Some of its other names are Laetrile, Amygdalin or Nitrilosides.

B17 is a naturally occurring substance that we used to eat a lot more in our diet 300 years ago. Gradually over the last 100 years we have eaten less and less of the food that contain B17. At the same time our incidence of cancer has gone up. This could be pure coincidence. However, there is a group of people called the Hunzas, who live in the Himalayas who usually live to over 100 (some surviving to 120), who rarely get cancer. Guess what! They eat a diet rich in B17. They also have a diet that is very low in toxins, eat little meat and drink plenty of good water.

There has been quite a lot of scientific investigation in to the Hunzas and their longevity.

From our point of view we are mainly interested in preventing disease and would like to offer this simplified explanation of how B17 works to prevent and fight cancer.

Put very simply cancer is a group of cells who keep on reproducing. Originally they were cells that were repairing an area of damage in the body. The trouble with them is they have not switched themselves off!!

These cells are covered with a special protein coating which the immune system fails to recognise. If you dissolve this protein coating, the body’s natural defence mechanism recognises these cells and destroys them. The enzymes which do this are Trypsin and Chymotripsin and are produced by the pancreas.

Researches have found that B17 has a very beneficial role in this process. The cancer cell wall has an enzyme in it called beta-galactosidase. When B17 comes in to contact with this enzyme it converts it in to three compounds, glucose, benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. This trio attacks the cancer cell while ignoring normal cell tissue. In other words B17 is tumour specific and the naturally occurring hydrogen cyanide targets the cancer cell and no others.

This is a very simple explanation and it is not assumed that B17 alone will cure cancer. Rather it is a very important part of the overall process and very helpful in preventing cancer.

So where can you get B17?

Well you are not allowed in this country to buy B17 supplements. However you can buy foods rich in B17.

Guess what, the richest source of B17 is the very same source of B17 that the Hunzas have been eating for 100s of years, namely Apricot Kernels. These in fact come from the Himalayas and are produced without harmful chemicals or pesticides. The kernels or seeds must be chewed thoroughly in the mouth to get the B17 out of the kernel. If they are swallowed whole they will be of no benefit. They have a bitter taste which most people get used to quickly.

How many should you eat. Well, adults could eat about 7g per day this is about 20 kernel per day. (This picture has 5 kernels in it).

I eat 10 with breakfast and 10 with my evening meal, along with a healthy low animal fat diet.

A 900g bag of Apricot kernels as pictured above, which contains approximately 2400 kernels, is enough for 4 months.