(Let me know if this should go in a different forum. I pretty much just wanted to vent/share this.) So a while ago on Tumblr there was a post about people using apricot pits as a wonderful health food and/or remedy. They are actually full of cyanide, not "vitamin B17." I was slightly alarmed because my brother is a what I refer to as a "moonbat" which is to say he is really into "natural remedies" because they "cure the illness instead of just treating the symptoms like over the counter or prescription medicine." I was however reluctant to contact family members about this because a) I have deliberately cut off contact with my family. b) They never actually listen to me c) or for that matter believe much of anything I say. I debated internally about this for a while, and finally texted a few family members, including my brother. My message: If [brother] suggests eating apricot kernels don’t do it. They contain cyanide. You do not build an immunity to cyanide. Apricot pits have no health benefits. So far the only person who replied was brother, who sayeth: My general feeling is that I've done the best I could and I can now officially Not Give a Fuck, but I still feel frustrated and worried. (Frustrated because I will not be able to prove that I know what the heck I'm talking about, because as far as anyone in my family is concerned anything I say is overblown dramatics or a lie. Or both. Worried because CYANIDE POISONING.)
Your brother's response is fascinating, given that B17 isn't a thing. I'd just link them to the wikipedia page for amygdalin, but they'd probably write it off
Someone in one of the reblogs of the apricot pit post on tumblr mentioned that B17 was not an actual vitamin. He would definitely write it off. I'm just disagreeing with him for personal reasons, not because he's wrong or anything/bitter
I have one sister who appears to understand the concept of cyanide poisoning being bad for your health. I have heard nothing from the other family members I texted. And no, generally I can't convince my family members with facts or sources. And I was generally never good at remembering/articulating said facts or sources on the occasions when I tried telling them something. There were always magically holes in my arguments that meant I was wrong.
You've done what you could for him - now it is time to do what you can for yourself by stepping back and returning to no contact. It's always frustrating to realize one can't do anything but make it worse, so... unless you feel like you could use reverse psychology to make him go to a proper doctor to review his health habits and food choices with... even THAT could backfire into him getting even more entrenched into moonbat quackery :( As a biologist, I am personally insulted that this is even a thing. I am personally insulted by the deep pit of pseudoscience that ignores actual peer-reviewed resources. I am insulted that this is legal. That package is MISLEADING AS HELL.
It infuriates me that you can make health claims, put a tiny disclaimer, and get away with it in the US if it's a "dietary supplement"
Well, the FDA is cracking down on the health claims part. That's why the labels now have things like "read about the benefits of X in 'journal' (aka tabloid) instead of claiming them directly. And the tabloid's article is sourced through someone that doesn't appear to be the marketer of the poop.
When I saw the post on tumblr, my first thought was that it was a hoax of some kind. Seeing the reblogs confirming that apricot kernels are a real product kind of surprised/horrified me.
Note that apricot kernels ARE used in some legit recipes, like amaretti (either that or bitter almonds, whose taste is also caused by cyanide). At a low enough dose, it's mostly harmless for humans. The health claims are bullshit, though.
I think I would worry about how small a dose is small enough. In the tumblr post about the apricot kernels being sold as a "super food" the product bag said not to eat more than four kernels a day, IIRC. So these are not things you can just snack on, and cyanide builds up in the body over time. (Writer Brain sayeth: this would be an interesting murder technique since the picture apricot kernels on the bag in the tumblr post seem to resemble almonds.)
I was pretty surprised by the Tumblr post, and assumed it had to be a hoax, but the reblogs indicated otherwise. Brother and other family members are all ready firmly entrenched in moonbat quackery. I was dosed with cod liver oil as a kid because my mom was convinced that this would help my asthma, for example. My maternal grandmother thought/thinks that prescription drugs are inherently bad for you. Brother is just more moonbat than the others.
Hopefully not enough cod liver oil to produce hypervitaminosis A, at least? My parents were pretty hippie when I was young and way into alternative medicine but that fortunately lessened off over time.
My mother is very into essential oils and stuff like that. She brushes her teeth with undiluted lemon and tea tree oils, which is pretty .
Just enough to make me hate the sight of cod liver oil and make me go through the roof at the mention of natural remedies.
In other news, fantasy and sf writer Ryk E. Spoor thinks my worries are silly and unfounded. Thanks Mr. Spoor. I'd already come to the conclusion that I'd wasted my time.
