Despite what some pastors have claimed B-17 is not a vitamin and it does not cure cancer. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. debunks this one.
When I wrote a warning about how eating too many apple seeds or cherry pits could kill you, I had no idea the topic would be considered controversial. In my mind, saying the natural compounds in the plants could be toxic was on par with saying too much iron is toxic... it's documented fact. Yet, that blog post generated comments about how the seeds are supposedly a cure for cancer or necessary for nutrition, making me out to be part of some nefarious AMA/government plot. For those of you who think that, let me set the record straight. No one dictates what I write or pays me to present a viewpoint.
Apple seeds, cherry pits, and other seeds from the Prunis family contain a natural substance called amygdalin, which can be enzymatically degraded into glucose, benzaldehyde, and hydrogen cyanide. Hydrogen cyanide is toxic. Here's the first MSDS I found on hydrogen cyanide when I ran a search, which says ingesting less than 1 mg/kg can kill you. So... that's bad news for your body, even if there are heathful compounds in the seeds, unless you have the ability to detoxify the cyanide... and you do. If the dose is low enough, you can survive exposure to cyanide just fine, with no ill effects. If the dose is too high, then you're in trouble. That's where eating too many of the seeds can kill you. I don't have an opinion on whether or not eating a small number of the seeds is healthful.
I read that some people use the terms amygdalin, Laetrile, and vitamin B17 interchangeably, but there are sources which distinguish between them. Amygdalin is the substance that occurs naturally in plants. Laetrile is a trade name for a synthesized compound, laevo-mandelonitrile-beta-glucuronoside. This compound is chemically similar to amygdalin, but isn't the same molecule. I'm not entirely clear on whether B17 is supposed to be amygdalin or Laetrile, but neither compound is recognized as a vitamin. The 'vitamin' designation seems to have been part of a marketing ploy by the Mexican clinic that sells Laetrile. I don't see much information about the natural compound, amygdalin, but there is scientific research that indicates Laetrile does not cure cancer.
To summarize:
- Laetrile and amygdalin are not the same molecule.
- Both compounds can be metabolized to produce cyanide in the body. Too much of either compound is toxic.
- Laetrile has not been shown to cure cancer.
- There may or may not be health benefits from eating apple seeds or related seeds, but if you eat too many of them, you can get sick and may die.[1]
Cyanide, believe it or not, is a dietary expectation within biologically rational quantities. Cyanide within the body is transformed into another substance called, 'thiocyanate'. Sickle cell anemia is a thiocyanate deficiency disease. Do you see what I'm getting at? Hundreds of foods we consume daily contain dietary cyanide. Provided that we don't overwhelm our natural capacities to process it safely, there is no danger. Cyanide is not an accumulative toxin.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it is totally possible to eat too many apricot kernels and feel quite unwell as a result, but a fatal dose is a very large quantity and highly unlikely. So unlikely, in fact, that it has never been medically reported in a documented, verifiable way. That is a fact that should surprise anyone vaguely familiar with this controversy.
Whether or not apricot kernels work is somewhat irrelevant. What is relevant is that people believe that they work and thousands have reported benefit and cure from their use. Yes, this information is anecdotal... who cares. Placebo or not, if apricot kernels provide hope under not-so-hopeful circumstances, their use is justified. No one is going to die from eating apricot kernels. At worst, they might be admitted to hospital, where they'll be treated with an antidote that is 100% effective. At best, the apricot kernels will stop the cancer from spreading, which is their number one function. When the cancer is stopped in its tracks, the immune system has a chance to tackle the beast head to head. Unfortunately, conventional treatment destroys the immune system and it is typically only the younger, more resilient of patients who will overcome this scenario.
If willing, have a read of my own blog at http://apricot-kernels.blogspot.com