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But it couldn't harm if you had a terminal diagnosis to try in my opinion
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Of course it can harm! Did you read my links? The people did not only not improve, they now got cyanide poisoning to deal with as well. If you have a terminal diagnosis, you should definitely try alternative methods, but they are not all alike.
Paul, do you have anything to say about this particular QuackWatch article? I don't necessarily agree with everything they say, but, like with Steve's articles, I just take from it what I find useful. Anyway, just forget about the quackwatch link, and read the medical journals for yourself:
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One hundred seventy-eight patients with cancer were treated with amygdalin (Laetrile) plus a "metabolic therapy" program consisting of diet, enzymes, and vitamins. The great majority of these patients were in good general condition before treatment. None was totally disabled or in preterminal condition. One third had not received any previous chemotherapy. The pharmaceutical preparations of amygdalin, the dosage, and the schedule were representative of past and present Laetrile practice. No substantive benefit was observed in terms of cure, improvement or stabilization of cancer, improvement of symptoms related to cancer, or extension of life span. The hazards of amygdalin therapy were evidenced in several patients by symptoms of cyanide toxicity or by blood cyanide levels approaching the lethal range. Patients exposed to this agent should be instructed about the danger of cyanide poisoning, and their blood cyanide levels should be carefully monitored. Amygdalin (Laetrile) is a toxic drug that is not effective as a cancer treatment.
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(source:
PubMed)
How do the vitamin B17 supporters explain this?
My opinion is that these miracle drugs are very dangerous because they led people to believe that there is some magical cure for cancer that does not involve serious lifestyle change. If you want to prevent cancer, start living healthy as young as possible. If you want to cure cancer, eat a very healthy diet, full of antioxidants (green vegetables, pomegranates, cruciferous vegetables, beans, etc.), stay at a healthy weight, exercise, and depending on how far the cancer has progressed, you may have a chance. But there is no magic cure.
If the book tells you you have to combine the B17 with the healthy diet, it may be the healthy diet that helps somewhat, not the B17. It is just like with all those diet scams that say: "for best results, combine with a healthy diet and exercise". Duh.