This showed up in the GROUNDWATER mailinglist. 


          Dr. David Kessler, Commissioner
          Food and Drug Administration
          200 C St. SW
          Washington, DC 20204

          Dear Dr. Kessler:

          Several groups are profiting by making false health claims
          endorsing distilled or low-TDS water, when vast quantities
          of scientific data consistently show that low-TDS and
          distilled water are correlated with higher rates of
          cardiovascular disease and death.  Here are a few examples:

          The American Red Cross is lending it's prestige to the
          Chippewa Falls 20th Annual PURE Water Days Festival Aug.
          17-18, 1996 in exchange for the gate money --- in other
          words,  the American Red Cross receives money for
          associating its name with a deadly product.

          Greg Le Mond, the bicycle champion who touts low-TDS water
          for the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is
          leading the Chippewa PURE water bicycle tour to promote "the
          earth's most perfect water", which is low-TDS and is most
          certainly NOT the earth's most perfect water.  Le Mond owns
          the Chippewa Springs brand he is touting, and is making a
          false health claim for a deadly product.

          The IBWA is also making a false health claim by using Le
          Mond to present the image of health, just as Marlboro uses
          the Marlboro Man to present the image of health; the IBWA is
          making a false health claim to sell deadly waters.

          Mr. James Carrigg, Chairman, President, and CEO of New York
          power utility NYSEG, writes in his annual report that "to
          increase retail electric sales, NYSEG is actively promoting
          the benefits of various electrotechnologies".  One of the
          electrotechnologies NYSEG is promoting is home distillation
          units, and to promote these deadly machines, NYSEG makes
          this false health claim: "Remember, the essential minerals
          you need for your body comes from the food you eat, not the
          water you drink.  ...These minerals merely contaminate our
          water and hinder the water from performing its natural
          functions."  Here is a power utility making a false medical
          claim just to sell more electricity for home distilling
          machines!

          A search of the WEB by the AltaVista search engine,
          searching for the words "Pure Water" brought up about 3,000
          Web sites; 37 of the first 40 sites were for companies
          peddling distillation machines or reverse-osmosis machines,
          and every one of them made false health claims for
          distilled water or R/O water, stating it is good for
          drinking.  Projecting to the rest of the list would indicate
          2,700 companies making false health claims on behalf of
          water-purification machines.  This is health fraud on a
          massive scale.

          Retired Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop wrote me that "A
          good case can be made for the correlation of cardiovascular
          death with magnesium deficient water", and I understand that
          the NAS's panel has concurred, although the final report has
          not yet been written.

          Since there is no scientific data to support any benefit
          from "pure" low-TDS water (relative to natural mineral-rich
          water), I ask that the FDA immediately take steps to stop
          the false health claims being supported by the American Red
          Cross, the IBWA and its members, Greg Le Mond, NYSEG, and
          the 2,700 smaller companies peddling water purification
          machines.

          I understand the quandary the FDA is in, since the FDA
          wrongly smeared and destroyed the mineral water industry in
          the 1930s, tarring with a broad brush both the charlatans
          and the honest, nutrition-giving mineral spring operators.
          It must be galling to the FDA to have its very first big
          offensive turn out to be so deadly wrong, but the only
          solution for it is to recognize scientific realities and
          correct the FDA's mistakes of 60 years ago as quickly as
          possible.  (Ref: Crazy Water -- The Story of Mineral Wells
          and Other Texas Health Resorts, by Gene Fowler, Texas
          Christian University Press, 1991).   Please ask all the
          culprits mentioned above to stop their false health claims,
          which are killing thousands of consumers.

          Sincerely,


          Paul Mason

          encl:  NYSEG's web page touting distilled water.
                 AltaVista web-search for "pure water".
                 Flyer for the Chippewa Falls PURE Water Days Festival
                 Web page for Chippewa Falls PURE Water Days Festival


          cc: Robert Brady Esq, Hogan & Hartson, counsel to the IBWA


-- 
          Our Magnesium Web Site is: http://www.execpc.com/~magnesum
         
          Paul Mason
          Researcher

4 responses total.

I think this guy, who thinks distilled water is poisonous, is badly
deluded, but it makes a nice introduction to water and health - are
minerals in water *necessary* and is their absence deleterious if one
has other sources of dietary minerals? I just drink whatever tap water
is available, but I'm sure there are some other opinions....

Yes, distilled water is harmful because it lacks necessary trace minerals.
Spring water may taste better than the local tap, and manages to keep the
trace minerals.  There are also special pitchers one can buy which have a
charcoal filter through which the tap water one pours in is strained.  This
works just as well, if not better, than the expensive bottled waters and/or
the expensive filters one attaches to one's faucet.  The putchers cost about
ten dollars.

How do I know so much about this.  My friend and family doctor is a water
fanatic. :)

Charcoal filters remove only higher molecular weight organic matter - not
any minerals. However that HMWOM is responsible for some bad odors and tastes.
What is your friend seeking with charcoal filtration? (Incidentally, one
can buy the *charcoal* (well, activated carbon) for a couple of dollars a
pound, *much* cheaper than buying those pitchers. (Twenty years ago I bought
50 pounds for about $30, and have been using it since for our fish tanks.)

Incidentally - one of our Silver Dollars developed a lesion/canker on its
side. I couldn't find any treatment for it, but decided to replenish the
minerals I had originally added to the water, but which plants had probably
extracted. The mixture includes potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and
sodium chloride. I also changed the carbon filter. Over the past few weeks
the lesion/canker cleared up and was replaced by fresh scales. I don't really
know that lack of minerals (potassium? magnesium?) was the problem, but
it is a logical hypothesis. Maybe I better go back on dolomite pills.....

Exactly, Rane.  She wants to get rid of the nasty stuff and keep the trace
minerals.  The pitchers' filter charcoal has to be changed every now and
again, so buying activated charcoal by the pound makes sense.  The pitchers
are specially designed for the filtering, but it's a one time purchase.  I
guess I didn't make that clear.

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