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Thread: Overreaction to bee stings: can leatrile help?

  1. #1
    Banned Stromnessbees's Avatar
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    Question Overreaction to bee stings: can leatrile help?

    I have found some information that leatrile, also known as vitamin B17 or amygdalin, can help to calm down an overreactive immune system.

    It's an inactive form of cyanide which is non-toxic and occurs in many kernels like bitter almonds, apricots and apples.

    It has also been known to help against cancer and can be bought in various forms.

    I like to experiment and have been taking 10 to 15 apricot kernels per day for the last 2 months.

    All I need now is a few decent stings to see how good/bad my reaction is.

    If this works many beekeepers who are worried about anaphylactic shock could find relief simply by adding these kernels to their diet.

    Anybody else up for the challenge?

  2. #2
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Goodness! Doris, I thought that you were against the unnecessary use of chemicals? Laetrile is amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside. In other words it is a sugar molecule with another molecule attached which releases cyanide when exposed to the common enzyme glucosidase. Overdose on it and you'll kill yourself.

    Take a look at this medical paper on laetrile from 1979 when physicians were concerned about an epidemic of US cancer sufferers dosing themselves with the chemical (extract below):

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/32/5/1121.full.pdf

    So if you take it, Doris, you might suppress anaphylaxis (or sting reactions which are rarely anaphylactic), who knows, but you will probably be suppressing every metabolic process in your body at the same time, which is never a sensible thing to do.

    If there was any risk of anyone taking this advice seriously I'd have to pull this thread. But there isn't, is there?

    A reaction to stings (even a strong one) isn't anaphylaxis - anaphylaxis is a special type of reaction away from the site of the sting. It is well worth knowing what it is like as it can be life-threatening - see your GP if you think that you've had such a reaction. And if you have had such a reaction (as I have) you can be desensitised.

    all the best

    Gavin

    from: Laetrile: the cult of cyanide
    Promoting poison for profit1
    Victor Herbert,2 M.D., J.D.
    American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1979.

    The Laetrile Cult is perhaps the most bizarre,
    ruthless, deceptive misleading and dangerous
    health cult to come along in this century.
    Laetrile is not supported as of value by
    a single scientist recognized in the scientific
    community as a currently reliable source of
    information about cancer or about nutrition
    (5, 8, 10, 21-29). Its support comes from selfstyled
    cancer and nutrition experts rewarded
    by backers who profit from such promotions,
    such as the Committee for Freedom of Choice
    in Cancer Therapy (some of whose leading
    figures have had criminal ns45 and
    the National Health Federation (seven of
    whose leading figures have had criminal convictions
    in relation to health fraud) (30). Individual
    proponents have allegedly taken in
    miffions of dollars from it (5, 30-34), it is a
    billion dollar a year industry (5, 30-34), an
    estimated hundred thousand cancer patients
    (at least 50,000 in the United States) are
    fanatically supporting it even as it shortens
    their lives .....
    Last edited by gavin; 29-04-2012 at 11:34 AM. Reason: OK, it only has one 'l'

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    Banned Stromnessbees's Avatar
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    Question Which one is the billion dollar industry?

    Hi Gavin, you make me laugh!

    As you might know, everything is made up of chemicals, if I would refuse them I would starve, dry out and suffocate, but probably in the reverse order.

    And how anybody can make millions out of a by product of apricot jam is not clear to me at all.

    As I say, i am taking 10 to 15 apricot kernels a day, and if that gives some poor Turkish farmer a few extra lira I shall be quite happy about it.

    I don't think it's doing me any harm either, as I am feeling better than ever.


    Are you not aware that natural remedies are fiercely opposed by the pharmaceutical industry in order to safeguard their own profits? - I know it's not the Turkish apricot farmers who are making the millions and who put out propaganda in order to get the competition off the market.


    ... and pulling the thread? Are people not allowed to make up their own minds anymore?
    I would love to give you updates on my reaction to stings, and if anybody is interested, on my general wellbeing as well.
    Last edited by Stromnessbees; 29-04-2012 at 12:03 PM.

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    A thread on reactions to stings would indeed be interesting ... but might it not put off potential beekeepers reading these pages?

    I remember putting a few kernels in the mixture the only time I made apricot jam (cheap, remaindered fruit in the co!). Not too keen on raw seeds of any kind as pumpkin (or is it sunflower?) has rather a drastic effect on me when it's in a muesli mix!

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Trog, yes, we should discuss the risks of anaphylactic shock as it is a serious concern and one that does affect a proportion of beekeepers and their families. If it puts people off beekeeping that is OK - people should get into the hobby knowing the risks.

    Doris, neither of us is qualified to give advice on folk dosing themselves with toxic stuff, whether it comes in pill form or from the poisonous part of a plant.

    It looks like the dose you are planning to give yourself is about half the dose which is reported to give people serious health effects and is the dose rate that was pulled by a retailer and the subject of specific advice of harm from the Food Standards Agency. What if someone fed this to their children?

    This really isn't about conspiracy theories and pharmaceutical giants, it is about the responsible use of the internet and my sensitivity, as forum administrator, to advice being given that could seriously compromise people's health.

    So no, sorry, not interested to hear the outcome of your trial as any commentary on either the effect on sting effect intensity or the effect on likelihood of anaphylaxis needs proper replicated scientific medical investigation.

    There is a report mentioning the FSA advice here:

    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/41594.php

    Apricot Seeds At High Doses Can Be Fatal

    Apricot seeds are taken by many people as a cancer treatment as they contain high doses of Vitamin B17, an immune system enhancer. However, apricot seeds also contain cyanide, a poison.

    The Food Standards Agency (UK) has advised people to take no more than two bitter apricot kernels a day. Higher doses could be dangerous for human health.

    According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), it has received reports from various parts of the world of people overdosing with apricot seeds.

    A UK retailer, Julian Gray, was selling 10 seeds a day doses of apricot seeds. The retailer says it will re-sell them at not such a high dose (the present dose is not longer for sale).

    And this from a source I don't usually trust, the Daily Mail, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt this time:

    'The FSA's warning follows the advice of its Committee on Toxicity regarding bitter apricot kernels.

    A spokesman for the food watchdog said the kernels were a niche product in the UK, but added: "There have been reports from overseas of consumption of 20 to 30 kernels by adults in a short period of time being associated with very serious health effects. They could potentially be lethal in high enough doses."

    20-30 kernels in a short space of time giving very serious health effects - what about the dose you are taking if you take it for longer? Are you being monitored by a doctor? Please take care!
    Last edited by gavin; 29-04-2012 at 04:09 PM. Reason: A see that I was repeating myself, repeating myself ..

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    Banned Stromnessbees's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trog View Post
    A thread on reactions to stings would indeed be interesting ... but might it not put off potential beekeepers reading these pages?

    I remember putting a few kernels in the mixture the only time I made apricot jam (cheap, remaindered fruit in the co!). Not too keen on raw seeds of any kind as pumpkin (or is it sunflower?) has rather a drastic effect on me when it's in a muesli mix!
    It is the pumpkin ... lucky you to get such a distinctive effect!



    http://www.eatsomethingsexy.com/word...foods/pumpkin/

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    LOL! We await Trog's clarification with interest ......

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    Yes, and on a Sunday too!

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    Banned Stromnessbees's Avatar
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    ... in the meantime I want to thank Gavin for not shutting down this thread,
    may this forum remain a beacon of free speech!


    Last edited by Stromnessbees; 29-04-2012 at 03:15 PM.

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Whether or not it stays like that partially depends on the level of detail Trog is going to supply

    G.

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