How does Vitamin B 17 (laetrile, amygdalin) work?

Due to the massive resistance of the medical establishment and studies that have obviously been manipulated, the principle of action of vitamin B17 (laetrile, amygdalin) has never been objectively scientifically clarified with the utmost assurance, or, such research results have never been disclosed to the public.

In most cases, the following theory is mentioned in connection with the mode of action of vitamin B17:

Laetrile, also called vitamin B17, was used by Dr. Ernst Krebs  Jr., who isolated it from bitter apricot kernels.

Laetrile belongs to the group of cyanide-containing substances, also called ‘nitrilosides’. These are naturally found in certain plants, including:

- bitter apricot kernels

- peaches

- berries

- cherries

- millet and in some grasses.

It is estimated that vitamin B17 (laetrile, amygdalin) is found in around 1200 different plant species, but mostly in the seeds of non-citrus fruits.

Bitter apricot kernels (and only bitter ones!) contain the world's largest concentration of vitamin B17!

Laetrile is broken down into a benzaldehyde molecule and a hydrogen cyanide molecule after ingestion in the liver using the enzyme beta-glycosidase. The latter is highly toxic!

Since the enzyme beta-glycosidase has been found to be 100 to 3600 times more common in cancer cells than in healthy ones, it means certain death for the cancer cell, as it produces 100 to 3600 times more toxic hydrogen cyanide.

However, in a healthy body cell, another enzyme called ‘rhodanese’ is abundant, which neutralises the toxic substance immediately, the cancer cell has insufficient amounts of this protective enzyme! Vitamin B17 or laetrile should always be used in conjunction with pineapple and papaya (bromelain, papain) enzymes as they break the ‘protective armour’ of the tumour, making it easier for the laetrile to enter the cancer cell.

In summary, the following can be said:

Laetrile has a very selective effect on the cancer cells by releasing the toxic hydrogen cyanide molecule in the cancer cell in a concentration of 100 to 3600 times (compared to the release in a healthy cell). At the same time, the cancer cell has only insufficient amounts of the enzyme rhodanese, which is abundant in the healthy cell and neutralises the incoming toxins are instantly converted into the harmless enzyme ‘rhodanide’!

Incidentally, the benzaldehyde molecule is responsible for the analgesic effect of laetrile against cancer pain.

Natural chemotherapy – no side effects!

 

Similar to the active ingredient curcumin from the Indian spice turmeric (see corresponding chapter) and numerous other substances mentioned in this book, laetrile has a veritable cytotoxic and cytostatic effect...

By way of explanation, ‘cytotoxic’, from Greek, means ‘cell-destroying’ and ‘cytostatic’ means ‘cell growth-inhibiting’. We know these very mechanisms from chemotherapy, but with the one essential difference:

 

Mother Nature cares for us and does not want to harm us! Thus, these extremely efficient, cell-destroying and cell-growth-inhibiting properties relate exclusively to the malignant cells, the cancer cell – the healthy cells are completely spared!

 

From a biochemical and functional point of view, therefore, in vitamin B17 (laetrile) we have a proven, fully natural chemotherapy, the effectiveness and safety of which has since been confirmed by over 50 years of therapy and numerous representative studies.

What remains is the bitter aftertaste, not of the bitter apricot kernels... but rather that all these studies are not known to conventional cancer physicians, while they continue to practice on the principle of ‘steel, radiation, poison’(surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy) and they do not tire of citing the so-called ‘representative’ drug studies of the pharmaceutical industry, which, unfortunately, according to physician and pharmacist Wolfgang Becker-Brüser, the publisher of the ‘Remedy Telegram’ are manipulated in up to 90 % of cases anyway![1]  But there is also the hope that one day the truth will prevail and that man will remember that he is just a part of nature, and has not sprung from a test tube in the chemistry lab...

What dosages are recommended for laetrile/vitamin B17? 

For legal reasons, we distance ourselves from the following dosages and only give the opinion or the suggestions of renowned laetrile researchers for purposes of illustration!

Dosage of vitamin B17 for preventive purposes (cancer preventative!)

According to the author of the bestselling book, ‘World Without Cancer’, G. Edward. Krebs , who discovered laetrile, for prevention purposes, a minimum of 50 mg laetrile is recommended for normal, healthy adults.

The average amount of laetrile in a bitter apricot kernel is about 4-5 mg laetrile; this amount can vary by up to a factor of 6!

The most commonly cited number of bitter apricot kernels per day for prevention purposes is seven, in the vast majority of cases, ten kernels, which roughly matches the recommendation. According to numerous sources, there have so far been no documented cases of anyone who has fallen victim to cancer whilst consuming bitter apricot kernels, a noteworthy fact given that bitter apricot kernels have been used for decades by billions of people worldwide for preventative purposes and, viewed statistically from the other side, one in two people in the developed world suffers from cancer. Don’t you agree?

Dosage of laetrile for cancer treatment

In the case of cancer, the usual dose would be about 6 g of laetrile injected intravenously, usually over a period of three weeks. Of course, you should never attempt such intensive therapy alone, but always in the context of holistic metabolic therapy, guided and supervised by a physician experienced in this field!

This is because, according to laetrile experts, the mass death of cancer cells causes toxins and their excretion from the body could lead to poisoning; laetrile is therefore administered in conjunction with several other drugs, including high intravenous doses of vitamin C.

Dosage of laetrile for the control of metastases

For the purpose of metastasis control, laetrile can also be taken orally. Recommended doses are usually up to 3 g per day.

What are the side effects of laetrile? 

For legal reasons, we hereby expressly distance ourselves personally from the following statements and only provide the opinion and suggestions of others for illustrative purposes only! In a shocking experiment on himself, the discoverer of laetrile, Dr. Ernst Krebs , shown that laetrile is generally safe. He injected a mega dose of concentrated laetrile into his own arm, completely free from side effects!

However, there have been some reports of people who have had difficulty breathing or muscle weakness as a side effect; these reports cover people who have undergone self-treatment with excessively high doses. Also, from time to time, side effects such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and fever  have been reported. It is believed that these symptoms are due to the toxins of dying cancer cells already described. Despite the greatest effort, however, we were unable to investigate reports of deaths as a clear side effect of laetrile medical treatment, and this after approximately 60 years of therapeutic use on millions of patients!

 

Is laetrile, amygdalin, vitamin B17 toxic?

The so-called LD50 dose is a recognised benchmark for determining a toxicity value in foods. It is the dose that causes death in 50 % of animals. In the case of orally administered laetrile (vitamin B17), a value between 600 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg body weight was determined in rats.

Laetrile/amygdalin three times as toxic as glucose?  

This corresponds to 7500-11000 mg of bitter apricot kernels per kg of body weight, assuming an amygdalin content of 8 %,[2] which is ranked between glucose and saline. The LD50 value of saline is 3000 mg per kg, which is 3 times as ‘dangerous’ as laetrile, while glucose is 25800 mg/kg[3], which makes glucose one-third less ‘dangerous’ than laetrile!

In principle, far higher doses can be tolerated if administered intravenously, as confirmed by a study on mice commissioned by Dr. Ernesto Contrearas. This resulted in a value of 6670 mg/kg[4], while, for example, the chemotherapeutic agent ‘cisplatin’ in mice has a value of 13 mg/kg[5] body weight!

CONCLUSION:

Laetrile, amygdalin, vitamin B17 is therefore administered intravenously (in mice) more than 500 times safer than the chemotherapy drug cisplatin and, taken orally, about 3 times as ‘dangerous’ as glucose!

Incompatibilities between laetrile and other drugs

Taking laetrile in combination with potent probiotics will increase the amount of hydrogen cyanide released, leading to unwanted side effects.