Coconut allergy - is palm oil safe?

[Hokkaido Brit]

My son has been diagnosed with a life threatening walnut allergy and in the process of being treated he has had allergy tests for related stuff. Turns out he is allergic to some degree to all tree nuts and peanuts. A surprise for me was that he is also allergic to coconut.

A friend asked if then he should avoid palm oil, seeing as coconuts grow on palm trees. But I am unclear about the truth of that, as is she. What do you think? For the moment we are avoiding it, but the stuff is in EVERYTHING!!

Thanks

[Broomstick]

Well, coconuts ARE nuts (very large ones) that grow on trees so it makes some sense to me...

Look the only way to definitively answer your question is to TEST your son for palm oil allergy... and that is best done in a doctor's office so any adverse reactions can be treated immediately. This does not have an answer of the sort "if he's allergic to this he's allergic to that" because everyone with allergies is different. I know someone who is allergic to coconut and no other nuts at all, for example.

I don't know if all palm oil is made from coconut palms... if it is, then yes, your son should avoid it, but if not, well, that makes things more complicated.

[Dr. Lao]

Palm oil generally comes from the African palm, rather than the coconut palm. However, I can't seem to find a regulation that requires this distinction be made on ingredients lists.

[Hokkaido Brit]

Yes, that is what is so frustrating - we have also been told by some doctors that nut oils are probably OK. In the case of walnut oil that is not so, as my son has had a reaction from that already. And ingredient lists can be very vague in Japan where we live. Basically this allergy has meant that most processed foods are now off limits.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

I'd recommend asking an allergist.

QtM, MD

[Hokkaido Brit]

Thank you Dr Q!

I did that very thing this afternoon, and come home, not Epi-pen in hand (it was recommended) but with a way of getting it, convoluted in the extreme. It turns out it is not available for kids here, and no hospitals in my area prescribe it for adults either. So I have the name of a pediatric allergist whom I have to travel to see with kid in tow. He will evaluate him and then I have to go to a department where Epi pens are given to adults. There will have been a few doctor to doctor phone calls made by then, and I will get it prescribed for me. Then it will be in my hands on the understanding that it is totally my responsibility how I use it. Gahhhh! Why is life so complicated?? But I am very VERY thankful to today's allergist who worked out any method at all, and didn't just tell me it was impossible as some others have. Hopefully next week or so I will have it and we'll be able to feel a bit safer. Of course he won't be covered at all during school hours, but there is no way round that till he's old enough to have the epi pen in his bag and inject himself. We're a good way from that yet as he has a horror of needles and has to be rugby tackled for any stick.

And back to the palm oil - because labelling is loose, to avoid anything that might have it in. So yes, we are now officially The House of Ingredients Only. And I hate cooking........

[Roadruner]

Hi
Don’t know if it is too late to add to this post not that my input will help the allergy question but may be of interest. There are many types of palm trees and the coconut palm does not produce palm oil. From coconuts you get, surprisingly, coconut oil which is made from the dried coconut meat and if I remember correctly that is called copra. This oil can be used for cooking but makes everything taste of coconut and is definitely an acquired taste. Only had it once and I still shudder at the memory. It is also sold to tourists as a tanning aid and this it does admirably as it’s like cooking yourself but has NO protection value. Palm oil, on the other hand, is used in making soaps, candles, and lubricating greases and in processing tinplate and coating iron plates. Palm-kernel oil is used in manufacturing such edible products as margarine, chocolate confections, and pharmaceuticals. The cake residue after kernel oil is extracted is a cattle feed. Hope this of some help!

[Hokkaido Brit]

Thank you - not too late at all and very helpful. The more information we have on this the better.

[Roadruner]

Originally Posted by Hokkaido Brit

Thank you - not too late at all and very helpful. The more information we have on this the better.

Your‘e welcome. Hope it all works out for you and family