Any type of searching around on the internet for cancer prevention will bring up results for vitamin B17. This usually puzzles people, because most people have never even heard of this B vitamin. Sure, everyone has heard about B vitamins and many people even routinely take a Vitamin B Complex tablet every day that consists of the eight essential B vitamins. However, vitamin B17 is certainly not one of those in the Vitamin B Complex; nor is it one about which most people are even aware.

What is this B Vitamin?

Vitamin B17 which has a chemical name of laetrile--is basically the purified form of amygdalin. Amygdalin is a substance that is most prevalent in apricot seeds, though it is also present in some other foods.

It can be ingested either through eating apricot seeds (or, in much smaller amounts, by eating other foods which contain the substance). Or, it can be taken in pill form. Tablets are typically available in either 100mg or 500mg concentrations.

What is Vitamin B17 for?

Laetrile, or vitamin B17, can be used to prevent cancer. In stronger doses, people have reported that it has been quite successful in the treatment of cancer as well; however, this is not its main purpose. It is intended to be used as a cancer prevention measure.

It works by destroying all of the bad cells that are present in your body. Scientists have proven that our bodies are continually making cancerous cells; taking vitamin B17 (laetrile) on a regular basis can work to rid the body of those cancerous cells.

How does it work?

Laetrile has a dangerous component cyanide locked away inside. The only way that can get unlocked and come out is if the laetrile comes into contact with a cancerous cell. Cancer cells have an enzyme that unlocks that cyanide, so to speak and the cyanide comes out and destroys the cancer cells. When the cyanide comes out, a neutralizing substance also comes out that prevents the cyanide from harming any nearby healthy cells.

By taking vitamin B17 daily, cancer cells never have a chance to develop because the laetrile destroys them too quickly.

Preventing Cancer Naturally

Yes, vitamin B-17 is a natural product, as its source is just a regular, everyday, common fruit. Apricot seeds are what make up vitamin B-17. This vitamin is a purified form of the substance that is found inside apricot seeds. This substance is called amygdalin, and it is what is used to create vitamin B-17.

That makes taking vitamin B-17 to prevent cancer completely natural. When you take these vitamin tablet's available in either 100mg or 500mg strength pills, which can be split to smaller size's you can be confident in knowing that you are taking a natural product.

Apricot Seeds? Really?

It may seem rather strange, but this is, indeed, where vitamin B17 comes from. There's good reasoning behind this, it wasn't done arbitrarily by some vitamin manufacturer.

Apricot seeds contain amygdalin. Amygdalin has cyanide locked away, ready to battle cancer and this cyanide can only be unlocked by a cancer cell because only those cells have the special unlocking enzyme. Once unlocked, the cyanide kills the cancer cell. Nearby cells are not harmed because a neutralizing agent is released with the cyanide to protect those cells.

Once this was discovered, a biochemist studied the substance and learned how to purify it. Then, in 1952, amygdalin was given its vitamin status based (at least partly) upon recommendation from the co-founder of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Today, the NCI doesn't readily acknowledge the benefits of vitamin B17, though.