Documents emerge proving Dr Andrew Wakefield innocent

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Two things we can agree on is that (a) the published literature is quite contradictory on Essiac, and (b) there have been very few studies on the subject. However, according to the ACS:

"Laboratory and animal experiments have shown that some of the chemicals in the herbs used to make Essiac and Flor Essence have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, estrogenic, or anticancer activity. Reviewed in [7-15]"

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/ ... ference4.1

As for your first study, it is significant, but I question the relevance of using mice that have been inflicted with genetic defects. In this regard, consider this study:

"A Duke University study published in the August 1, 2003 issue of Molecular and Cellular Biology found that an enriched environment can even override genetic mutations (cruelly) bred into mice. [Waterland and Jirtle 2003] In the study, scientists looked at the effect of dietary supplements on pregnant mice inflicted with the abnormal 'agouti' gene. Agouti mice have yellow coats and are extremely obese, which predisposes them to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

"In the experiment, one group of yellow, obese, agouti mothers received methyl-group-rich supplements available in health food stores: folic acid, vitamin B12, betaine and choline. Methyl-rich supplements were chosen because a number of studies have shown that the methyl chemical group is involved with epigenetic modifications.

"When methyl groups attach to a gene's DNA, it changes the binding characteristics of regulatory chromosomal proteins. If the proteins bind too tightly to the gene, the protein sleeve cannot be removed and the gene cannot be read. Methylating DNA can silence or modify gene activity.

"This time the headlines 'Diet Trumps Genes' were accurate. The mothers who got the methyl group supplements produced standard, lean, brown mice, even though their offspring had the same agouti gene as their mothers. The agouti mothers who didn't get the supplements produced yellow pups, which ate much more than the brown pups. The yellow pups wound up weighing almost twice as much as their lean, 'pseudo-agouti' counterparts.

"Though the two mice are genetically identical, they are radically different in appearance: one mouse is lean and brown and the other mouse is obese and yellow. The obese mouse is diabetic while its genetically identical counterpart is healthy. [note: I find animal testing to be morally repugnant, I’m just relating this in the hopes of advancing information that can prevent future animal 'research' --B]

"Other studies have found epigenetic mechanisms to be a factor in a variety of diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. [Willett 2002] The malignancies in the vast majority of cancer patients are derived from environmentally-induced epigenetic alterations and not 'defective' genes. [Kling 2003; Jones 2001; Seppa 2000; Baylin 1997]"

--Bruce Lipton, PhD

The above is not only interesting and important, but it is relevant because it shows that there are many factors related to cancer development, control, and regression. There is no magic bullet "cure" for cancer, it relates to many environmental and dietary factors as well as lifestyle and attitude.

In this vein, due to the breast cancer evidence, Essiac (or a specific herb contained therein) may be contraindicated in this case. Once again, more research needs to be done. Keep in mind that a wide variety of herbs have been reported to have anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, or blood/liver cleansing properties that are beneficial for treating this and other diseases. Indeed, many widely-used chemotherapies and other drugs are based on the "active ingredients" of natural herbs (often pirated from indigenous people with no compensation). However, they are chemically synthesized so that they can be patented and sold at extraordinary markup.

I would also like to point out that Essiac was used by nurse Rene Caisse early last century with great success to reverse a wide variety of cancers pronounced terminal by conventional medicine. She was endorsed not only by hundreds of grateful patients, but by many doctors who believed the mixture was of great value. To this day, there are a huge amount of people who have reported that this mixture has helped them overcome cancer. Admittedly, this is anecdotal, but it indicates that the tea is worth more study. Furthermore, many of the websites trashing this tea are quick to point out anecdotal incidences of harm (questionably) associated with Essiac.

An example of the highly biased reporting can be found on the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's website: "a retrospective study of breast cancer patients found that Essiac did not improve quality of life or mood (10)."

http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/essiac

But according to the abstract of that study:

"Even for Physical well-being and relationship with doctor, Essiac seemed to have a negative effect, with Essiac users doing worse than the non-Essiac users. This might be attributed to the fact that the group of users comprised younger women with more advanced stages of breast cancer, and both of these subgroups of patients have been shown to be at a significantly increased risk for negative mood states and/or a decreased sense of well-being."

Normally, when you conduct a comparative study, the two groups are supposed to be as equivalent as possible. I've seen this many times, where the sicker patients are stacked in one group, resulting in skewed findings. What's unique about this study is that this is mentioned in the abstract; normally it's buried in the body of the text, so reading the abstract gives one a false impression.

The study also found (not reported by MSKCC), "Only 2 women reported minor adverse events, whereas numerous women reported beneficial effects of Essiac."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17212569

I would like to point out that not only has MSKCC done studies that purportedly disprove the therapeutic effects of Essiac, but in the past they have also run studies that "disproved" the link between cigarette smoking and cancer. Perhaps this explains why:

"The people on Sloan-Kettering’s Board of Directors were a ‘Who’s Who’ of investors in petrochemical and other polluting industries. In other words, the hospital was being run by people who made their wealth by investing in the worst cancer-causing things on the planet.

"Directors of the biggest tobacco companies in the U.S., Phillip Morris and RJR Nabisco, held places of honor on the Board. Six Board Directors also served on the Boards of The New York Times, CBS, Warner Communications, Readers Digest, and other media giants."

http://www.healingtalks.com/health/dise ... ore-lives/

Craig B. Thompson, MD President and CEO of MSKCC, is also on the Board of Directors for Merck Corporation.[7]

James D. Robinson III Honorary Chairman, is also former Chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb, the world's largest producer of chemo drugs. Paul Marks, MD, MSKCC's former President and CEO, is the former Director of Pfizer. Another board member, Richard Furlaud, recently retired as Bristol Myers' president. [8]

The late Richard Gelb was Vice-Chairman of the MSKCC board as well as CEO of Bristol-Myers. [9], [10]

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency in the U.S. government conducting and funding medical research. MSKCC Director Thomas Kelly, M.D., Ph.D. serves on the both the NIH Advisory Committee and Scientific Management Review Board. [11]

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?ti ... cer_Center

Furthermore, the Hospital itself is invested in the stock of these same drug companies. Clearly, the deck is stacked. It's not a conspiracy theory, it's just the truth.



Why?

We already know that the ethylmercury in thimerosal is bio-available, and it is administered in comparable amounts to what is well-established as being harmful for methylmercury, a very similar chemical compound (just one methyl group difference). Are you saying that the amount is too small to damage the CNS of an adult, a child, an infant, a developing fetus? Because the same dose of, say, the flu vaccine is given to all of these.

Furthermore, there are wide differences in genetic susceptibility, and other factors that can influence the relative harm. According to Dr. Michael Godfrey, "It is impossible to have a sudden epidemic of a genetic disease. The genetic factor or other predisposing weakening factor is there but it needed the environmental trigger to make it surface. That's why we think the genetic inability to excrete mercury e.g. Apo-E4 and/or a metallothionine abnormality underlies those that crash after being exposed to mercury injections."

It sounds to me like you are making a careless assumption. If there is some reason that I, with my more limited experience with heavy metal chemistry, do not see, kindly enlighten me.


P.S. EricaBandanna related that her daughter "wasn't able to swallow". Perhaps this was related to swollen lymph glands. According to a respectable researcher:

"a paper that was presented to the Venezuelan Society of Perinatology and Pediatrics... found inflammatory bowel disease in 100% of the autistic children studied. (Gonzalez L, Lopez K, Navarro D, Negron L, Rodriguez R, Flores L, Villalobos D, Martinez M, Rodriguez G, Sabra S, Bellanti J, Sabra A. Alteraciones immunologicas e immunohistoquimicas en la mucosa del tracto digestivo en ninos autistas. Venezuelan Medical Society presentation.) So this idiosyncratic bowel disease is seen all around the world in children with a variety of developmental disorders...

"What have these studies shown? Firstly that there is expansion of the lymphoid follicles, particularly in the small intestine, in addition to lymphoid nodular hyperplasia. Rather like having a lymph gland in the neck that swells up when you have a sore throat, the lymph glands in the intestine swell enough that they encroach upon the lumen of the intestine, and in this way may be responsible for partial obstruction and pain (rather like having a throat so sore that it hurts to swallow anything)."

I don't expect you all to agree with me, just to THINK.

It only takes a couple of minutes on any half-decent search interface to link any pair of topics, as you claim to have done with a single anecdotal report from EricaBandanna of "swallowing difficulties" in relation to a diagnosis of ASD. (Perhaps EricaBandanna could supply the laboratory certification for the supposed mercury test?) Your claim of a link is not science. It is not even unscientific. It is anti-science.

The very many large studies of people with ASD, and meta-analyses of studies of people with ASD, are in disagreement with virtually all your claims, which are based entirely on junk science websites, anecdotes, laboratory studies and single cases. Anyone can make such claims, and the web is full of Quacks who do so, for a fee.

Well Mr Bittlebonker,

I find it interesting that you think that the methylation of DNA is a good thing, try telling that to any mainsteam biochemist, oncologist or chemist. All three will be able to tell you that alkylation of DNA tends to result in horrible DNA damage which can lead to cancer.

A classic is hydrazine, hydrazine in the liver of many animals is converted (using formaldehyde) into diazomethane which methylates biomolecules and thus induces horrible liver damage and sometimes cancer.

You wrote "However, according to the ACS:

"Laboratory and animal experiments have shown that some of the chemicals in the herbs used to make Essiac and Flor Essence have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, estrogenic, or anticancer activity. Reviewed in [7-15]"

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/ ... ference4.1"

I would like to point out that some agents seem to prevent cancer but these anticancer diets full of antioxidants are unable to cure the disease once it starts. I would also like to point out that in some trials antioxidants have been found to increase the rate of cancer, there was one in Sweden using male medical doctors who smoke. It was found that the vitamin pills gave these men a higher rate of cancer than the control group.

Well before I go, I would like to point out that the rate of autism diagnosis did not change when the mercury was withdrawn from use in vaccines, either the cohort of children was too small (child population of USA) to see the difference or maybe it was not to blame in the first place.

Why are you so interested in helping Wakefield and his ideas ? Are you hoping that he will find a "cure" for autism.

First of all, I'm not sure if even EricaBandanna was trying to say that her daughter had full-blown autism, only that she was most likely damaged by vaccines, particularly mercury toxicity. As I believe Woodpecker pointed out, her daughter was only two, which is too young to diagnose autism anyway. I'm simply noting that it has some features in common.

That said, your criticism is far too broad to be of any value. What specific claims of mine, and studies that contradict them, are you referring to? Maybe the other people on this thread will take your word for it, but your statement has many falsehoods I can pick out already. This is the best answer I can give you for the moment:

"Recent studies in the medical literature have confirmed that gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common in patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In two prospective studies, GI symptoms were present in 80% and 70% of autistic children, respectively.(1) In contrast with the ASD group in the latter study, Valicenti-McDermott et al. reported GI symptoms in only 28% of neurotypical controls.(1,2,10)

1. Valicenti-McDermott M, McVicar et al. Frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autistic spectrum disorders and association with family history of autoimmune disease. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2006 Apr 27 (Suppl 2):S18-36.
2. American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition. Washington (DC): American Psychiatric Association: 1994.
12. D´Eufemia P, Celli M, Finocchiaro R, Pacífico L, Viozzi L, Zaccagnini M, et al. Abnormal intestinal permeability in children with autism. Acta Paediatr 1996;85:1076-9.

"Retrospective studies that rely only upon review of the children’s existing clinical records are likely to underestimate the true size of the problem since these records rarely document GI symptoms. The inadequacy of this approach means that it is impossible to determine whether symptoms were not present or, more likely, that the clinician just failed to document them. On the other hand, prospective studies that systematically ask about the presence or absence of specific symptoms provide a much more accurate picture of the size of the problem."

-Lenny González, MD, specialist in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, and a member of the staff of SOVENIA (Venezuelan Society of
Autistic Children). Her focus is on the diagnosis and treatment of GI pathology in children with autism and children with developmental delays. Dr. Gonzalez sees children from all over South America and has performed intestinal endospcopies on more than 956 children with autism.

Last edited by bitterbonker on 13 Feb 2012, 11:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Woodpecker, you seem to be a bit confused. "DNA methylation is a crucial part of normal organismal development and cellular differentiation in higher organisms. DNA methylation stably alters the gene expression pattern in cells such that cells can 'remember where they have been' or decrease gene expression; for example, cells programmed to be pancreatic islets during embryonic development remain pancreatic islets throughout the life of the organism without continuing signals telling them that they need to remain islets."

Yes, it is also true that "DNA methylation also plays a crucial role in the development of nearly all types of cancer", but that doesn't mean all DNA methylation is bad! (The source for these quotes is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_methylation , I know Wiki isn't the most reliable source, but this is basic biochemistry). I'm surprised someone of your standing would make such a fundamental error.



Your criticisms, like StuartN's, are too nonspecific to really answer per se, but your first statement is highly debatable. According to one review, the type of diet we're talking about "would be conducive to preventing cancer and would favor recovery from cancer as well." ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15496224 ) Also, vitamin pills are not a substitute for a proper diet. This isn't to totally knock vitamin supplementation, but at the very least it would depend on how they were manufactured, the quality of the vitamins, their proportions and absorbability, etc.



As I already pointed out, thimerosal is still in the flu vaccine, which is now recommended annually for children and pregnant women. They didn't used to inoculate expecting mothers, but then, they didn't used to vaccinate before 6 months of age, because the immune system isn't fully developed before then (and Hep B is not a risk factor for the majority of newborns, besides...) The point being, it's not clear how much the mercury exposure has truly declined, nor the effects of exposure for the developing fetus.

Even the shameless Dr. Paul Offit (who I'm sure none of you can disagree with) notes: “children whose mothers took thalidomide during pregnancy had birth defects, including malformed ears and shortened limbs. But they also had a significantly greater incidence of autism than babies born to mothers who never took thalidomide. Thalidomide clearly caused autism, but only if mothers took it early in pregnancy. If mothers took thalidomide in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, their babies weren’t at increased risk of autism.” This establishes both that autism can have multiple causes and varying degrees of susceptibility, and that it can be inflicted iatrogenically.

However, please note that researchers HAVE observed declines in autism since thimerosal was phased out of most pediatric vaccines ( http://www.aapsonline.org/press/nr-03-02-2006.php )... although this particular study was done by the Geiers, who I imagine StuartN and Verdandi will be quick to denounce as "Quacks" without any further analysis.

I'm interested in Wakefield's findings because I believe they are accurate. And yes, I am interested in finding successful treatments for autism... aren't you?

Interesting, but I would like to suggest you read about dimethyl sulfate. I can tell you it is not exactly a health tonic.

Thank you for the advice Woodpecker. Blessings.

Ohhhhhhh. Earlier our discussion I mentioned DMSA, or Dimercaptosuccinic acid, to assist lipoic acid in heavy metal chelation. But apparently there is a compound DMSO, or dimethyl sulfoxide, which is used as an 'alternative' treatment for its anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging properties. Is this what you were getting at? I've never heard of DMSO and therefore never advocated it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[EDIT] OK. Is it that dimethyl sulfate is used as a methylating agent? Yes, it is classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, poisonous, corrosive, environmentally hazardous and volatile. I never mentioned it. The study I brought up used methyl-rich folic acid, vitamin B12, betaine and choline, which are essential nutrients, not systemic poisons.

Well dimethyl sulfate is a classic example of a methylation agent which will randomly add methyl groups to DNA, plenty of other alkylation agents do equally horrible things to DNA.

Consider sulfur mustard (HD) for a moment along with ethylene dibromide. These irksome substances are toxic becuase they alkylate things.

The methylation problem is a complex one, while some methylation is needed in all living things, the methylation is something which the body needs to keep under tight control. The B12 vitamin is the body's methylation agent of choice, while you need some of this cobalt compound in your diet, a super large dose will not improve your diet.

Peyton Manning used to tell us to rub dirt on injuries. Another good thing to rub on injuries is DMSO. Or maybe only skin patches of unidentified etiology. I mean to rub DMSO on skin patches, not skin patches on injuries.

I have never thought of rubbing DMSO onto damaged skin, is there some special reason you are thinking of doing this ?

I know that DMSO has been used sometimes in transdermal patchs, but that is a bit of an offshoot of the thread (nothing wrong with threads having off shoots !)

This is turning out to be a really interesting discussion! Yes, the concern does seem to be substances that cause the methylation process to go haywire. This is why I think the BEST way to achieve optimal nutrition is by eating fresh, whole, unprocessed, organic, and (as often as possible) raw foods (cooking denatures the enzymes in food). That way, your body recieves nutrients in the optimal proportions as they were intended by nature, and that we have been evolving with for millions of years. Furthermore, industrial agriculture with its pesticides, artificial fertiliers, tilling machines, and monocultures leads to leaching of minerals from the soil, diminishing the nutrition of our food supply. I don't think it's a coincidence that the age-adjusted rate of cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases has skyrocketed since the 50's, when this type of farming became widespread (it's not the only factor, of course).

"Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that part of the cancer-protective effects associated with several bioactive food components may relate to DNA methylation patterns. Dietary factors that are involved in one-carbon metabolism provide the most compelling data for the interaction of nutrients and DNA methylation because they influence the supply of methyl groups, and therefore the biochemical pathways of methylation processes. These nutrients include folate, vitamin B(12), vitamin B(6), methionine, and choline. However, looking at individual nutrients may be too simplistic. Dietary methyl (folate, choline, and methionine) deficiency in combination causes decreased tissue S-adeno-sylmethionine, global DNA hypomethylation, hepatic steatosis, cirrhosis, and ultimately hepatic tumorigenesis in rodents in the absence of carcinogen treatment. Other dietary components such as vitamin B(12), alcohol, and selenium may modify the response to inadequate dietary folate." (emphasis mine) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15522834

[As an aside, note that several studies have found that pesticide exposure during development is linked to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. According to beyondpesticides.org, 'Preliminary research into birth records and pesticide data reveal that mothers who were within 500 meters of fields sprayed with organochlorine pesticides during their first trimester of pregnancy were six times higher to have children with autism compared to mothers who did not live near the fields... The scientists conclude that the “possibility of a connection between gestational exposure to organochlorine pesticides and autism spectrum disorders requires further study.” ' http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info ... /ehp.10168 ]

But anywho, vitamin B12 is produced by the action of bacteria in soil, but these soil communities have largely been destroyed by modern farming methods, so B12 deficiency is a problem for anyone on a modern diet (not just vegetarians). Although I prefer getting nutrition whole from foods, some authorities have reported that administering Methyl-B12 (methylcobalamin) intravenously is of benefit in certain types of autism: http://www.tacanow.org/family-resources ... on-issues/ ...I'm only offering this for the interest of anyone who might be reading, if anyone percieves this as "quackery", whoop-de-doo for you.

Sadly it is too late for me to address all the points, except one. You say that cooking (heating) denatures enzymes. This is true, but in the digestive system there are plenty of enzymes which digest proteins. As the enzymes in the food are globular proteins then they are likely to be very well digested by the digestive enzymes in the upper part of the GI system.

I do not know if a dose of B12 will cure autism (I doubt if it will work) but at least it will make it less likely that the person gets cyanide poisoning. vitamin B12 is well known in europe as a useful treatment for cyanide (eg smoke inhalation cases from house fires)

When I said 'enzymes', I should have used the more inclusive term 'proteins', as cooking damages the complex structure of all proteins in food. You can see this dramatically and visually when you fry an egg, f'rinstance. Think about if you're building a house, but the wood you get wasn't processed after logging, so the pieces don't fit right and you have to kind of cobble everything together. It's a crude analogy, but it fits. The proteins that make up your body (including your digestive enzymes!) are built from your food, so you want them to be intact. Your body will "denature" quickly if exposed to the kind of heat we use to cook food, so why do we destroy the nutrients and microflora by processing and cooking?

That's interesting about B12 and cyanide. Doesn't the B12 molecule contain cyanide, molecularly bound up and chemically inert? Another vitamin in that family, B17, has been described as having specific antineoplastic effects. B17 contains a sugar molecule as well as two toxic elements—cyanide and benzaldehyde.

A protective enzyme, rhodanese, neutralizes cyanide in healthy tissue by converting it to healthy by-products. The released benzaldehyde in the presence of oxygen is immediately oxidized to benzoic acid, which is non-toxic. Rhodanese converts cyanide to the thiocyanate molecule, which is used in the body fluids—blood, urine, saliva, sweat, and tears. Or the cyanide, which is also a component of vitamin B12, could be used to build this essential nutrient from its precursor, provitamin B12.

Dr. Ernst Krebs wrote, “Before considering the possible antineoplastic activity of this vitamin B-17, let us recall that the benzoic acid arising from it has certain anti-rheumatic and antiseptic properties. It was rather widely used, in both German and American medicine, as an effective agent for hypertension." [It is closely related to salicylic acid, the main ingredient in aspirin, synthesized from willow and poplar bark.]

“Used as such, as the simple chemical, the dosage was difficult to control. Obviously, this difficulty does generally not arise from the thiocyanate usually produced in the body through metabolizing vitamin B-17 (nitriloside). Let us pause to reflect upon this question: Might not the rheumatic diseases (such as arthritis) as well as certain aspects of hypertension be in some cases partially related to a dietary deficiency in nitrilosides?

“Are we justified in suggesting that cancer itself might be another chronic metabolic disease that arises from a specific vitamin deficiency—a deficiency specifically in vitamin B-17 (nitriloside)?”

Cancerous tissue has an excess of the enzyme beta-glucosidase, which unlocks or frees both the toxic elements contained in B17. Combined cyanide and benzaldehyde are far more toxic. Cancerous cells lack rhodanese so the protective enzyme against cyanide is not present.

Dr. Otto Warburg won the Nobel Prize for proving that cancer cells use fermentative (anaerobic) as opposed to respiratory (aerobic) metabolism. This operates in the lack of oxygen, so the benzaldehyde is not detoxified.

Fermentation is highly inefficient compared to respiration used by healthy cells, so cancer cells crave concentrated sources of energy like the sugar molecule found in vitamin B17. When they consume B17, the combination of cyanide and benzaldehyde are released to attack the cancerous tissue. Laetrile, therefore, has the unique ability to nourish normal cells yet destroy cancer cells!

Krebs wrote, “Dr. Dean Burk of the National Cancer Institute has brilliantly demonstrated… that [B17] multiplies through a very powerful synergy the cytotoxic effects of both—cyanide and benzaldehyde—to an extent many, many times greater than the arithmetic sum of their separate effects. These two compounds in synergy are more powerful cytotoxins than any of [the common chemotherapy drugs used in cancer treatment].”

“When civilized man eats less than the whole fruit, for example, by discarding the seed or kernel he experiences a specific and total deficiency not only in oils and proteins but in minerals and such vitamins as vitamin B-17 (nitriloside) which is found only in the seed, not in the flesh of the fruit."

Dr. Ernst T. Krebs, Jr. (1911–1996)

See: http://users.navi.net/~rsc/krebs3.htm

If this seems rather implausible, consider that a 2005 NCI study found that IV ascorbic acid (vitamin c) had a selective poisoning effect on cancer cells, by releasing H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide): http://www.pnas.org/content/102/38/13604.full

I would like to point out that both denatured protein and "normal protein" will be digested by the enzymes in the GI into single amino acids, if we ignore the Maillard Reaction the products of digesting cooked protein will be the same.




Oh goodness, not again ! Your mention of amygdalin, laetrile or B17 suggests that you are becoming an encyclopedia of quack / alternative cures for cancer / autism.

vitamin B17 is not a vitamin, it is a nasty toxin which can cause cyanide poisoning.

Vitamine B12 comes in several different forms, one of which is the cyanide complex, be careful not to mix up B12 with B17.

Dr. Ernst Krebs was a Quack !

This is based on an overly simplistic view. Yes, the body reduces proteins to their constituent amino acids, but doing this through heating, as opposed to using specific, controlled chemical reactions, is very different. Furthermore, cooking definitely destroys the living enzymes in food that your body needs. Here is some information for your consideration:

"If one examines a typical protein molecule as might be found in animal protein, one can observe various NH3 groupings, the N indicating nitrogen, the H, hydrogen. These are known as amines. In cooking and especially in the presence of water, these amines are replaced by an hydroxyl grouping, that is by an OH group, the O being the symbol for oxygen. These OH groupings cannot again be replaced by NH3 by any mechanisms present in the human body. This is why the cooked protein becomes useless. In some methods of cooking, it is believed that certain amine groups are actually split off even though no water is used in the cooking.

"Certain proteins contain sulphur in their molecules. In the presence of water, this sulphur can also be split off. Cystine, an important amino acid which contains some 27 percent sulphur, is a typical example. Sulphur is found in all members of the cabbage family and it plays an important role in the human body as a disinfecting agent. The student will observe that in cooking members of the cabbage family, one can often be aware of the smell of sulphur as gases leave the cooking utensil. What is left is an inorganic molecule made up of inorganic atoms, which are useless to the economy. Cystine is an important element in the formation of red blood corpuscles but not a desulphurized changed cystine, but the whole organic molecule.

"The vital factors, the complete amino acids, are destroyed and rendered useless as food factors to the precise extent that they are destroyed by the heating process. Methionine, another important sulphur-containing amino acid, is similarly affected by cooking. This amino acid is an important constituent of the body serum, of hemoglobin and of tissues. We can see how cooking such methionine-containing foods as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, pineapple, apples and Brazil nuts could render their constructive values almost useless.

"Similar modifications in structure occur with all the amino acids in cooked proteins, essential and nonessential. When we consider the vast complexity of these molecules, we can appreciate perhaps more fully the value of retaining the original organic structure. It is difficult, if not impossible, for the human body to build its own protein if it must first untangle an inorganic mess even before it starts.

"Ragnar Berg, the Swedish scientist, reported long ago on research that showed that boiling meat even for a comparatively short time changed the nature of the phosphate presence in protein. Phosphorus is essential to blood and brain building. And yet, how often are the following valuable foods cooked, valuable because they contain generous amounts of phosphorus in them: kale, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, Savoy cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, lettuce, Brazil nuts, walnuts, huckleberries, blackberries, cherries and black mission figs. Many of these same foods contain iodine which, on heating, is also changed to HI or hydriotic acid causing damage to the thyroxine presence."

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/cooking ... okery.html

However:

"High temperature is usually not the best thing for many of the sensitive compounds that are contained in our food. Heating vegetables, either during processing or cooking, is a way of reducing enzyme activity that can lead to undesirable changes in colour, flavour and texture. But the heat can also change compounds found in the raw food into other chemically related compounds. The properties of these new compounds may be different as was reported in new research from the University of Arkansas.

"Carrots are one of the best sources of carotene which is a strong antioxidant. But carrots also contain other phenolic compounds that are antioxidants. The Arkansas researchers were studying the effects of thermal processing (cooking) on the antioxidant properties of carrots. The carrots (peeled or non-peeled) were sliced and blanched (2 minutes or 20 minutes), cooked in cans at 250 oC for 75 minutes and then stored for up to 4 weeks. In all cases the antioxidant power of the processed carrots was greater - on average 34% higher - than for raw carrots. During the first week of storage the antioxidant properties continued to climb, before declining over the next 3 weeks in storage. At the end of the 4 weeks the processed carrots still had more oxidative power than raw carrots."

http://www.medicinalfoodnews.com/vol04/issue7/carrot

Perhaps it is best to eat both cooked AND raw foods. I'll have to do more research, since I don't delude myself into thinking I know it all, and I can adapt my opinion if new information calls for it. (Hint, hint)