Vitamins

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If you know about vitamins you know that the vitamin B complex stops at B12. What then is this vitamin B17? To be absolutely truthful, it is not a vitamin at all. It has another scientific name – Amygdalin. Amygdalin is a natural product and is found in the kernels of food and seeds like bitter-almonds, apricots, apple seeds etc.

Usually the seeds of most fruits are not eaten. Only the fleshy part of the fruit are eaten and the rest thrown away. Except of course for seeds like almonds. Yet these kernels are packed with a number of nutritious substances. For example most of us spit out the seeds of an apple, you’d be surprised to know that apple seeds contain quite a bit of amygdalin.

What Are The Uses Of Vitamin B17?

Over half a century ago, researchers started propounding that the kernels of a number of fruits would be a good cure for cancer. There’s a very complicated explanation for this.

Amygdalin metabolizes in the body to produce two important ingredients, benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. This hydrogen cyanide is very toxic and initially it was believed that it was this hydrogen cyanide that targeted cancer cells and caused them to die. The only problem with this is that the hydrogen cyanide did not target only the cancer cells. It also damaged good cells.

Some people believe that it is the benzaldehyde that actually gives the benefit, but this is not true. Benzaldehyde is a colorless chemical that has a typical almond like smell. In fact it is used as a flavoring agent in many edible products. It is the hydrogen cyanide that does all the work.

Are There Any Vitamin B17 Side Effects?

As mentioned above, amygdalin metabolizes to hydrogen cyanide. This is the cyanide poison that most of us have heard of. Generally when you eat the kernels of certain seeds, the quantities consumed is too low to cause any physical damage. Yet theoretically it is possible for you to eat just the kernels of seeds and die due to cyanide toxicity.

When you purchase concentrated doses of amygdalin as a supplement, you need to be even more careful because the concentration is much higher in the extract than in the seed. Yet many people still believe that taking vitamin b17 is helpful because it works very similar to chemotherapy, but can be done from home itself.

In chemotherapy a chemical which targets cells that divide rapidly is injected into the body. As everyone knows it also targets other normal cells that divide rapidly naturally. This is why you lose your hair, and have digestive problems when you go for chemotherapy.

The vitamin b17 is expected to work along similar lines in that it targets all cells, but if you take it long enough, you should start to see a reduction in the cancerous growth. The understanding is that because cancerous cells divide rapidly, more blood will rush there with nutrients to take care of the explosive growth. Along with these nutrients the cyanide too gets delivered and therefore kills some of the cancer cells.

What’s The Verdict Then?

It’s a tightrope walk with taking vitamin B17. You know that you are damaging your own body by taking it, but the alternative – chemotherapy is no different. At least B17 will not cause your hair to fall out.

There are an equal number of lovers and haters of the vitamin. Some people say that it is a poison and should therefore not be used, while others say that it is precisely because it is a poison that it works. The idea is to kill off the cancer cells, and you aren’t going to do this with nutritious food. Ultimately it is your choice. When you have cancer, there is nobody else who can decide for you what you should try or not.

One of the top selling sources of vitamin b17 in the market now is;

Product:	Apricot Power, Raw Apricot Kernels, 1 lb
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Apricot Power gives you raw, unsalted, and unpreserved Apricot kernels. In fact the only thing done to the kernels is that they are dried before being packed. Because it is not treated in any way many people actually use it as a spice in their cooking. It has a bitter taste and they use these kernels to get that taste.

They can also be consumed raw, but people nowadays find bitter too much to eat. If therefore you are not accustomed to eating these kernels you should start slow.

The recommended dose is one kernel an hour, and it is better to take it singly, or in twos rather than eat 12 at a stretch.

Users have given it very high recommendations, and it gets a 5 star for effectiveness.

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Everybody knows that expecting mothers need very nutritious food. In fact with more and more women having difficulty conceiving, the same prenatal diet is prescribed even to those who are only trying to conceive to help them conceive.

There is absolutely nothing that can compare with nutritious food. This is something that everyone has to know and remember. Eating well is elementary and should not be substituted with anything else. The proper growth of the child is of paramount importance and anything you may feel about eating should be postponed to after the child is born.

In many cases, eating a healthy diet is more than sufficient, but considering the seriousness of the deficiency of certain essentials, most doctors recommend the taking of supplements. These supplements are not meant to substitute a healthy diet, only to add to what you are getting through your normal diet.

What Do Prenatal Vitamin Tablets Contain?

When it comes to prenatal vitamins there are a number of things, including non vitamins that are included. Basically anything that an expectant mother needs is included in one compressed tablet so that you don’t have to keep popping innumerable pills throughout the day.

Prenatal vitamin tablets are not the same as normal multivitamin tablets. Most prenatal vitamin tablets contain the same ingredients, it will only be their quantities that differ. A good prenatal vitamin tablet will contain the following ingredients.

• Folic acid – 400 mcg
• Vitamin D – 400 IU
• Calcium 200 – 300 mg
• Vitamin C – 70 mg
• Thiamine – 3 mg
• Riboflavin – 2 mg
• Niacine – 20 mg
• Vitamin B12 – 6 mcg
• Vitamin E – 10 mg
• Zinc – 15 mg
• Iron – 17 mg

Although the quantities of each can vary slightly, this is the recommended dosage for most prenatal multivitamin tablets. There is a specific reason for the various ingredients.

What Are All These For?

The most important, folic acid, is needed for proper nervous development and a deficiency can result in the “Nural tube”. This is a problem where the spinal column does not close properly and can cause anything from paralysis and incontinence to mental retardation.

This defect develops within 20 days of conceiving itself which means that even those who are planning on a pregnancy should start taking folic acid. Considering that up to half of all pregnancies are unplanned, and that it takes up to a month to know that you are pregnant, proper diet is essential for all women in the child bearing age.

Calcium is essential because if the mother does not take calcium when she is pregnant, she may lose bone density because her fetus will cannibalize on her body. This can result in osteoporosis at a later age.

Iron helps the body produce red blood cells that carries oxygen. More iron in the blood means more oxygen carrying capacity, which is good not only for the baby, but for the mother as well.

Also a number of other vitamins and minerals are needed in more quantities which is why a higher dosage than normal is recommended at this time.

What Are The Best Prenatal Vitamins?

Usually taking prenatal vitamins is essential and most people go with the doctor’s advice on the brand that they use. However nowadays there are a number of organic, herbal prenatal vitamins that are available in the market, but doctors seem reluctant to recommend them, they prefer the inorganic chemicals.

If however you look at reviews you’ll find that most people who take the organic blend don’t have as much trouble as others who don’t. Below we discuss the top selling herbal prenatal brands that are available in the market.

Product:	New Chapter Organics Perfect Prenatal
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New Chapter is a very well known brand in the pre-natal and post-natal supplements market. They are a good, strong brand and have been in the market for a number of years. In fact, they are the top sellers even though they are pricey because their products are very good. All the ingredients are not only 100% herbal, they are also 100% organic. And you get all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that you need in the correct quantities too. It’s healthy food in a tablet.

See what one user has to say about New Chapter perfect prenatal supplement.

“This is a great product, and recently they updated the formula to include 100% or more of the daily needs. I attribute taking these whole-food prenatal vitamins before and currently to not getting any morning sickness. It’s not just me either, my friend who pointed me in this direction also had no morning sickness during her pregnancy last year.

My midwife asked if I had been getting sick at all, and if so, recommended not taking a prenatal, as that’s the common reason for the queasiness. The way I see it, most mothers are taking a man-made, lab created vitamins with a synthetic ingredient list.

These are made from organic 100% food. It’s no wonder people feel sick, it’s the body’s way of telling you to stop putting chemicals in your body!”

Product:	Garden of Life, Vitamin Code, Raw Prenatal
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Garden of Life is another very well known brand in the organic supplement niche. They make a number of supplements and have a very strong brand following. There are people who have written reviews saying that all the supplements that they take are Garden of Life.

They are very good, and one of the best deals that you can get anywhere. They are a close second to New Chapter because they cost roughly half what New Chapters does, but works just as well. See what one person from Canada had to say about it.

“I bought this product for my sister who is expecting her first baby this summer. We are both very pleased with the all natural, organic, whole food complex, making it easier to digest and having a much faster absorption rate. It provides a great boost of energy and doesn’t need to be taken with food; preventing any type of nausea.

The value for the product is unmatched (trust me, I’ve looked).”

Our Recommendation

Prenatal vitamins are essential to a pregnant woman. There are certain nutrients that if not delivered in proper amounts can have very serious and deleterious consequences on the child. Until now it was inorganic pills that we had to rely on for these nutrients, but now, with organic alternatives we need to ask ourselves if we really still want to go with inorganic ingredients.

Of course, take one bottle and show it to your doctor. That way you’ll at least not have any doubts as to whether they are good for you or not.