I'm not going to go into the merits of chemo, but at the risk of being smartarsey and keeping it simple as suggested, then it is hard to go past basic chemistry for the maple story. Gastric acid is chlorides of H, K and Na and the following is probably what is going to happen in the gut before anything enters the blood stream:
NaHCO3 + HCl ? NaCl + H2CO3 H2CO3 ? H2O + CO2
So you've got saltwater, and a burp. Does burping in the ocean cure cancer? A challenge for someone to inform what is going on with this maple syrup story. I'd like to be convinced, but the simple altering the pH of the cells doesn't add up IMO. However, I'm not denying that there couldn't be something in it, and if it is helping people then great. But suggesting that pharmacy would go past something that is simpler than an aspirin is just another conspiracy theory.
