Dangerous
Apricot seeds
apricot kernels, sold as laetrile or amygdalin. Processed & preserved.
Safety: Apricot kernels release cyanide in the body. A man taking them daily for five years developed cyanide poisoning.
- Verdict
- DangerousIt causes direct harm, such as poisoning, whatever its claimed effect on cancer.
- How sure
- Rung 5 · EstablishedLarge randomized trials or overwhelming, consistent human evidence; reflected in major guidelines.
The rung shows how sure the science is, not how big the effect is. How to read these ratings
Cancers affected
None; cyanide poisoning risk
What the evidence shows
A Cochrane review found no reliable trial showing any benefit against cancer and judged the balance of risk and benefit to be clearly negative because of cyanide poisoning.
What to do
Do not eat apricot kernels or take laetrile.
Sources
To take it to your doctor, print this page.
Related
Every food we rated, or follow one cancer step by step: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer.