Apricot Seeds and Cancer?!

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

In fact there are no documented cases of apricot kernels curing cancer, or indeed having any effect on cancer.

Testimonials there are, and that's what you've read - unsubstantiated testimonials provided by people who are quite happy to part desperate and vulnerable people from their cash in exchange for ineffective and dangerous 'cures'.

This is one of the few 'alternative cancer treatments' that has been properly tested - and it has been found to be completely ineffective against cancer. Not only that but, as others have pointed out, it's dangerous as it contains cyanide.

It is illegal in the US, and in many other places, to claim without proof that something can cure cancer; thus it is illegal to peddle any of the commercial preparations of apricot kernels such as Laetrile.

This link is a report of a clinical trial of amygdalin (Laetrile) in the treatment of human cancer:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/70337…

And you can rRead more about the whole money-spinning scam here:

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRela…

Since he is unfortunately no longer with us to do it himself, I'm going to repost an answer a much-missed contributor to the Cancer section gave when another self-appointed cancer 'expert' who'd read a few internet sites claimed that apricot kernels/laetrile/B17 could cure all cancers and there was a conspiracy to hide this fact for reasons of profit:

''It is unfortunate when people who do not have first hand experience with cancer – have not seen it growing in their own body – start making fabulous claims about how cancer can be cured so easily by this or that. If only it were that easy. There are no magic bullet cancer cures and there is no big conspiracy to keep any cancer cure secret in order for the secret holders to make money.

There is no vitamin B-17. I’m old enough to remember when they sold laetrile over the counter at some health food stores in the 60s. It was also sold under the name amygdalin. After many people died from taking laetrile rather than going to a medical Dr the FDA and court system stepped in and banned laetrile in the early 70s. This was when laetrile became vitamin B-17. It was just a marketing ploy to help avoid criminal prosecution and to try and keep selling it in health food stores.

The people who claim laetrile cures cancer have never seen a mass growing on their own CT scan. It’s easy to make false claims when the tumor is growing in someone else’s body and you will not have to watch them die when the laetrile fails to halt the growth of their cancer.

Anytime anyone tells you that any substance treats or cures all the various types of cancer then you know several things. (1) they do not have a tumor growing inside themselves or have not seen their spouse or child die of cancer – and (2) either they are very naive and simply have no understanding of the complex biology of the many different diseases listed under the name cancer or (3) they are charlatans trying to separate you from your money.''

We miss you Quijibored

It's not often that there is so much wrong in a question.

"I know it cures cancer " great, let's all see the trial data
"was banned" let's see the law banning it
"because more money goes to chemo and pharmacies" if it worked the pharmaceutical companies would be developing it for treatments, a pharmacy is a shop where you goto for drugs, they sell all-sorts and probably apricot seeds too if you ask
"can't you just get them from the inside of an apricot" yes

"Everything I've Googled says it's true." Lord preserve us. Do you believe what you read on The Onion too?

"wondering why you can't just eat the seeds from the fruit" you can, and they are used in cooking and drinks for flavour. Eat too many and you'll die. The nice tasting flavour is cyanide.

It doesn't cure cancer, and that is why it has been abandoned.

Here is a review from 2007 based on 36 clinical studies on the effect of laetrile (found in the apricot seeds) on cancer in patients:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17106…
In their own words: None of these publications proved the effectiveness of laetrile

Do you "know" that, or are you repeating what someone told you?

If it was possible to cure cancer with a common seed, you can bet someone would have come up with a way to sell the extract.

The fact is: someone made this story up, just like half of everything else you hear by word of mouth, or see on Fox News.

Just try a Google and see.

Apricot seeds for everyone
http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee…
Vitamin B6 200mg and Vitamin D3 2000 I.U. daily are also very good.
A cup of green tea daily

As to your question, most of the people in the world do not live where there are fields and fields of apricot orchards.

Some of them even live in cities, even up to 10--20 million!

And the apricots they have access to usually have had the seeds removed.

I suppose you could do.

Apricot kernels, if eaten in excess, can cause cyanide poisoning. They've never cured a single case of cancer.

You obviously don't know how to filter reality from bullshit. Learn how to Google.