Another Good link for info
www.herbhealers.com...
The Politics of
B-17 & Laetrile
If apricot seeds were "the" cure for cancer, why aren't they listed as such in the "cookbook" pharmacopaeia of most herbal traditions (i.e.
Western, Ayurvedic, TCM, Jamu, etc.)?
The answer is that there is just as much scientific evidence to show that apricot seeds are, at best, a marginal treatment, as there is to show that
it helps.
At Alpha Omega Labs we have received reports from cancer patients who took the recommended 6 or 7 apricot seeds per day and said they believed it
helped. We have received just as many reports from patients that it did little or nothing to help them.
It is for this reason that the ancient literature of other traditions (which existed long, long before organizations like the U.S. FDA) do not list
apricot seeds as a cancer treatment.
On the flip side, you have a level of overreaction on the part of medical orthodox community (and through their henchmen at the AMA and FDA), which
has fueled an entire "apricot seed subculture." By placing apricot seeds on nearly the same legal footing as botanically-derived
neuropharmacologicals (such as marijuana, or morning glory seeds - the latter to make a poor man's '___'), the FDA itself has created a substantial
"apricot seed market" - most of it south of the border.
Every year, thousands of patients head to Mexico (mostly U.S. and Canadian citizens in border cities, such as Tijuana) to get "Laetrile" injections
- essentially, concentrations of the seed's active compound.
In fairness, many of these patients have reported success - (although we have had more than a handful of patients tell us that they thought Vitamin C
cured their cancer!)
Mankind has had thousands of years to create, test, and validate its great herbal traditions. This site is built upon the principle that those
traditions are worth recognizing, researching, and debating in the public arena - to the benefit of all who participate.
Apricot seeds have a prominent place in Chinese medicine for its benefits in respiratory ailments. We suspect that is where its best applications will
be found... all political posturing aside.
216.55.141.125...
[Edited on 21-6-2003 by All Seeing Eye]