Apple seeds

What about the seeds in those little tiny delicious apples? EAT THEM. Wasn't there a whole thing in the 70s about cyanide in apple seeds causing death?? Maybe in the 70s, although that probably had more to do with disappointment regarding apple seeds as a mind blowing hallucination source.

There is a category of chemicals in many foods called nitrosilamides. Dr. Krebs called the nitrosilamides Vitamin B-17. In the anti-cancer research community B-17 is also called laetrile. There is a complex story behind laetrile and its use as a cancer treatment. G. Edward Griffin documents this story in his book World Without Cancer: The Story of Vitamin B-17. Even if we aren't interested in the politics of cancer research there is plenty of interesting information in that book about the incidence of cancer related to the nitrosilamide content of the diet. The prunus rosacea family (plums, peaches, apricots) as well as many grasses and apples contain nitrosilamides. As always, we should look at traditional people and their relationship to these foods. The Hunza, one of the world's longest-lived people in the mtns of central Asia eat the seeds of the apricot as a primary food. Inuit peoples who do not have access to fruits regularly eat the partially fermented stomach contents of reindeer and caribou. These grazing ruminants eat arrowgrass which is very high in nitrosilamides. Cassava, not the popular sweet version of today, but the original bitter cassava that was the staple of many African peoples is also quite high in nitrosilamides. Cancer was virtually unknown in these cultural groups. Mr. Griffin writes that primates will automatically pull open a stone fruit, take out the pit, crack it and eat the nitrosilamide-rich kernel or seed. If you like the technical scientific/political stuff read Mr. Griffin's book. If you just think that apes and hunter-gatherers know what to do with food just do what they do! In the most condensed way possible here is how nitrosilamides perform their anti-cancer function: Nitrosilamides contain two glucose molecules, one benzaldehyde molecule and one cyanide molecule-safely locked up in this molecule. The molecule can be "unlocked" by an enzyme called beta-glucosidase. When beta-glucosidase contacts B-17 the toxic cyanide and benzaldehyde are released. Guess where we find the enzyme beta-glucosidase? In cancer cells. Only cancer cells can release the cyanide-which then kills the cancer cell. We must consider another enzyme called rhodanese which is protective against cyanide. All our healthy cells are protected by rhodanese, but our cancer cells do not have rhodanese. OK-enough science. Back to the food. Traditional fruit preserves made a couple hundred years ago almost always contained the fruit pits. I once was given a jar of traditional cherry preserves and found to my surprise the cherry pits were in it! I still think about those cherry preserves. You can find bags of apricot kernels at Trader Joes or Himalayan kernels at Aqua Vita. They taste a little like marzipan/almond. Or you can eat your apple seeds: a lovely source of nitrosilamides. As you live your Paleo/Hunter-gatherer lifestyle don't forget to look at your food in new ways and be sure you aren't putting the most valuable part on the compost pile!