Our western food used to be rich in amigdalin too. The problem arose
when scientists began to modify plants and foods for feeding livestock, causing letril to be almost completely removed from them, claiming it was dangerous to health. The upshot is that while the Inuit and Hunza get an average unit dose of vitamin B 17 of 250 - 3,000 mg per day, Europeans who eat 'improved' foods take in only 2 mg.

So what was the reason for considering vitamin B17 to be harmful?

Well, one of the components of letril, along with benzaldehyde (which also has poisonous effects) and glucose, is cyanide - a well-known poison. The issue with vitamin B17, however, is that all the above-mentioned components of amigdalin are linked together in an inseparable molecule, thus neutralising the lethal effects of cyanide as well as benzaldehyde. This chain can only be broken by an enzyme called beta-glycosidase, which is commonly found in our body's cells in small quantities, but in very large doses in cancer cells.

In this way, the poisons released in the malignant cells of our body complete their destruction. An additional protection against the destructive effects of cyanide and benzaldehyde on healthy cells is provided by a mitochondrial enzyme called rhodanase, which, being present only in normal body cells, has the ability to convert both cyanide and benzaldehyde into beneficial components for the body.

photo ojoimages

As proof of the salutary effect of amigdalin, Dr Krebs, at a conference in San Francisco in 1967, cited examples of six spontaneous regressions of one of the most aggressive forms of cancer - testicular chorionepiythelioma - after treatment with vitamin B17. Importantly, cases of spontaneous regression had not previously been reported in the context of this cancer.

Availability of vitamin B17 therapy

Dr Krebs used amigdalin extracted from bitter apricot kernels in his research on letrile and they are currently the best source of it. Available in any health food shop, they are easy to buy.
In addition, there are numerous clinics around the world that treat malignant tumours with vitamin B17. One of the best known is the Mexican clinic of Dr Ernesto Contreras Rodriguez.