Kernels of Truth
By Carl Munson
Over the last few weeks, pharmaceutical companies have again been under scrutiny. From price-fixing last month to more recent concerns about "disease-mongering" have left me seething over double standards and inconsistencies.
Drug companies have been accused of inventing diseases to sell more of their products and some scientists have questioned firms over "medicalising" problems in a bid to increase profits.
Female sexual problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and "restless legs" syndrome have all been promoted by the pharmaceutical industry in the hope of selling more drugs, it’s claimed.
Concerned experts say that high cholesterol and osteoporosis have been turned into diseases in their own right, turning healthy people into sick prescription-waving patients. In the pharmaceutical gold rush even shyness is labelled as a "social anxiety disorder" resulting in the issue of anti-depressants.
Naturally, drugs firms have hit back, with GlaxoSmithKline saying: "We utterly refute any suggestion that we would in any way hype or overplay the very real needs of patients.”
Fair enough. Yet in the same week, an alleged natural alternative to pharmaceutical cancer treatment - Apricot kernels – have been called into question because they “could be poisonous if eaten in large quantities” according to the Food Standards Agency.
Can you see the problem here? Whilst on the one hand, immense PR budgets pharmaceutical companies can create and subsequently satisfy needs; on the other, when a food source shows promise, it’s slammed as a toxic threat. It just doesn’t make sense.
Bitter-tasting apricot kernels are said to contain high levels of vitamin B17, also known as laetrile, which for decades has been recognised by some as an immune system-booster and a cancer treatment.
However, recent worries suggest that the kernels which produce cyanide, might be fatal in high doses over a short period of time. Cancer Research UK have said that claims made on the Internet, that say the substance found in apricot pips is a highly active compound that can cure cancer, are unfortunately not true.
“The whole reason for the existence of Cancer Research UK is to find cures for cancers. If simply eating apricot seeds could cure cancer, no one would be more delighted than us," they say – in the face of opposing evidence if you care to look a little deeper.
I have eaten Apricot kernels and I know there is big demand for this natural food source, which many believe, can prevent and counter cancer. But Apricot kernels cost pennies and cannot be commercially exploited to any meaningful level and marketed for massive profits.
As one commentator said: “Typical. You can't patent B17 as it's a naturally occurring substance, so what do they do? Scare everyone into thinking it's dangerous. So is Paracetamol - if you take too much - but you can buy it at a petrol station.”
As far as I know, there are no recorded deaths from B17 poisoning after decades of use worldwide, but mark my words, and stand by for an EU ban coming soon to a health store near you.
Meanwhile, watch out for more drugs-company backed “educational” campaigns on illnesses no one knows they have as yet and the multi-million pound treatments that follow in their wake. Remember: If you are well, you just haven’t had enough tests yet!
This article was posted by Carl Munson
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