The previous news item briefly touched on apricot kernels. Rumours circulate that they help prevent cancer.
Apricot kernels contain amygdalin, also known as laetrile. Cancer cells are said to die after ingestion, while healthy cells are said to remain unharmed. In the 1970s, supplements containing amygdalin were available as a cancer treatment. This has since been clearly demonstrated to be untrue. On the contrary, amygdalin is dangerous. It is converted in the body into highly toxic cyanide.
Eating even two or three apricot kernels can have serious consequences. Even one kernel is poisonous for young children. Simply swallowing a kernel isn’t a problem, but chewing or crushing the kernels is.
The Belgian Ministry of Public Health has been warning about the high toxic content of apricot kernels since 2016. Since then, most packaging has been removed from health food stores and supermarkets. However, you can still buy the kernels online.
Apricot kernel powder is still used in confectionery, such as imitation marzipan, but it is first heated to high temperatures, which eliminates the toxic effect.
A BBC investigation in Britain has caused a stir about a young woman who died of cancer in 2024 after refusing chemotherapy.
She was estimated to have an 80% chance of being cured by chemotherapy, but under pressure from her mother, 23-year-old Paloma Shemirani chose not to undergo it and instead chose to follow the Gerson therapy. This involves drinking the juice of 9 kilograms of fruit daily, taking various supplements, and undergoing colon cleansing with coffee or castor oil.
When Paloma Shemirani was hospitalized, her mother, Kate, began pressuring her to refuse chemotherapy. An alternative practitioner Kate knew recommended the Gerson diet. She died seven months later.
Kate Shemirani has blamed the British National Health Service for her daughter’s death. She is a former nurse who has been spreading dubious ideas on her website for years. As The Natural Nurse, she sells all kinds of quack remedies, such as apricot kernels, for health problems. Subscribers to her website pay £70 a year. Even more expensive is the twelve-week health program she offers.
During the COVID pandemic, she campaigned against vaccinations, which she claimed were part of a conspiracy to kill people. In 2021, she was struck off her nursing license for spreading misinformation about the pandemic. Several social media companies also blocked her profiles for spreading misinformation.
Pamela’s brothers exposed the scandal. According to them, their mother was obsessed with conspiracy theories and forced them on her children. One of the brothers says she once decided to turn off the Wi-Fi because it was considered dangerous, even though he himself clearly stated that he needed the internet for his studies. “That only fed the joy that she had for using her irrational system of beliefs to control(() me.”
Several health institutions warn about the dangers of the Gerson diet. There is no evidence for its effectiveness and it can dangerously weaken a patient.
If you want to remind yourself of all the thought-provoking talks and lectures delivered at the 18th ESC, or, if you weren’t there and want to know what was said, here’s your chance!
The talks are now on YouTube for your viewing enjoyment and education.
A group of 2750 international experts from 44 countries have signed a manifesto against pseudotherapies.
The manifesto was organized with the help of people who belong to more than thirty worldwide scientific or skeptical associations from more than twenty countries. The organizations who help to coordinate the manifesto are:
• Association to Protect the Sick of Pseudoscientific Therapies: APETP – Spain
• Association of Pharmacists in Favor of Scientific Evidence – Spain
• Collectif Fakemed – France
• Comunidade Céptica Portuguesa: COMCEPT – Portugal
• Good Thinking Society – United Kingdom
• Red UNE – Spain
• Society for the Advancement of Critical Thinking: ARP-SAPC– Spain
• Skeptical Circle of Spain – Spain
• Healthwatch United – Kingdom
• Skeptica – Denmark
• Vetenskap och Folkbildning (VoF) – Sweden
The complete manifesto can be viewed here:
First worldwide manifesto against pseudosciences in health
For more information or to get in touch with some of the organizers worldwide, you can contact with Fernando Cervera Rodríguez at: fernando.cervera.87@gmail.com
The Swedish Skeptics, VoF, have announced their awards for 2017:
Science Educator of the year: the winner is Emma Frans, a doctor of epidemiology who is tirelessly tweeting, blogging and publishing articles one of Sweden’s largest newspaper about how separate false information from correct, and about common health myths. The prize is accompanied by a cash award of 25000 SEK (about 2500 Euros).
Misleader of the year: Life, a Nordic e-commerce company and chain of boutiques. Life is the largest provider of so called alternative and complementary products in the Nordic countries, with a yearly turnover of about 200 million Euros. Their products include everything from multivitamins to colloidal silver to fluoride free toothpaste, sold with dubious and misleading health claims.
