IDF ordered soldiers to drink magnesium in 1994 experiment

The Israel Defense Forces conducted an experiment on soldiers 15 years ago to test whether drinking a daily dose of magnesium would reduce damage to their hearing on the firing range, Israel Radio reported Sunday.

In 1994, around 150 soldiers in basic training were required to drink juice mixed with magnesium powder. "They explained to us only once that the magnesium was to protect our hearing," said one of the soldiers, Omri Hadar.

Hadar said most of the soldiers did not object, but he recalls that they were threatened with punishments if they did not take part in the trials, such as confinement to base.

According to another member of the company, Rami Yavu: "A soldier who's just been drafted doesn't ask too many questions. Orders are being fired at you all the time and we drank like good soldiers."

Another soldier, Ehud Cohen-Tzedek said: "Only later, when we grew up a little, did we start asking questions, because it seemed strange."

The IDF said Sunday the experiment was carried out on the orders of the army's chief medical officer, and was in keeping with the Helsinki Committee's directives on human experimentation. It aimed to test whether magnesium could help prevent hearing damage after exposure to loud noise.

None of the soldiers interviewed have reported damage to their health from the magnesium, and none said they were planning suits against the army at this time.

The army also said the experiment was explained to the soldiers before it started and that magnesium was a completely natural mineral found at insufficient levels in food and water.

All participants underwent a thorough medical examination before and after the testing, the army said, adding that the experiment supported a finding that magnesium helped prevent hearing damage.

The army, however, also said procedures have changed since 1994 and soldiers no longer have to take part.

In another experiment carried out in the same unit in 1999, soldiers were instructed to drink a white liquid they were told would treat diarrhea.

"All kinds of colonels and majors from the Medical Corps came and said they were checking what helped when soldiers got the runs," said Yoni Karavani, a squad commander at the time. "I told them I wasn't willing to be experimented on and I sat on the sidelines. Nobody said anything to me about it."

No ill effects were reported in that experiment.

The army said monitoring and supervision have also been tightened, including a requirement to inform the Health Ministry of any medical experiment carried out in the IDF.