Why “Vitamin B17″ isn’t a vitamin

Vitamin B17 ($82 for 100 tablets) isn’t a B-vitamin at all, but rather a substance called Laetrile that’s extracted from the seeds of apricots. Not only has this substance not been proven to cure cancer, but like other compounds found in the pits of apricots and related fruits, it releases cyanide when ingested.

Despite this, the cancer-quack industry still publishes books claiming that laetrile prevents and cures cancer. Their position, which would be funny if it didn’t kill and poison people, is that cancer is a sign that the body is deficient in laetrile. (If you don’t hate the world enough today, hit the “Look Inside” link to read a little bit of the quackery.)