When my friends see this book on my bookshelf they often look puzzled. Perhaps they think twice about letting me cook for them! After all with a title like "Little Cyanide Cookbook," the book is bound to raise some eyebrows.In reality this is a collection of recipes rich in cyanide containing foods, specifically amygdalin, which the author believes should be called Vitamin B17. This chemical is also known as laetrile which is the biggest name (some would say biggest shame) in alternative cancer therapies. Some scientists hold the theory that eating enough of these cyanide-containing sugars (which incidentally are anti-oxidants) will prevent cancer. Indeed many societies that are free from cancer (such as the Hunzas) consume quite a bit of these sugars. I have investigated the whole laetrile controversy for many years, which is why I own the book.
I cant say that I completely swallow all of the theory, but if you do, or are just investigating cyanide-containing chemicals as a cancer preventative, this book should be of use. The only drawback is that many of our favorite foods do not contain these "cyanogenic glycosides," so the recipes may be hard to put together. Also, many of the recipes call for ground-up apricot seeds, which are semi-legal and bitter tasting. For those wondering, there is no real danger of cyanide poisoning from the recipes that De Spain promotes. Some of the foods that contain cyanide which we eat everyday in large amounts are: lentils, millet, blackberries, raspberries, buckwheat, lima beans, and peas.
