratytshrk_at_aol.com wrote:
> >This brings up something i have wondered about. In Kon Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl
> >reports the crew mixing up to 40% salt water with there drinking water and
> >completely quenching their thirst with less volume than with fresh water.  He
> >claims that tropical increases in thirst are due partly to decreased sodium
> >from insensible losses such as sweating.  This sounds like 50's outdated
> >medical theory to me, but what is the general consensus?

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
chemist, not a physiologist
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