“All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing, not a poison.” This was said by a notable Swiss physician and Chemist Paracelsus about 500 years ago. What it means in rather simple terms is that “The Dose makes the poison.”

However, a statement like this is confusing without anything to put it into our perspective, isn’t it? I once struggled to understand this too but now have a better understanding of the subject, and would love to introduce you to this rather interesting topic as well.

To start with something, we consider a substance we associate with life, vitality, and healthy bodies, water. Water, otherwise known as H2O, makes up most of our body mass at about 45-75% in varying age groups. However, as Paracelsus said, the dose indeed makes the poison. Did you know that if you consume over 6 litres of water spread across two hours, you could face a fatal risk due to your body  internal functions being thrown out of balance, Andy Warhol the popular director is said to have died unfortunately in such a manner when he was hospitalised.

Moving away from water, even Vitamin D, the mineral associated with sunshine, outdoors and strength, especially in the northern parts of our world. Many people spend hours sunbathing to get a tan or get a healthier body but our body already regulates Vitamin D production by sunlight and food doesn’t contain enough of a dose to harm us, however many people take supplements of Vitamin D as well, abuse of these by Fitness enthusiasts can also cause sickness and body pains.

Sticking to the fitness nuts possibly reading this, even too much protein can cause illness and toxicity in the human body, Protein poisoning otherwise known as ‘mal de caribou’ is an illness caused by too much protein consumption and can cause multiple health problems like irregular heart rates, diarrhoea and low blood pressures, what are the benefits for the gym gains if your whole body suffers for it.

If nothing else you might look at the apple and assume from the age old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” But you would be wrong. Even apples often touted as an incredibly healthy fruit is a health threat when taken in large quantities. Consuming 6-7 apples or whole crushed apple extract can cause severe sickness due to the risk of cyanide poisoning, which is found in apple seeds. However, a deadly dose is rather difficult to attain at over 20 apples.

Reading this you may be concerned or sceptical, since we are able to drink water, walk in the sun, consume proteins and apples without any dangers, and once again here the brilliance of toxicology shines. Everything I mentioned here is dangerous and can cause illnesses and death, but their presence in our diet also enables us to be healthier and live better lives.

So go on out and enjoy your salad or dinner without any fear, because it won’t kill you but only serve to make you stronger. I hope reading this article has made you wiser in this matter and kindled an interest that you may someday pursue. Your hunger in some specific foods may kill you, but your hunger for knowledge shall only serve you well.