Apricot kernel
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Apricot kernels are, like most nuts and seeds, very nutritious. Among the compounds they contain is amygdalin, which is sometimes called "vitamin B17", but is not a vitamin since no illnesses are associated with a lack of it. Amygdalin was once thought to help prevent cancer by attacking cancer cells, but clinical studies related to laetrile, as discussed in the Amygdalin article, were unsuccessful.
Amygdalin is contained in hundreds of foods, but ones that are particularly rich in amygdalin have disappeared to a large extent from Western diet. Peoples throughout the world who still eat a traditional diet have been found to be largely free from cancer. These diets are rich in foods containing amygdalin.
Apricot kernels are bitter and are known in culinary contexts as bitter almonds or apricot almonds. They feature in recipes for apricot jam and Italian amaretto cookies and liqueur.
Among materia medica, apricot kernels feature less in European traditions than in the Far East, where they are used to produce medications for respiratory problems.
Taken in excess, they may produce nausea, fever, rash, hive nose, headaches, insomnia, increased thirst, weakness, lethargy, nervousness, various aches and pains in joints and muscles, a drop in blood pressure.
[edit] Nutritional content
Oil from apricot kernels contains, per 100 grams:
- Calories: 883
- Calories from Fat: 100%
- Total fat: 100 g
- Saturated fat: 6.3 g
- Monounsaturated fat: 60 g
- Polyunsaturated fat: 29.3 g
- Total fat: 100 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Vitamins
- Vitamin A: 0
- Vitamin C: 0
- Vitamin E: 4 mg (13% DV)
- Vitamin K: 0
- Vitamin B6: 0
- Vitamin B12: 0
- Minerals (Calcium, Iron, etc): 0
Iron 0% Calcium 0%
[edit] Sir Robert McCarrison
Sir Robert McCarrison, medical nutritionist in the 1920s - 30s, failed to discover a single case of cancer among the Hunza Tribes in the Karakoram of Pakistan during a 20 year period [1]...
While John Dark, M.D., a later medical missionary among the Hunza, also failed to find cancer among them. (3) The Hunza diet is based in significant part upon the apricot kernel, a rich source of laetrile, which typically provides them with at least 150 - 250 mg "B17"/day. (3)
