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7 Things You Didn't Know You Could Overdose On

Turns out, "Death by Chocolate" isn't just a cutesily named option on the dessert menu.

When you think of things that can kill you, you probably don’t think of common foods and household items. Yet there are plenty of things lurking around your home and that you encounter in everyday life that could potentially kill you if you overdose on them. Check out these 7 things you never knew could kill you:

1. Coffee can cause a heart attack if consumed in large amounts. You’d have to drink around 70 cups at once, so it’s pretty unlike that you’re at risk of overdosing. But caffeine is found in many substances, and too much at once is deadly.

2. Alcohol poisoning is all too real — usually, it would take about 13 shots, but because everybody is different, it’s best to consume alcohol in moderation.

3. Water is integral to staying hydrated and living healthfully. Consumed too rapidly in too high of quantities, it can be deadly. There have been a few documented cases of water poisoning, which occurs when the kidneys can’t process water quickly enough.

4. Salt is vital for performing numerous bodily functions. But too much salt can cause your cells to severely dehydrate in a process called hypernatremia and can lead to seizures, coma, and even death. This includes chugging too much soy sauce as part of a dare.

5. Chocolate isn’t just deadly for dogs. Chocolate contains theobromine (the chemical that makes it deadly for dogs) and too much can also be dangerous to humans. You’d have to eat around 85 full-size chocolate bars for it to be deadly, so it’s a good reason to get your chocolate addiction under control.

6. Acetaminophen, the primary ingredient in Tylenol and some other cold and flu medications causes hundreds of deaths due to overdose each year. Although acetaminophen is harmless in small doses, it can cause liver damage. Be sure not to mix multiple acetaminophen-containing products to be on the safe side.

7. Tea contains caffeine, but it is more likely that you overdose on oxalate if you drink too much. One man was drinking around 16 glasses of iced tea a day and was eventually put on dialysis due to the damage caused by his habit.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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