CHLORINE DEFICIENCY

condition in which an organism fails to receive or maintain an adequate supply of the element chlorine, a component of all body secretions and excretions resulting from processes of building (anabolism) and breaking down (catabolism) body tissues. Levels of chlorine closely parallel levels of sodium intake and output, since a primary source of both is sodium chloride, or common table salt. Chlorine is stored to a limited extent in the skin, subcutaneous tissues, and the skeleton and constitutes two-thirds of the negatively charged ions (anions) in the blood. Chlorides (chlorine compounds) play an essential role in the electrical neutrality and pressure of extracellular fluids and in the acid-base balance of the body. Gastric secretion is composed of chlorides in the form of hydrochloric acid and salts. Chlorine is readily absorbed during digestion, and similarly its rate of excretion through sweat, kidney excretion, and intestinal expulsion is high (about 92 percent). The body's supplies of chlorine are rapidly depleted during hot weather, when excessive perspiration reduces the fluid content of the body. Also, stored chlorides may become dangerously low in periods of severe vomiting and diarrhea and in diseases that produce severe alkalosis, a pathological accumulation of base or loss of acid in the body. The best source of supply is found in ordinary table salt, but chloride is also naturally contained in meat, milk, and eggs. Almost all canned foods have salt added during the canning process.