Definition
Chloride is a salt consisting of two elements, one of which is chlorine. Chloride makes up about 0.15% of the body weight and is found in the extracellular fluid along with sodium.

Alternative Names
Diet - chloride

Function
Chloride is essential in the maintenance of the body's acid-base and fluid balance. It is an essential component of the gastric (digestive) juices.

Food Sources
Chloride is mainly obtained from table salt or sea salt, which is primarily sodium chloride. It is also found in many vegetables. Foods with higher amounts of chloride are seaweed, rye, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, and olives. Potassium chloride is found in most foods but is significant primarily in salt substitutes.

Side Effects
Increased intake of chloride in the form of salt can cause fluid retention, but this is primarily because of the sodium in the salt.

A deficiency of chloride can be caused by fluid loss as a result of excessive sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea. This loss of chloride can result in excessive alkalinity of the body fluids (alkalosis), low fluid volume (dehydration), and loss of potassium in the urine.

Recommendations
There are no recommended dietary allowances for chloride. It is readily available in the food supply. In fact, most Americans probably consume more chloride than they need, in the form of added table salt, and excessive salt in processed foods.