Coconut

[Lucy Hamilton]

So is Coconut considered ANY part of the actual nut family? I ask this because of an allergy to ALL nuts. What about Coconut milk? If you had a nut allergy could you use Coconut milk on eg. cereal?

 

[LuckyDuck]

It's just called Coconut. It's actually a fruit and people with nut allergies that I have known, have eaten Coconut.

 

[boedicca]

All I know is that you have to put a lime in the coconut.

 

[toobfreak]

So is Coconut considered ANY part of the actual nut family? I ask this because of an allergy to ALL nuts. What about Coconut milk? If you had a nut allergy could you use Coconut milk on eg. cereal?

In strictly botanical terms, a coconut is a dry drupe, a fruit in which a fleshy part encompasses the hardened outer part, which in turn houses a seed inside. Other examples of drupes are mangos, almonds, peaches, plums and cherries. A coconut is also a seed, as a seed essentially contains a ‘baby plant’ inside it. When you look at one end of a coconut, you can see three black pores, it is through one of these pores that the sprout emerges. So, by definition, a coconut also qualifies as a seed. So it is also a nut, allowing them to be classified as both fruits, seeds and nuts.

So if you are allergic to nuts in general, I'd avoid coconut until you can talk to a doctor or maybe even get an allergy test.

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

So is Coconut considered ANY part of the actual nut family? I ask this because of an allergy to ALL nuts. What about Coconut milk? If you had a nut allergy could you use Coconut milk on eg. cereal?

In strictly botanical terms, a coconut is a dry drupe, a fruit in which a fleshy part encompasses the hardened outer part, which in turn houses a seed inside. Other examples of drupes are mangos, almonds, peaches, plums and cherries. A coconut is also a seed, as a seed essentially contains a ‘baby plant’ inside it. When you look at one end of a coconut, you can see three black pores, it is through one of these pores that the sprout emerges. So, by definition, a coconut also qualifies as a seed. So it is also a nut, allowing them to be classified as both fruits, seeds and nuts.

So if you are allergic to nuts in general, I'd avoid coconut until you can talk to a doctor or maybe even get an allergy test.

Okay what about Coconut Milk, like the below:

 

[gipper]

Eat it and find out.

 

[toobfreak]

So is Coconut considered ANY part of the actual nut family? I ask this because of an allergy to ALL nuts. What about Coconut milk? If you had a nut allergy could you use Coconut milk on eg. cereal?

In strictly botanical terms, a coconut is a dry drupe, a fruit in which a fleshy part encompasses the hardened outer part, which in turn houses a seed inside. Other examples of drupes are mangos, almonds, peaches, plums and cherries. A coconut is also a seed, as a seed essentially contains a ‘baby plant’ inside it. When you look at one end of a coconut, you can see three black pores, it is through one of these pores that the sprout emerges. So, by definition, a coconut also qualifies as a seed. So it is also a nut, allowing them to be classified as both fruits, seeds and nuts.

So if you are allergic to nuts in general, I'd avoid coconut until you can talk to a doctor or maybe even get an allergy test.

Okay what about Coconut Milk, like the below:

View attachment 397102

My own guess, I'd say probably no, but if you want to be sure or if you have had violent allergic reactions to nuts, again, talk to your doctor or get tested to be sure. Some people are actually allergic to legumes, but I'm not sure what in a nut like a cashew or hazelnut people react to, or maybe there can be more than one thing, and whether or not any of those are shared in a coconut.

Myself personally, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone being allergic to coconut, but some people can have such strong allergic reactions as to send them to the hospital.

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

So is Coconut considered ANY part of the actual nut family? I ask this because of an allergy to ALL nuts. What about Coconut milk? If you had a nut allergy could you use Coconut milk on eg. cereal?

If you connect a string under the dorsal feather of an unladen swallow, you can get some coconuts to migrate up into England...

 

[toobfreak]

So is Coconut considered ANY part of the actual nut family? I ask this because of an allergy to ALL nuts. What about Coconut milk? If you had a nut allergy could you use Coconut milk on eg. cereal?

In strictly botanical terms, a coconut is a dry drupe, a fruit in which a fleshy part encompasses the hardened outer part, which in turn houses a seed inside. Other examples of drupes are mangos, almonds, peaches, plums and cherries. A coconut is also a seed, as a seed essentially contains a ‘baby plant’ inside it. When you look at one end of a coconut, you can see three black pores, it is through one of these pores that the sprout emerges. So, by definition, a coconut also qualifies as a seed. So it is also a nut, allowing them to be classified as both fruits, seeds and nuts.

So if you are allergic to nuts in general, I'd avoid coconut until you can talk to a doctor or maybe even get an allergy test.

Okay what about Coconut Milk, like the below:

View attachment 397102

Apparently, it is the protein in nuts that people react to and nut allergy is not the same as coconut allergy, which is rare, so, your NOT likely to be allergic to coconut anything just because you are allergic to nuts-- -- that said, people who ARE allergic to coconut, it can cause them to have difficulty breathing needing rushed to the hospital, so be careful.

 

[Likkmee]

 

[toobfreak]

So is Coconut considered ANY part of the actual nut family? I ask this because of an allergy to ALL nuts. What about Coconut milk? If you had a nut allergy could you use Coconut milk on eg. cereal?

Here's more:

Should people with tree nut allergy avoid coconut?


Tree nuts include almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, cashew nuts and pistachios. People who are allergic to tree nuts sometimes ask us if they are likely to react to coconut because of the name. Foods that are close biological relatives often share similar proteins, which can lead to a process called cross-reactivity – where a person allergic to one food also reacts to another. But the coconut is a member of the palm family and only distantly related to tree nuts. The botanical distance between coconuts and tree nuts would suggest that people with tree nut allergy should be able to tolerate coconut and studies have shown that this is generally true. Therefore, there is no general recommendation that patients with tree nut allergy should avoid coconut.

Rare exceptions have been reported in scientific research papers. Two people allergic to walnuts were found to react to coconuts due to a cross-reacting protein. Another person who was allergic to coconut suffered symptoms of oral allergy to several tree nuts. A cross-reacting protein found in both coconut and hazelnut was identified as the cause.

The medical reviewer of this article, who works in a busy NHS allergy clinic, occasionally sees patients who had been mistakenly advised that they were allergic to coconut due to the misinterpretation of the results of a popular allergy blood test. The test is called ImmunoCAP fx1 Mixed Nuts and it is available to GPs in some areas. It checks to see if one or more nut antibodies (specifically peanut, hazelnut, brazil nut, almond or coconut) is present in the blood serum. If the test is positive, it indicates an allergy to at least one nut, but it does not mean that the patient is allergic to all of them. In order to confirm this, a separate test to each nut should be carried out. However, not all NHS laboratories do this as a matter of routine when the test is positive unless they have been specifically asked to do to so.

If you have been told you are allergic to coconut but are unsure if a separate coconut allergy test has been carried out, or if you are allergic to one or more tree nuts and don’t know if you are allergic to coconut, we would advise you to ask your GP to arrange for a coconut allergy test.

Coconut Allergy

Coconut allergies can arise with contact from any coconut products, including coconut oil, cream, milk, flesh, in both food and cosmetics.

www.anaphylaxis.org.uk

 

[sparky]

has anyone asked the professor?

~S~