Peanut Allergy and Coconut Oil

by Marlene
(Albuquerque, NM)

My son is severely allergic to peanuts. Can he ingest coconut oil safely?

Hi Marlene,

Coconut oil is considered to be a low allergy-risk food. Some may be allergic to it, but a true allergy to coconut oil is rare.

There is a simple way to test your son’s reaction to coconut oil. All you have to do is rub some coconut oil into your son’s skin. Wait a day and see what happens. If the skin becomes red or swollen, he may be allergic. If nothing happens, he probably isn’t. One application should be enough to know if he’s allergic or not.

Some people report their skin breaks out in a rash when they start using coconut oil, internally or externally. Two things could be happening. It could be a cleansing reaction and the body is expelling toxins. The other is the uncommon allergic reaction to coconut oil.

Within the first week of taking coconut oil, I had a moderate acne breakout on my face, arms and chest. At first I said to myself, coconut oil is no good. But after another week, the breakout stopped and it never happened again. It’s been almost four years since and my skin is currently as youthful as it possibly can be.

Hope this helps,
Frederick