Magnesium: Progress report

[Paul Mason]

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CURRENT STATUS OF THE MAGNESIUM CATASTROPHE--12/10/94

4.  Governor Wilson of California on March 23, 1994 instructed Dr. Larry 
Barrett to examine the magnesium problem and report back to the 
governor.  That report is not yet complete as of this writing, 12/11/94.

5.  Dr. C. Everett Koop, retired Surgeon General of the United States, 
wrote me that "A good case can be made for the correlation of 
cardio-vascular death with magnesium deficient water."

6.  Mr. John Albers, Chairman and CEO of Dr. Pepper/Seven-Up Cos., wrote 
me a friendly letter open to the possibility of fortifying beverages 
with magnesium, contingent on the approval of the FDA and other 
agencies.

7.  United States Senator Barbara Boxer of California wrote me, 
"Scientific research suggests that magnesium deficiency may increase the 
risk of a variety of medical conditions, including heart attacks and 
high blood pressure.  I would certainly support additional efforts to 
inform Americans about the health risks associated with magnesium 
deficiency."

8.  Dr. Michael Jacobson at the Center For Science In The Public 
Interest in Washington writes that his institute may be getting "more 
involved" in bringing the magnesium problem to the attention of the 
public.

Dr. Marx, a consultant to the Ca. Dept. of Health, is convening a panel 
in Dec. 1994 to decide what to do about the apparent deaths.  The panel 
is to include Dr. Larry Barrett, Dr. Raymond Neutra, Dr. Arthur Marx, 
all from the Dept. of Health, and also Dr. Neil Kohatsu from the Office 
of Clinical Preventive Medicine, Dr. Allen Flagle, pharmacologist, Dr. 
David Spath from the Office of Drinking Water, and Dr. Carl Keen from U. 
C. Davis., and Dr. Mildred Seelig, a magnesium specialist from Atlanta. 
  Others may be added, and the panel is to make recommendations before 
Christmas.   Their report is expected to be released by Jan. 17, 1995.

A body of related research can be downloaded from:  ftp.execpc.com
The file is in:   /pub/magnesium/mgresrch.asc
For user name use "anonymous".

Paul Mason