Is Cancer a Vitamin B17 Deficiency ?

Recently one of my friends posted something interesting on facebook, but later i found that it was some fake news regarding Cancer treatment. That post claimed that Cancer is caused due to Vitamin B17 deficiency, so cancer can be cured by eating Vitamin B17 rich foods, such as almond and apricot pits. When i first read it i was a bit suspicious but the content of that post really convinced me and i thought that it may be true. So i researched on this topic on internet and found some interesting facts about this myth.

There is no Vitamin B17

When we researched about Vitamin B on internet, we found that there is no Vitamin B17. There are eight Vitamin B, these are B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12. All of them are available as supplement in B Complex capsules. An article on Wikipedia, the most trusted knowledge database, about Vitamin B can easily help you if you want to know the truth.

Who spread this Vitamin B17 Myth

The beginning of this myth leads us to Ernst Theodore Krebs, Jr. (1911-1996). His followers has spread this myth in social media. If you read about this person on Wikipedia, you will find that he was a dropout from various colleges and universities and later got a Bachelor of Arts Degree, not even a science degree. His father Ernst Theodore Krebs, Sr. (1876-1970) was a physician and claimed to have a syrup for various ailments, which was later found fraudulent and seized by government. Kerbs Jr co-patented semi-synthetic chemical compound closely related to amygdalin named laetrile and called it Vitamin B17 himself and claimed that it can cure cancer. But this claim was not supported by any research or trials. Instead this semi synthetic compound Vitamin B17 can cause cyanide poisoning.

Some educated people in the society fall prey to this myth, and spread it on social networks, with the hope that they have found cure for cancer. But it is important for an educated person to know reality before forwarding any message for such a fatal disease. People suffering from Cancer can very easily fall prey to such myths and get a false hope. Some people even try alternative therapies in the last stages of cancer because they don't want to leave any stone unturned .

If you still think that Alternative treatments like Vitamin B17 can cure Cancer then you should read our article Placebo - The pill with no Medicine. Sometimes our faith works more than any medicine, but not in in case of Vitamin B17 as it can itself cause cyanide poisoning.

A Request: Please don't forward any medical myths as they don't only give false hopes to patients but also make them waste their precious time that they can use for some real treatment. If you are not sure about any healthcare message on your social media account, then don't forward it or do a proper research before forwarding it.

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