Alternative Integrative Therapies Part 5: Apricot Kernels (B17)

Several months ago I found a video made by a woman, Sandi Rog, who said she cured her cancer with B17, a synthetic supplement, also known as laetrile. You can watch her video which is posted further down. The idea that laetrile can kill cancer is controversial. Dr. Andrew Weil says there is no scientific evidence that it does and I usually defer to his opinion, BUT I also learned over the past few years, that our beloved scientific community isn’t always right or truthful. The problem is, pharmaceutical companies have too much influence when it comes to teaching hospitals who do research (they provide funding) and the FDA (lobbyists). Beside how many FDA approved drugs killed people who took them? Lots! Attorneys make a bundle suing those drug companies. So I decided to dig deeper. After all, why would Sandi make this up?

Here is her video:

Sandi updated her vlog here:

Sandi has a blog that is updated frequently where she answers questions from patients, like how many kernels should they take. You can read about here.

Her post made in October 2014 stated that she believed apricot kernels are more potent than the supplements.  Apricot kernels can contain up to 3 per cent of Amygdalin (not laetrile) which is the natural form of B-17. It does not require any medical approvals because its food, so I called different health food stores in my area to see if they carried the kernels and many did, BUT they were sold out.  One of the store associates told me that many Asians eat them to prevent cancer and for overall health. I lived close to China Town when I lived in San Francisco and  I remember walking through their “pharmacies” that were filled with bulk containers of all sorts of weird looking stuff. Most of it would end up in a special “tea” to either cure a patient or ward off illness in the first place. Chinese medicine has been around for thousands of years so why is it weird that apricot kernels could be used to treat cancer?

“Body and Soul,” an Australian online health magazine writes: Bitter apricot kernels have been used as a cancer remedy in Russia since 1845, and in the US since the 1920s. However, debate continues over its effectiveness and toxicity. They have also long been used in Chinese medicine for respiratory problems, indigestion, high blood pressure and arthritis.

The Hunza people are considered living proof of the health benefits of apricot kernelsBased in the remote Himalayan region near West Pakistan, they are traditional apricot farmers and are believed to consume 200 times more B17 than Westerners do (about 30 to 50 apricot seeds a day). The Hunza are also said to have low levels of cancer and high rates of longevity.

This doesn’t sound like “quackery” to me.

Here is another testimony from a woman who cured her breast cancer eating apricot kernels as part of her cancer treatment:

I couldn’t find other cancer survivors who ate the apricot kernels but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Just because scientists in the Unites States say there isn’t sufficient data supporting apricot kernels doesn’t mean there could be.

If you decide to take the supplements or eat the kernels and you have cancer, I strongly suggest you find a holistic doctor who will supervise you and maybe find some other complementary treatments that will help you as well.

Be well!

Ingebird