He thought apricot kernels would give him cancer immunity. They gave him cyanide poisoning instead

A man who for five years took daily doses of apricot kernel extract – touted as a natural cancer shield – ended up with cyanide poisoning, a medical journal reported Tuesday.

The problem was discovered when abnormally low oxygen levels were measured in the man’s blood while he was under anaesthesia for an operation, doctors wrote in BMJ Case Reports.

Blood tests showed alarmingly high levels of cyanide.

When he woke up, the man told doctors he had been taking a daily dose of two teaspoons of home-made apricot kernel extract for five years. He also took three daily tablets of an herbal fruit kernel supplement.

The problem is that apricot kernels – for all the health benefits vaunted by online merchants – also contain cyanide.

The man was taking more than 17 milligrammes of the extract every day, enough to raise blood cyanide to about 25 times acceptable levels, said the team.