Sure Foods Living - for celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and food allergies

I am happy to report that Glutino gluten-free pretzels no longer contain soy flour, which was a main ingredient before. There is still soy lecithin, but many soy-sensitive people do not need to avoid soy lecithin as it contains low levels of or no soy protein (check with your doctor).

Glutino pretzels come in many shapes: Sticks, Twists, Unsalted Twists and Sesame Rings. All are delicious!

The ingredients of the Pretzel Sticks and Twists are: corn starch, potato starch, palm oil, sugar, sea salt, cellulose gum, soy lecithin, sodium bicarbonate, yeast extract, sodium acid pyrophosphate, citric acid, sodium hydroxide. The Unsalted is without the salt and the Sesame is with sesame added.

Another gluten-free pretzel that is very good is Ener-G’s Wylde Pretzels, which also comes in salted, sesame and poppyseed flavors.

I am quite proud and excited (probably more than my kids) that I made an allergen-free gingerbread house. No gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, or nuts. It was fun! And not so hard with a little help from Pamela (of Pamela’s Products) and Sue (a reader of this blog). I used Pamela’s recipe for the gingerbread house and I used Sue’s suggestion for how to make egg-free icing to hold it together. It all worked beautifully.

After I baked the house, I assembled it by piping the “frosting glue” onto the house. Sue’s suggestion was to use 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar to 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar, plus a little water. I made the mistake of putting a tablespoon of water in the beginning and the frosting wasn’t thick enough so I had to keep adding more sugar and cream of tartar. I ended up using 10 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 5 tablespoons of cream of tartar and 1 tablespoon of water. This made more than I needed, so I would cut it down next time and go slow on the water. But one thing is certain — it really did work like glue. It tasted horrible, but no one really eats the seams of the house anyway (and does anyone actually eat the gingerbread, or just the candy?).

For the frosting on the rest of the house and to stick the candy, I made Pamela’s vanilla frosting mix so it would be yummy when my girls were decorating and later picking off the candy to eat. Again, go slow on the liquid to make sure that it is thick enough. I highly recommend getting frosting piping bags and tips, as this makes it so much easier and more fun. We decorated the house with leftover Halloween candy that is free of the major allergens. We used Mini Sweetarts, Starburst, Jelly Bellys (no peanut butter flavor), Skittles, candy canes and mini-marshmallows.

I sifted powdered sugar over the whole scene to make snow, and yippee! We did it — an allergen-free gingerbread house! This will definitely be a tradition at our house from now on.

When I think of the holidays, I think of See’s Candies. Every year at our big family gathering, we open the boxes of assorted chocolates and pass them around during the gift-opening frenzy. When I was little I was guilty of taking a bite of one, and if I didn’t like it, putting it back in the box — but everyone has done this, right?

When I started to be gluten-free I was wary of eating any of the candies, but now there is good news from See’s for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance! On 12/20/08, I received the following information via email regarding gluten and the top 8 allergens:

GLUTEN-FREE CANDY

“In response to your request for information about the presence of gluten in our candies, our Quality Assurance Manager has advised that we have reformulated our products and eliminated wheat as a direct ingredient in all of our candies packed in standard boxes.  Some of our packaging for our Awesome Candy Bars still lists flour (wheat) however this is no longer the case.  We also do not use rye, barley, oats or malt as ingredients in our candies.  Therefore, none of our Custom Mix pieces contain gluten as a direct ingredient and cross contact is no longer a possibility.  This would include our Peanut Brittle, Krispys, and our Sugar Free products.

You may have noticed that we do have some products which are manufactured for us.  Some of these items that do not contain gluten are our Milk Chocolate Drops, Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips, Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Foil Novelties, Sugar Sticks and Sour Chews.  As we’ve noted, most of our products are gluten free.

However, we do have a few items which our Quality Assurance Department does not consider to be gluten free because of their decorations or they are produced in a facility that processes gluten.  These are all decorated Creams (decoration), Springtime Truffles (decoration), Egg Nog Truffles (decoration), all Climber Canes, Puppet Canes and Candy Canes, and the 3 oz. Bordeaux, Chocolate Walnut, and Dark Raspberry Hearts (decorations).  Also, all of our decorated Easter Eggs may contain gluten because of their decorations.  The only decorated Easter Eggs that would not contain gluten are our 9.5 oz. decorated Rocky Road Egg and our 13.5 oz. decorated Chocolate Butter with Pecans Egg.

In addition to the information above, we wish to advise that the distilled apple cider vinegar used in our Butterscotch Lollypops and Little Pops is grain based.”

DAIRY-FREE CANDY

“Our Quality Assurance Department has advised us that our Dairy Free products would be:

• Citrus Twists (Summer item)
• Fancy Mixed Nuts
• Hot Hearts (Valentine’s Day)
• Jelly Bean Eggs (Easter)
• Licorice Medallions
• Nonpareil Jelly Eggs (Easter)
• Peppermint Twists
• Sour Bats (Halloween)
• Sour Bunnies (Easter)
• Sour Hearts (Valentine’s Day)
• Sour Stars (4th of July, Christmas)
• Sugar Sticks

By Dairy Free we mean no milk, milk fat, butter or cream would be used in making these products.”

SOY-FREE CANDY

“Our Quality Assurance Department has advised us that we use Soy Lecithin in all of our milk, dark, and white chocolate pieces.  The only pieces that do not contain soy as a direct ingredient are:

• Apricot Bon Bon
• Cocoanut Bon Bon
• Maple Pecan Bon Bon
• Orange Bon Bon
• Tipperary Bon Bon
• Almond Royals
• Bordeaux Pecan Fudge
• Butterscotch Kiss
• Chocolate Walnut Fudge
• Peanut Brittle
• Pecan Roll
• Pecan Royal
• Scotch Kiss
• Vanilla Nut Caramel
• Vanilla Walnut Fudge
• Walnut Roll
• Black Cherry Lollypops (Spring item)
• Butterscotch Lollypops and Little Pops
• Café Latte Lollypops and Little Pops
• Vanilla Lollypops and Little Pops
• Pumpkin Spice Lollypops (Fall item)
• Cinnamon Lollypops (Christmas item)
• Root Beer Lollypops (Summer item)
• Climber Canes
• Candy Canes (Christmas item)
• Fancy Mixed Nuts
• Licorice Medallions
• Sugar Sticks
• Peppermint Twists
• Nonpareil Jelly Eggs (Easter item)
• Jelly Bean Eggs (Easter item)
• Hot Hearts (Valentine’s Day item)
• Sour Bats (Halloween item)
• Sour Bunnies (Easter item)
• Sour Hearts (Valentine’s Day item)
• Sour Stars (4th of July & Christmas items)
• Citrus Twists (Summer item)
• Sugar Free Peanut Brittle
• Halloween Puppet Canes (Halloween item)

Most of these pieces are produced in the same facility and share the same candy lines.  While our kitchens are kept very clean it is possible that the pieces listed above may contain traces of soy from other pieces.  The Sour Bats, Sour Bunnies, Sour Hearts and Sour Stars state they contain trace amounts of soy on their packaging however this is no longer the case for these items.  They are produced in a facility that is now soy free.”

EGG-FREE CANDY

“Our Quality Assurance Department advises that the following pieces do not contain eggs or egg whites as a direct ingredient:

Milk Chocolate:

• Almond Bud
• Almond Square
• Milk Beverly
• Milk Bordeaux
• Milk Buttercream
• Butterscotch Square
• Brittle-ette
• Café Latte Krispy
• Milk California Brittle
• Chelsea
• Milk Chocolate Butter
• Cocoanut
• Mayfair
• Milk Almond
• Milk Cherry
• Milk Molasses Chip
• Milk Pattie
• Milk Peanut
• Milk Raisin
• Milk Walnut
• Milk Small Chip
• Milk Large Chip
• Mocha
• Orange Cream
• Peanut Butter Pattie
• P-Nut Crunch
• Pecan Bud
• Strawberry Cream
• Vanilla Nut Cream

Dark Chocolate:

• Dark Bordeaux
• Dark Buttercream
• Dark California Brittle
• Dark Cocoanut Cream
• Cocoanut Special
• Dark Chocolate Butter
• Dark Almond
• Dark Cherry
• Dark Molasses Chip
• Dark Pattie
• Dark Peanut
• Dark Raisin
• Dark Walnut
• Dark Small Chip
• Dark Large Chip
• Ginger
• Ginger Krispy
• Maple Walnut
• Marzipan
• Mincemeat
• Mint Krispy
• Normandie
• Orange Krispy
• Peanut Square
• Raspberry Cream
• Walnut Square

White Chocolate:

• Apricot Delight
• Cashew Brittle
• Kona Mocha
• Polar Bear Paw

Bon Bon:

• Apricot Bon Bon
• Cocoanut Bon Bon
• Maple Pecan Bon Bon
• Orange Bon Bon

Miscellaneous:

• Almond Royal
• Bordeaux Pecan Fudge
• Bridge Mix Milk Almond
• Bridge Mix Milk Molasses Chip
• Bridge Mix Milk Butterscotch
• Bridge Mix Milk Pecan
• Bridge Mix Milk California Brittle
• California Crunch
• Chocolate Walnut Fudge
• Peanut Brittle
• Pecan Roll
• Pecan Royal
• Summertime
• Toffee-ette
• Vanilla Walnut Fudge
• Victoria Toffee
• Walnut Roll

Lollypops & Little Pops:

• Black Cherry Lollypops (Seasonal piece - April/May)
• Butterscotch Lollypops & Little Pops
• Café Latte Lollypops & Little Pops
• Chocolate Lollypops & Little Pops
• Vanilla Lollypops & Little Pops
• Pumpkin Spice Lollypops (Seasonal piece - October/November)
• Cinnamon Lollypops  (Seasonal piece - November/December)
• Root Beer Lollypops (Seasonal piece - June/July)

Candy Bars:

• Awesome Peanut Brittle Bar
• Bordeaux Bar
• Butterscotch Pecan Bar
• Dark Chocolate w/Almonds Bar
• Milk Chocolate Bar
• Milk Chocolate w/Almonds Bar
• Milk Chocolate w/Toffee Nuggets
• Awesome Walnut Square Bar
• 62% Cacao Dark Bar

Truffles:

• Almond Truffle
• Blueberry Truffle
• Café Au Lait Truffle
• Café Hazelnut Truffle
• Cranberry Orange Truffle
• Dark Chocolate Chip Truffle
• Dark Chocolate Truffle
• Keylime Truffle
• Lemon Truffle
• Light Chocolate Truffle
• Mint Truffle
• See’s Apple Pie Truffle
• Pecan Pie Truffle
• Pineapple Truffle
• Pumpkin Pie Truffle
• Raspberry Truffle
• White Mint Truffle
• White Raspberry Truffle

Sugar Free:

• Peanut Brittle
• Peanut Clusters
• Walnut Clusters
• Almond Clusters
• Dark Bar

All Year Novelties:

• Fancy Mixed Nuts (Salted Nuts can)
• Licorice Medallions
• Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
• Milk Chocolate Drops
• Sugar Sticks (all flavors)
• Peppermint Twists
• Milk Chocolate Novelties
• White Chocolate Novelties
• Dark Chocolate Novelties

Valentine’s Day items:

• Hot Hearts
• Sour Hearts

Easter items:

• Nonpareil Jelly Eggs
• Jelly Bean Eggs
• Peanut Butter Egg (2 oz.)
• Bordeaux Egg (2.0 oz.)
• Chocolate Walnut Egg (2.0 oz)
• Cocoanut Egg (2.0 oz)
• Bordeaux Egg (4.0 oz)
• Sour Bunnies

Summer items:

• Sour Stars
• Citrus Twists

Halloween items:

• Orange and Chocolate Wafers
• Sour Bats

Christmas items:

• Candy Canes
• Sour Stars

Most of the candies listed above are produced in the same facility and share the same equipment as the candies that contain eggs or egg whites as a direct ingredient.  Our kitchens are kept very clean, but it is impossible to guarantee that the pieces listed will not contain trace amounts of eggs.  Therefore, while some items do not contain eggs as part of their recipe all of our candies may contain trace amounts of eggs.”

NUT-FREE CANDY

“In reference to your question regarding pieces without nuts, we offer the following information.  We use the same machinery for some of our candy pieces and most of our candy pieces are produced in the same facility.  Our kitchens are kept very clean, but it is impossible to guarantee that a small particle of a nut will not become airborne and land on a piece of candy that is not supposed to have nuts.  Therefore, while some items do not contain nuts, nut oils, or nut pastes as part of their recipe all items manufactured by See’s Candies may contain traces of nuts including peanuts.

There are only a few candies that we would recommend for people who are allergic to nuts.  The following pieces are produced in facilities that do not process any items that contain nuts:

• Assorted Sugar Sticks
• Black Cherry Lollypops (seasonal item available in Spring)
• Butterscotch Lollypops & Little Pops
• Café Latte Lollypops & Little Pops
• Cinnamon Lollypops (seasonal item available mid-November through December)
• Citrus Twists (seasonal item available in Summer)
• Chocolate Lollypops & Little Pops
• Hot Hearts (seasonal item available for Valentine’s Day)
• Jelly Bean Eggs (seasonal item available for Easter)
• Licorice Medallions
• Milk Chocolate Drops
• Nonpareil Jelly Eggs (seasonal item available for Easter)
• Peppermint Twists
• Pumpkin Spice Lollypops (seasonal item available October through November)
• Root Beer Lollypops (seasonal item available in Summer)
• Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
• Sour Bats (seasonal item available for Halloween)
• Sour Bunnies (seasonal item available for Easter)
• Sour Hearts (seasonal item available for Valentine’s Day)
• Sour Stars (seasonal item available for 4th of July and Christmas)
• Vanilla Lollypops & Little Pops”

SHELLFISH/FISH-FREE CANDY

“Finally, we do not use shellfish or fish as an ingredient in any of our products.”

Thank you, See’s, for taking the time to make such a list. Several other chocolate companies I called could not provide me with this information.

I just found this video called Gluten-Free Christmas and thought it was pretty funny. I love all the photos of the old-time holiday foods — so much gluten! Thank goodness we’ve got great gluten-free recipes these days… but I still wouldn’t want a fruitcake!

If you didn’t find this funny… if it made you depressed, perhaps you should read my article from last year:
Holiday Food Allergy Blues

The holiday parties are in full swing with more on the way. If you are the host of an event this season, you may feel stressed or put out by someone with a food allergy or special dietary request. I mean, you have enough to do already, right? It is normal to feel this way, but keep in mind that anything you do to accommodate that person will be so appreciated. It is a hard time of year for those who can’t eat to their hearts delight, but here are three things you could do to make it easier for the person with special dietary needs. It would truly be a wonderful gift!

1. Call or Email

If you know that someone has a special dietary need, contact them ahead of time. Give him/her a call and discuss the menu. Sometimes what you have planned, or at least part of the meal, may already be okay and you don’t have to worry about it. Or, perhaps a simple substitution or ommission of something may make the food okay for that person. Or, the person may tell you not to worry about it at all, that they will bring their own food. Even if you end up not being able to make the accommodations, the person will be thankful that you thought to ask them about it ahead of time.

2. Know Ingredients and Save Labels

I have often shown up at someone’s house for a party not expecting to be able to eat anything. But if I am able to ask about ingredients or read package labels, I may find that I can. Don’t be offended if someone asks you for the package to read labels, even if you have told them that you think it is okay - it is just something we food-intolerant people have to do to save ourselves from making mistakes! So if you just don’t throw away the labels until after the party, it would be a great help!

3. Serve Things Separately or Not at All

Keeping different foods on separate plates helps a person avoid foods to which they are intolerant. For example, if you know someone can’t have gluten, serve the crackers and cheese on separate plates. This way there is less chance for the crackers crumbs to contaminate the cheese and the gluten-free person can still enjoy the cheese alone. (We gluten-free people have no problem eating hunks of plain cheese!)

You might also consider serving sauces and add-ins on the side. A gluten-intolerant person may be able to have a meat dish without the sauce. A dairy-intolerant person may be able to have your salad if you don’t put the feta cheese in it. If people add these things themselves it will allow everyone to be able to eat the meal.

If you know someone is deathly allergic to something, consider not serving it at all. This may seem obvious, but often there is a bowl of nuts at a party where there are nut-allergic kids. Even if the allergic person doesn’t eat it, the liklihood that those nuts will end up on the floor or somewhere else is high. Plus, it just might make someone so nervous, especially parents of allergic kids, that they won’t even enjoy your party. Skip the nuts — people won’t even miss them.

Well…

I’m off to a party tonight… wonder if there will be anything there I can eat! If you know someone who might need this information, you can email them the link using the little email button below.

Q. Is it common for kids (my son is 2.5) to have false negatives? How much does his IgA level affect the testing? My son has never had growth issues, is it still possible for his symptoms to be caused by Celiac? Can Celiac be jump started by rota-virus? Can the testing be misread?

Sorry for all the questions, but my son (2.5) has had chronic diarrhea, as well as many other issues, since he was hospitalized with rotavirus. After 2 endoscopes the cause of his problems is still undiagnosed. He is IgA deficient, but nobody has mentioned much about that, but I have read that can affect the testing.

A. Since the tTG antibody test is an IGA antibody, IgA deficiency will make the tests falsely negative. An IgG tTG test would be helpful, as would HLA DQ2, DQ8 genetic studies. If any of those are positive, he needs an intestinal biopsy. He may well have post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome, especially if there was stress at the time of the initial rotavirus infection. Very low doses of aminosalicylates such as balsalazide (use about 250mg in applesauce) daily could help.

Health and happiness,
Dr. Aron

Have a question for the doc?

I know many of you are searching for a way to make a gingerbread house that is gluten-free. Well, I have to admit I have never done it, mainly because my kids haven’t been old enough to make it worth all the effort. But this year, I may actually attempt it.

I am thrilled that Pamela (she always comes through!) has created a way to use her bread mix to make the house. Not only is it gluten-free, but it is dairy-free, soy-free (you can use palm shortening) and can be made without eggs too, using egg replacer. (The only challenge will be the icing if you can’t have eggs. I am still researching how to do this. If anyone can help, please let me know!)

So, without further ado, here is the recipe:

Pamela’s Best Gingerbread House

Ingredients:
1 bag Pamela’s Wheat Free Bread Mix (Do not use enclosed yeast packet)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/3 cup unsalted shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg (or egg replacer for 1 egg, prepared)
1/2 cup mild or light molasses for lighter cookies or dark molasses for darker cookies
1 to 2 Tablespoons water

Use heavy duty stand mixer, dough is heavy.

In a medium bowl, combine Pamela’s Wheat Free Bread Mix with salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger. Whisk together thoroughly. Do not use the yeast packet in this recipe.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream shortening with sugar. Add egg, mix to incorporate. Add molasses, mix to incorporate. Add dry ingredients, mix to incorporate. Add water. Continue mixing gently together until dough comes together. If needed, add an additional tablespoon of water. (Dough prepared with egg replacer may require more or less water.)

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before rolling out.

Use template (see below) to cut out house pieces. Roll dough out at 1/4 inch. Cut out one house piece at a time on parchment using template. Leave the cookie on parchment and pull away excess dough from around cookie. Trim excess paper around cookie to about 1-inch, then transfer cookie on parchment to baking sheet. Multiple pieces can fit on one baking sheet. Remove templates from cookies before baking.

Bake cookies twice to dry enough for building a house. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Then turn off oven leaving cookies inside with door shut. Leave them to cool completely in the heat of the oven (3 to 4 hours). When cool, remove cookies from oven, preheat oven again to 350°, then bake for an another 10 minutes. Turn off oven with cookies inside with door shut, leave until cool. Construct the house using Pamela’s Royal Icing (see recipe below) made with Pamela’s Vanilla Frosting Mix. Decorate using candies stuck into the icing.

Pamela’s Gingerbread House Template (You need Adobe Acrobat to read these, for a free download of Adobe Acrobat Reader click here.)
Gingerbread House Front & Back
Gingerbread House Roof
Gingerbread House Sides

Pamela’s Royal Icing

Mix one bag Pamela’s Vanilla Frosting Mix with 1 teaspoon Cream of Tarter and two egg whites. For salmonella concerns, substitute equivalent of 2 eggs with dried egg white powder* or meringue powder* prepared. Mix on high until icing thickens and stiff peaks form. Icing will harden when dry. Great for gingerbread houses!  Terrific for using to stick candies* on cookies! For the truly creative, try adding food color* for colored icing.

*Consumers concerned about gluten should check that all flavorings and additional ingredients added to recipes are gluten-free.

Is a house too hard? How about gingerbread men instead?

Thank you Pamela!!

I have been hoping for a while that someone would make a granola using uncontaminated gluten-free oats. You know, a “real” granola for gluten-free people! Well, someone finally has — Jake Bakes, a dedicated allergy friendly bakery in northern New Jersey, is using certified gluten-free oats to make three different flavors of granola.

They sent me a sample of the Farmer’s Market Granola, which I loved, and they also have Agave Granola and Chocolate Granola. All granolas are gluten-free, dairy-free, nut and peanut-free. They do contain soy in the vegan margarine. I really love this granola for snacking!

I also tried two kinds of cookies - Chocolate Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin (no soy in this one). They have nteresting ingredients, including certified gluten-free oat flour and mesquite flour. I really liked the cookies — very sweet (might be too sweet for some people) and satisfying. They also have other flavors: Oatty Chocolate Chip, Chewy Gingerbread and Double Chocolate Ginger.

If you like homemade marshmallows, Jake Bakes offers four flavors of big, square-cut, soft marshmallows — vanilla, strawberry, chocolate and espresso. So much better than the store-bought kind! Need more sweet stuff? Try their Caramel Corn or Sweet Spiced Caramel Corn - I wasn’t crazy about the spices and cranberries in this one, but I liked the caramel corn part, so I would probably love the plain.

Any of the above options would make a nice treat for yourself or for someone you love this holiday season!

You can learn more about Jake Bakes by visiting their website. You can order their products online, by phone: (973) 588-3513 or email: info@jakebakes.com.

Related article:
What’s the deal with oats?

I am extremely annoyed by a recent article in Newsweek online where Dr. Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, is quoted as saying, “I don’t think people should torture their children unnecessarily,” referring to people who put their children on a gluten-free diet without a diagnosis of celiac disease.

While I highly respect Dr. Green and Dr. Fasano, both quoted in the article, I really think that doctors need to start thinking outside the celiac box when it comes to gluten. They know that 1% of the population has celiac, defined by a blood test and biopsy. But can they know for sure that the other 99% of the population does NOT have a problem with gluten? No, they can’t know this, and they don’t know this.

Perhaps the celiac blood tests are actually doing more harm than good to a segment of the population that has some form of gluten intolerance but not the strictly defined celiac disease. Here’s why: Someone goes to his doctor, gets tested for celiac, tests negative, is told he doesn’t have celiac and therefore can eat gluten, and is sent on his merry (unfortunately, not so merry) way. How sad for those people who would feel better on a gluten-free diet — but won’t try it because the tests and the doctors tell them they don’t need it, and shouldn’t go on a gluten-free diet… because it is torture! Because fibromyalgia, headaches, sleep disorders, learning disabilities, and rashes are much better than a gluten-free diet.

I really don’t understand why a doctor wouldn’t say, “Sure, try it. See how you feel and let me know what happens.” What could it hurt? And how about autistic children? Dr. Fasano is quoted in the article as saying, with regards to autism, “I don’t think there’s too much scientific basis to justify [the] broad intervention of a gluten-free diet.” So what? It’s not like autism is scientifically based in the first place… the medical community doesn’t know why it happens or why it is increasing, but it is. Why not try the diet? If it helps any autistic children, doctors should suggest it or at least not discourage it.

“I’d rather have chemotherapy again than do a gluten-free diet.” This is what a 65 year old man said to me today after I suggested that an autoimmune disease he has (polymyalgia rheumatica — the same one my mom had before going gluten-free) could be helped by a gluten-free diet. He had been through chemotherapy for prostate cancer. What? Someone would choose chemotherapy over giving up wheat? That sounds absolutely crazy to me… I guess people have different ideas of torture!

Want to read more? Here’s another opinion on the article from a mother of a child with autism.

Tree-nut allergy confusion? Hope this helps…

Is coconut considered a tree nut?

There is conflicting information on whether coconut must be avoided by people who are allergic to tree nuts.

Coconut has not in the past been considered a tree nut, but in 2006, the FDA began to define coconut as a tree nut. However, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, “the available medical literature contains documentation of a small number of allergic reactions to coconut; most occurred in people who were not allergic to other tree nuts. Ask your doctor if you need to avoid coconut.”

According to Allergy New Zealand, “coconuts are not tree nuts but are monocotyledonous plants of the palm family Arecaceae. Nut bearing trees, on the other hand, are dicots and are only distantly related to the palm species. Coconut rarely causes allergy. Most allergists will not suggest coconut avoidance unless there has been an allergic reaction to coconut.”

My daughter, who is allergic to cashews (and we don’t know yet about other tree nuts), eats coconut. We have never avoided it and never had a problem. I think that some people may have a coconut allergy in addition to a tree nut allergy, but whether the two are related remains unclear.

What about palm oil?

A friend told me that a pie she saw in a store had on the ingredient label “palm oil (a tree nut allergen)”. This is a case of the manufacturer not understanding what constitutes an tree-nut allergen, because palm oil does not come from a tree nut.

Palm oil comes from directly from the tree but has nothing to do with a tree nut. In addition, palm oil does not contain any proteins to which people are allergic. I verified this fact on phone with FAAN. Palm oil is safe for tree-nut allergic individuals, unless they also have an allergy to palm oil (highly unlikely).

Is a water chestnut a nut?

A chestnut is a nut, but a water chestnut is a vegetable. No problem for the tree-nut allergic!

Does nutmeg come from a nut?

Nutmeg comes from the seeds of a tropical tree. It is not a nut and therefore safe for nut-allergic people. Someone might be allergic to nutmeg for other reasons, but a nutmeg allergy is probably rare.

Any other questions? Comment below and I will answer!