T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II
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 Some people in the medical establishment argued that animal studies had repeatedly shown laetrile to have no effect on tumors.1 Because of this, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had decided to suppress the use of laetrile, which gave rise to the popular clinics south of the border. One famous hospital in Tijuana treated "as many as 20,000 American patients a year."1 One of those patients was Sylvia Dutton, for whom laetrile unfortunately did not work.
But laetrile was only one of many alternative health products. |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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 Apricot kernels are used to make the alternative cancer drug laetrile. Over twenty-five years ago, the National Cancer Institute claimed laetrile was an ineffective cancer treatment, yet many who seek alternative cancer treatments travel to Mexico, where laetrile remains available. In the seventeenth century, apricot oil was said to be used in England to cure ulcers. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania lauded apricot's aphrodisiac properties.
Throw Me a Lifesaver! |
Nicola Reavley
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 Laetrile, which is also known as amygdalin, was isolated in 1952 by biochemist Ernest Krebs who named it vitamin B1 7 and promoted it as a cancer preventative and cure. laetrile is found in apricot kernels and contains a cyanide molecule which means it may be toxic in large doses. These concerns have led to laetrile being made illegal as a treatment for cancer in the USA.
Laetrile in cancer treatment
In a clinical trial in cancer patients reported in 1982, laetrile did not appear to cause shrinkage of tumors or alleviate cancer symptoms. |
Prevention Magazine
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 So popular was laetrile that at one time it was available in health food stores in 27 states.
Today, laetrile cannot legally be sold in this country, although it's readily available in Mexico and other countries. Does laetrile work? According to most experts, the answer is an emphatic no.
"Laetrile is not only useless but also potentially fatal," says Maurie Markman, M.D., director of the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center. Indeed, a study at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, found that laetrile frequently caused nausea, vomiting, headache, and other symptoms of cyanide poisoning. |
Nicola Reavley
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| These concerns have led to laetrile being made illegal as a treatment for cancer in the USA.
Laetrile in cancer treatment
In a clinical trial in cancer patients reported in 1982, laetrile did not appear to cause shrinkage of tumors or alleviate cancer symptoms. Survival time was not increased and there were no improvements in feelings of wellbeing.1 There have also been several reports of laetrile causing serious, life-threatening toxicity when taken in large doses.2 Krebs claimed that laetrile preferentially killed cancer cells but laboratory evidence suggests that this is not the case. |
Prevention Magazine
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| Today, laetrile cannot legally be sold in this country, although it's readily available in Mexico and other countries. Does laetrile work? According to most experts, the answer is an emphatic no.
"Laetrile is not only useless but also potentially fatal," says Maurie Markman, M.D., director of the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center. Indeed, a study at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, found that laetrile frequently caused nausea, vomiting, headache, and other symptoms of cyanide poisoning.
Laetrile is dangerous for another reason, Dr. Markman adds. |
Nicola Reavley
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| Krebs claimed that laetrile preferentially killed cancer cells but laboratory evidence suggests that this is not the case.3
Absorption
Laetrile is not digested in the stomach but passes into the small intestine where it is acted on by enzymes that split it into various compounds, which are then absorbed.
Sources
Laetrile is found in apricot kernels and in the kernels of other fruits such as plums, peaches, cherries, peaches and apples. Mung bean sprouts and almonds also contain laetrile.
Toxic effects
Laetrile in large doses may be toxic due to its 6 per cent cyanide content. |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
See book keywords and concepts |
| Over twenty-five years ago, the National Cancer Institute claimed laetrile was an ineffective cancer treatment, yet many who seek alternative cancer treatments travel to Mexico, where laetrile remains available. In the seventeenth century, apricot oil was said to be used in England to cure ulcers. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania lauded apricot's aphrodisiac properties.
Throw Me a Lifesaver! vision: Rich in vitamin A, a powerful antioxidant that prevents free radical damage to eye tissue, apricots may help to promote good vision. |
T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II
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| Food and Drug Administration had decided to suppress the use of laetrile, which gave rise to the popular clinics south of the border. One famous hospital in Tijuana treated "as many as 20,000 American patients a year."1 One of those patients was Sylvia Dutton, for whom laetrile unfortunately did not work.
But laetrile was only one of many alternative health products. By the end of the 1970s, Americans were spending $1 billion a year on various supplements and potions that promised magical benefits. |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
See book keywords and concepts |
| Over twenty-five years ago, the National Cancer Institute claimed laetrile was an ineffective cancer treatment, yet many who seek alternative cancer treatments travel to Mexico, where laetrile remains available. In the seventeenth century, apricot oil was said to be used in England to cure ulcers. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania lauded apricot's aphrodisiac properties.
Throw Me a Lifesaver! vision: Rich in vitamin A, a powerful antioxidant that prevents free radical damage to eye tissue, apricots may help to promote good vision. |
Prevention Magazine
See book keywords and concepts |
| Some 30 years later, his son reformulated the extract and named it laetrile. By the 1970s, people with cancer who felt that they couldn't be helped by modern medicine were traveling to obscure clinics and paying exorbitant prices for this new "miracle" cure. So popular was laetrile that at one time it was available in health food stores in 27 states.
Today, laetrile cannot legally be sold in this country, although it's readily available in Mexico and other countries. Does laetrile work? According to most experts, the answer is an emphatic no. |
Bill Sardi
See book keywords and concepts |
 Prevailing over poor health habits
While Rife Technology, laetrile, shark cartilage, and many other alternative cancer treatments have not withstood scientific scrutiny over the course of time, the hallowed research laboratories sponsored by the National Cancer Institute are now validating natural molecules as far more effective than the re-arranged pharmaceutical molecules that comprise most cancer drugs in use today. |
T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II
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| One of those patients was Sylvia Dutton, for whom laetrile unfortunately did not work.
But laetrile was only one of many alternative health products. By the end of the 1970s, Americans were spending $1 billion a year on various supplements and potions that promised magical benefits.2 These included pangamic acid, which was touted as a previously undiscovered vitamin with virtually unlimited powers, various bee concoctions and other supplement products including garlic and zinc. |
Bill Sardi
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| Laetrile... 119
The Macrobiotic Diet... 120 Bloodroot... 121 Oxygen therapies... 121 Rife therapy... 122 Shark cartilage ... 122
A story... 123
Conventional vs. Alternative Cancer Therapy ... 123
Alternatives
Alternative cures for cancer
The primary theme of this chapter is that alternative remedies for cancer, many spawned in past eras on nothing more than a hunch that they would work, need to be abandoned in favor of more promising alternatives that are now backed by hard science. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Naturopathic doctors who once prescribed laetrile for cancer patients, for example, have been run out of the country or arrested. Herbal product companies have been censored to such a degree that none dare tell the truth about the anti-cancer effects of their own products, and even broccoli growers and marketers are scared into remaining silent about the remarkable, scientifically-proven anti-cancer effects of broccoli.
In other words, if you want to know what the cancer industry supports or attacks, just check to see which list it's on. |
Bill Sardi
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| The flurry of interest in DCA will continue just as Rife machines, laetrile and alkaline therapy for cancer has persisted for decades with no real observable cures. Once these cures become urban legends, they are perpetuated by the desperate and the naive. Resveratrol, known as a red wine molecule, has similar biological action to DCA without known toxicity, and should be investigated by cancer patients before racing to the internet to purchase DCA. |
Nicola Reavley
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| There have also been several reports of laetrile causing serious, life-threatening toxicity when taken in large doses.2 Krebs claimed that laetrile preferentially killed cancer cells but laboratory evidence suggests that this is not the case.3
Absorption
Laetrile is not digested in the stomach but passes into the small intestine where it is acted on by enzymes that split it into various compounds, which are then absorbed.
Sources
Laetrile is found in apricot kernels and in the kernels of other fruits such as plums, peaches, cherries, peaches and apples. |
Bill Sardi
See book keywords and concepts |
| A criticism of laetrile is that it does not preferentially kill cancer cells. [The Journal of School Health 48:409-16, 1978] However, neither do conventional modern-day anti-cancer drugs.
The Macrobiotic Diet
The macrobiotic diet was developed in the 1930s by an educator in Japan, who moved to the United States where it was championed by one of his understudies. Macrobiotics is a quasi philosophical/therapeutic system of health that advocates a semi-vegetarian diet, with an emphasis on whole grains, soy beans, miso soup, raw foods and herbal teas. |
Nicola Reavley
See book keywords and concepts |
| Laetrile in cancer treatment
In a clinical trial in cancer patients reported in 1982, laetrile did not appear to cause shrinkage of tumors or alleviate cancer symptoms. Survival time was not increased and there were no improvements in feelings of wellbeing.1 There have also been several reports of laetrile causing serious, life-threatening toxicity when taken in large doses.2 Krebs claimed that laetrile preferentially killed cancer cells but laboratory evidence suggests that this is not the case. |
Bill Sardi
See book keywords and concepts |
| Alternative medicine clings to marginal or outright disproven remedies from the past, like laetrile, shark cartilage, coral calcium, or the idea that alkalinity cures cancer. (See Chapter 4 for more on this.)
While a revolution is underway in natural cancer remedies, backed by solid science, alternative medicine clings to archaic cancer treatments of the past, seemingly oblivious to the fact we now live in an era of genetic medicine where foods and dietary supplements can switch cancer genes off better than any prescription medicine. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
| Therapeutic massage - helps move lymph, boost circulation
Mint - grow your own (the easiest plant to grow)
Apricot pits / laetrile / vitamin B17 - View this World Without Cancer video featuring G. Edward Griffin
Blackberries - Most berries contain some form of anti-cancer medicine
The cancer industry attacks nearly all genuine cancer solutions
After examining this list, it's not difficult to notice something quite curious: The cancer industry promotes many things that cause cancer while attacking most things that prevent cancer. |
Shannon Brownlee
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 She knew Ricki's case would not have a prayer if the treatment was truly experimental—or worse, a crackpot cure like laetrile. "I put my life into these cases," says Philipson. "I pour my heart into them. The emotional price for me is high, but the emotional price for patients . . . they are looking to me to get them something they think will save their lives." She told Ricki she would represent her, on the condition that they find published, scientific evidence that high-dose chemo was not experimental but established therapy. |
Bill Sardi
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| He is getting heavy doses of intravenous laetrile, vitamin C and ozone and UV therapies. Raul was surprised that the doctors in Mexico suggested the same chemotherapy drugs used at the MD Anderson Cancer Hospital. Alternative medicine has its surprises too. Raul later succumbed to his cancer.
Conventional vs. Alternative Cancer Therapy
Shari Roan, an accomplished health writer for the Los Angeles Times, related the one-sided story of a man who developed kidney cancer that had spread to his brain, and how he and his wife were fleeced by practitioners of alternative medicine. [LA Times, Feb. |
Walter Last
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 Professionally, a purified product known as laetrile (now illegal in the U.S.) is used orally or as injections for cancer treatment. To be effective, laetrile must be used in conjunction with cleansing, supplements, and correct diet.
Minerals
Find out what minerals do and if you have increased requirements for them.
Minerals are inorganic substances composed of a metal and a nonmetal, both in ionic form. |
Bryan Hanson, PhD
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 In the 1970s a compound called amygdalin, which is a different glycoside of prunasin's aglycone, was formulated into a cancer drug named laetrile, which caused a great deal of controversy. It was eventually shown to be completely ineffective (Figure 4.24, part b). a
HO
0
Glucose 0
H
Digestive acids or enzymes
Sambunigrin e, cm
Cyanide
H
FIGURE 4.24, Cyanogenic glycosides, a: reaction of sambunigrin to release cyanide ion; b: other cyanogenic glycosides.
Glucosinolates
Glucosinolates are glycosides15 of amino acid derivatives which also contain a sulfate group (S04). |
Velma J. Keith and Monteen Gordon
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| Signs of Deficiency-Those in favor of laetrile say a reduced resistance to cancer will occur if one is deficient.
Toxicity-none established. Those against laetrile warn care and caution because of the cyanide. We would warn against some unethical people who promise "everything."
Natural Sources-Pits of apricots, peaches, apples, cherries, nectarines, and plums. Some who wish to take laetrile for the possible benefits eat a few apple seeds when they eat an apple. To them this small amount seems prudent.
VITAMIN C (ASCORBIC ACID)
Water soluble. |
| The other side says laetrile contains a substance-cyanide that is poisonous and harmful to the body. Each side is vocal and sure they are right.
The author makes no recommendation either for or against laetrile. This information (as is all information in this book) is presented only as that—information. It is your responsibility to study and make your own decision.
Positive Effects-Those in favor of laetrile say it is a cancer preventative and cure. That it will decrease the size of malignant tumors, ease their pain and suppress the growth of cancerous tissue. Deficiency Disease-unknown. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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 At one time, cancer clinics around the world were using laetrile, a compound derived from the phytochemical amygdalin, found in apricot pits and raw bitter almonds to treat cancer. laetrile was thought to be an anticancer agent, but research has never successfully proven its value, and bitter almonds are not generally available. However, phytochemicals in almonds have been shown to inhibit the growth of lung, prostate, and breast tumors. Many clinics still recommend eating a handful of raw almonds daily, chewing them thoroughly until they are almost liquid. |
Ben-Erik van Wyk
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 Notes The kernels inside the loose stones are edible but only in small quantities - those of some cultivars contain laetrile, a cyanide compound.
Prunus avium sweet cherry
Sweet cherry fruits Sweet cherries
Description Sweet cherry is an erect deciduous tree (up to 18 m high) with relatively large, elliptic leaves. The white flowers occur in clusters of up to five. The smooth, shiny fruits are borne on slender stalks and vary in colour from pale yellow to red, dark purple or black. |
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