RAEL’S COMMENT:
To end the myth of a vitamin which doesn’t exist and is a poison: the B 17.
Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ἀμυγδαλή amygdálē “almond”) is a naturally occurring chemical compound best known for being falsely promoted as a cancer cure. It is found in many plants, but most notably in the seeds (kernels) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, and plums.
Amygdalin is classified as a cyanogenic glycoside because each amygdalin molecule includes a nitrile group, which can be released as the toxic cyanide anion by the action of a beta-glucosidase. Eating amygdalin will cause it to release cyanide in the human body, and may lead to cyanide poisoning.[1]
Since the early 1950s, both amygdalin and a chemical derivative named laetrile have been promoted as alternative cancer treatments, often under the misnomer vitamin B17 (neither amygdalin nor laetrile is a vitamin).[2] Scientific study has found them to be clinically ineffective in treating cancer, as well as potentially toxic or lethal when taken by mouth due to cyanide poisoning.[3] The promotion of laetrile to treat cancer has been described in the medical literature as a canonical example of quackery,[4][5] and as “the slickest, most sophisticated, and certainly the most remunerative cancer quack promotion in medical history”.
