Access to all articles, new health classes, discounts in our store, and more!
Traditional Diets and Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition that occurs primarily in Africa in areas where malaria is prevalent. In sickle cell disease, hemoglobin, the compound that carries oxygen in red blood cells, has an abnormal composition. One compound that is known to prevent the sickling of red blood cells is cyanide, which binds with abnormal hemoglobin and prevents it from changing shape and associating into chains. Cyanide compounds, commonly known as laetrile (and sometimes referred to as nitrilosides), are present in many foods. Traditional diets in areas where the sickle cell trait is prevalent utilize many laetrile-containing foods. Beans and yams, along with cassava and millet, are staples in African diets.