Palm Oil Allergy or Intolerance

Updated: January 8th, 2020

There are many consumers who avoid palm oil for health reasons. This may include dietary or allergen concerns. Yet the question remains, is palm oil good or bad for you?

While environmental concerns may still be a leading reason people avoid palm oil, there is a growing segment who seek alternatives because they experience reactions from it.

Others may be concerned about palm oil’s saturated fat content.

What are palm oil health dangers? Are there palm oil health benefits? What’s the difference between red palm oil and palm oil?

Is palm oil saturated or unsaturated?

As reported in health.com, palm oil’s nutritional profile is similar to other edible and cooking oils. According to the USDA, one tablespoon is the equivalent to 120 calories and 14 grams of total fat.

Of those 14 grams, 7 grams are in the form of saturated fat, and 5 grams are monounsaturated fat. There are 1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat. .

Palm kernel oil contains 11 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon.

To compare, olive oil contains 2 grams of saturated fat.

Palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil are high in saturated fat.

Many health and wellness experts believe food high in saturated fat negatively affect the heart.

What is saturated fat?

In general, the higher the saturated fat content, the more solid it is at room temperature.

This makes it ideal for baking. It also contributes greatly to mouthfeel — think creamy products like ice cream, frozen desserts, chocolate candies, dough, canned frosting, margarine, and more.

Palm oil is versatile. Just as it can remain semi-solid at room temperature, companies can also process it into liquid form for cooking.

Is palm oil bad for your health?

There hasn’t been enough research to determine the potential health affects of palm oil. 

The US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health states the main argument against using palm oil as an edible oil is because it contains palmitic acid which is a saturated fatty acid.

They report that would contribute to rising total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. 

They note its effects on serum lipid levels and cardiovascular disease in humans is still a point of discussion.

Is palm oil dangerous to health?

This is a popular question, perhaps because there is a lot of controversy around palm oil. The biggest reason is its impact on the environment.

Palm oil has a high saturated fat content which many argue affects cardiovascular health. Most health experts recommend other oils — olive oil in particular — for cooking.

Please discuss with your health professional if you suspect you are allergic or sensitive to palm oil. Many people report having digestive issues when they have palm oil.

Demand continues 

Palm oil has become one of the world’s most widely produced edible fats. The palm oil that’s now so common in foods and non-food products comes from the African oil palm: Elaeis guineensis. 

Most of the world’s palm oil grows in Malaysia and Indonesia. 

It used to be that people who were avoiding palm oil did so because of the environment.

Now that it’s become more commonplace in foods, people are starting to take notice of it. They see it on labels more and more.

Much of this is because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned food manufacturers from adding artificial trans fats into their products.

In 2015, the FDA gave companies until 2018 to phase palm oil out of their food products; some have extensions until January 2020.

Many companies turned to palm oil as a replacement for artificial trans fats.

As companies worked through their ingredient reformulations, palm oil appeared on labels more frequently. 

Palm oil became and is now a common ingredient in margarine and other butter substititutes. It’s a staple in shortening, canned frosting, frozen desserts, desserts, candy, cookies, snack bars, and cereal. It’s in everything from Twizzlers to Dunkin’ Donuts.

Many companies are using palm oil and palm oil derivatives in new products and flavors they introduce to market. 

Consumers are eating more of it than ever before. 

While palm oil is an edible vegetable oil, non-food companies use it in many non-food products as well. 

Avoiding palm oil for health reasons

We have a popular post, Can You Be Allergic to Palm Oil. I wrote it because my son gets sick from anything with palm oil in it. There are consumers who are negatively affected by it. Palm oil affects their health. They have reactions from it, and they are seeking answers.

Whether it’s an allergy, intolerance, or sensitivity, palm oil is proving to negatively affect some people.

In addition, in BakeryandSnacks.com, the International Palm Oil Free Certification Trademark Programme (POFCAP) explained they want to “help consumers find foods without palm oil for ethical, allergen, or dietary reasons.”

POFCAP is authorized to certify products as “Palm Oil Free” in 20 countries. They have nearly 1,000 products certified.

Consumers are more exposed to palm oil

As the demand increases and its prevalence is more common in foods, consumers are eating more of it in processed and packaged foods than ever before.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that palm oil production almost doubled from 2003 to 2013. This was even before the FDA banned the use of artificial trans fats in foods.

Palm oil is now in half of packaged foods and consumer goods.

In addition to processed foods, consumers are also exposed to palm oil in cleaning products, toothpaste, cosmetics, lotion, deodorant, soap, over-the-counter medicines, sunscreen, and many more products.

Some consumers are noticing reactions to it. Others may be concerned with the saturated fat content in the foods.

Is palm oil healthy? Is palm oil good for you?

The question of whether palm oil is healthy for you is a common one. Many wonder: Is palm oil good for you?

According to Harvard Medical School nutrition experts, palm oil is better for us than artificial trans fats. However, they encourage consumers to use olive oil and canola oil because — unlike palm oil — they are naturally liquid at room temperature.

Is palm oil carcinogenic?

Healthline.com also reports that palm oil is high in saturated fat and that it’s been linked to a cancer risk. They cite a study from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which reports palm oil can cause cancer when processed at high temperatures, approximately 200 degrees Celcius (393 degrees F).

Their expert Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain found glycidol to be a carcinogenic and genotoxic. 

As reported on WebMD, the EFSA stated palm oil may cause cancer based on studies on mice. Note, the study didn’t test on humans.

Glycidyl fatty acid esters, or GEs

Glycidyl fatty acid esters (GEs) are a new class of food-processing contaminant. 

When palm oil is heated to temperatures above 200 degrees C  or higher, harmful substances form. These are called Glycidyl fatty acid esters — GEs. The highest form of them are in palm oil. Learn more here.

Avoiding palm oil for health concerns

While consumers avoid palm oil for health reasons and environmental reasons, if you have reactions to palm oil or other conditions, talk to your doctor. Please do not use this for medical advice. 

It’s very common in everyday products. It’s a very versatile oil. Companies use palm oil in many ways. 

Because palm oil has so many different applications in so many types of products, it goes by hundreds of names. Many of them do not have the word “palm” in them. This makes reading labels challenging — though it can be done! 

Here are some tips for avoiding palm oil. Limit buying processed and packaged foods. Choose whole foods such as fruits and vegetables. Cook at home. Choose food and non-food products with the least amount of ingredients.

Limiting processed foods is one of the best things you can do.

When you learn the types of products palm oil is in, you may be surprised how much you encounter each day in foods and non-food items.

Start reading labels. 

Since the artificial trans fat ban went into effect in the United States, companies needed to find other cheap alternatives. They used trans fats because they were cheap. Now they’ve turned to palm oil. 

Red palm oil health benefits

Red palm oil originally attracted attention for its health benefits. 

According to CleanEatingMag.com, the benefits from red palm oil are when the “red” in the palm oil stays intact and isn’t processed and stripped down.

Virgin red palm oil — in it’s most natural state and still red — is high in lycopene, beta-carotene, and tocotrienols.

They recommend up to 1 – 2 tablespoons per day as well as using ones that are sustainable.

Is palm oil good or bad?

RealSimple.com tries to answer the question if palm oil is bad for you. In one section, they compare the palm oil industry to that of the tobacco and alcohol industries. Palm oil is big business. It’s also very political as well.

Companies are burning and deforesting rainforests in Malaysia and Indonesia for palm oil plantations. However, in both of these countries, companies are not allowed to sell products advertising “Palm Oil Free” and “No Palm Oil.”

When you read about palm oil, it’s critical you determine the source. Also consider who may be profiting from the study or may be damaged from the study.

This is particularly important as you research sustainable palm oil and the Roundtable On Sustainable Palm Oil. There are many sides to this issue. Just because a company says it uses sustainable palm oil doesn’t mean it is.

POFCAP — the organization who certifies products as Palm Oil Free — estimates up to 80% of what’s considered sustainable is not.

This post explains how companies are forbidden to advertise their products as palm oil free and from seeking Palm Oil Free Certification labeling. By promoting a product as Palm Oil Free, this leading palm oil organization believes it suggests products without it are superior to those with it. 

So no matter what you read, be aware of who is circulating those lists and how they may benefit from positioning palm oil in a positive or negative light.

Palm oil health

Now that palm oil has become more common in foods, especially in the United States, there are questions about palm oil health. Consumers see it on labels and wonder what it is and if it’s good for them.

As consumers are more exposed to palm oil, it’s likely medical experts will take a better look at how it may affect them.

Some experts believe palm oil health dangers may surface now that consumers using more products with it (in the United States) than ever before. 

Whereas consumers come in contact with palm oil and may consume it daily, this was not the case 5 – 10 years ago. Many people unknowingly use it morning, noon and night. It’s in their soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant. It’s in their creamer and muffin as well as their granola bar, bread, and spices.

Many consumers experience trouble digesting palm oil. Others report allergy-like symptoms. If you experience reactions from palm oil, be sure to report them to the FDA. 

Report symptoms to FDA

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has a MedWatch Voluntary Reporting online form. It’s easy to complete and submit to report your symptoms. Just be sure to have the product information.

You can go to this link and click on Consumer/Patient. Another option is call them at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Health professionals continue to recommend olive oil instead of palm oil.

If you are avoiding palm for health reasons or if you are concerned with the amount you consume, you can start by reading labels. 

 

 

 

Updated: January 17th, 2020

Our son’s pediatrician wasn’t familiar with a palm oil allergy or palm oil intolerance. We requested a referral to an allergist, and at our appointment, we asked if a person can be allergic to palm oil.

Our son gets sick from palm oil.

This includes anything with palm oil, palm kernel oil, and palm oil derivatives in it, including palm olein, stearic acid, tocopherols, glycerin, vegetable glycerin, red palm oil, mono- and diglycerides, glycerine, magnesium stearate, and more.

Because of this, we consider him to have a palm oil intolerance or a palm oil sensitivity.

His allergist said there aren’t proteins in palm oil, so it wouldn’t be considered a palm oil allergy. He said there isn’t an IgE test for a palm oil allergy or intolerance.

The allergist said we couldn’t do a blood test or a skin test to test for it. He didn’t give us an EpiPen / Epinephrine Auto-Injector.

Instead, the doctor encouraged us to “build up” his system.

He suggested we supplement with pre-biotics. He reminded us to avoid processed foods, to eat a wide variety of vegetables, and to increase Vitamin D exposure from the sun. In addition, he told us to minimize gluten in his diet. 

These are all important things to do. However, it wasn’t explaining why he has allergic reactions to palm oil.

It was frustrating the allergist didn’t acknowledge someone could have a palm oil allergy, palm oil intolerance, or a sensitivity to palm oil.

He never heard of it and wasn’t particularly interested in hearing about it or hearing what we had to say about it. He dismissed the idea that our son could be allergic to palm oil.

In addition, the doctor didn’t discuss the possibilty of problems with digesting palm oil ingredients. (Nor did our son’s pediatrician.)

While he is a renowned allergist in our area, he said there wasn’t an IgE allergy test for palm oil, so there was nothing he could do.

He dismissed the idea that palm oil could cause health problems.

Sick from palm oil

Palm ingredients are prevalent in packaged foods and snacks along with cleaning products, and self-care items, like soap, deodorant, and toothpaste.

It’s been very difficult finding safe foods to eat and products to use.

Palm oil allergy symptoms

If palm oil is causing allergy symptoms for you or your child, it won’t matter if it’s organic palm oil or from sustainable palm oil products.

We know for certain our son has allergic reactions to palm oil so we avoid them all. We think it’s more than a problem digesting palm oil because even topical products affect him.

However, it took quite awhile to figure out palm oil was making him sick.

He had been sick for months with congestion, coughing and throat clearing. Sometimes he had a sore throat. Often, he would miss a few days in a row from school.

He would use boxes of Kleenex each week.

We thought it was environmental allergies but when he eliminated all packaged and processed foods, he was better in days.

At first, we thought he was allergic to sunflower oil or coconut or some other foods.

However, when we eliminated foods, performed our own food intolerance test, and logged every food he ate and product he used, we were able to figure out it was anything that included palm oil, palm kernel oil, and palm oil derivatives, like glycerin and stearic acid.

If you are wondering about a palm oil intolerance or palm oil allergy, it is important you speak with your doctor.

And if you do, please note in the Comments below anything you learn. We are hoping more medical professionals acknowledge someone could have a palm oil intolerance, become sick from palm oil, or have adverse reactions from palm oil ingredients.

Palm oil intolerance

How did we find out he has an intolerance to palm oil? It took a long time to figure it out.

I remembered how a year prior he had gotten sick after eating a Great Value brand of sandwich cookie (a generic Oreo) while at his grandpa’s home. Palm oil was in it, and I thought it was unusual. 

This happened several times over many months. Finally, I told my son to just decline them politely. 

I wasn’t familiar with palm oil and hadn’t recalled seeing it in foods we ate.

Now, palm oil even more prevalent. (Palm oil is in Oreos now as well which is disappointing.)

Palm oil food intolerance

We started thinking about all the foods he had been eating when he was sick those months.

It was in the fall, and he was eating taffy apples and Halloween candy in addition to the usual processed and packaged foods like cereal, microwave popcorn, peanut butter, and granola bars.

When we looked at the ingredients, we couldn’t believe palm oil was in every single one of those products.

Palm oil is in Skittles and Starburst candies. It’s in Ritz Crackers. It’s in most all bakery and desserts from the grocery store.

After that, we started reading all food and drink labels.

We let him have packaged foods again, trying to be sure they didn’t contain palm oil, palm kernel oil, Vitamin A Palmitate, palm olein, red palm oil, and any ingredients containing “palm-.”

At the time, we didn’t know there are hundreds of additional names for palm oil, including glycerin, glycerol, propylene glycol, tocopherols, and mono- and diglycerides. 

Palm oil can also hide in “Natural Flavors.”

While it is a huge undertaking to find safe, palm oil-free foods, we were able to find some cereal, peanut butter, snacks, candy, and more products. We’ve featured each of these as posts on this website. 

More products contain palm oil

Demand for palm oil continues to increase because the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. This is the main dietary source of artificial trans-fats.

Food manufacturers are using palm oil as a replacement for the trans-fats.

Palm oil is versatile and inexpensive.

Also, palm oil prolongs the shelf life of products and is often used to preserve freshness in foods.

Palm olein can remain a liquid at room temperature. It’s also highly heat resistant.

Companies use palm oil and derivatives to fortify their foods and drinks with vitamins.

When you see cereal or milk with a Vitamin A content of 10% or higher, it most likely has Vitamin A Palmitate in it.

You will see palm oil in the form of Vitamin E in foods as well.

It’s prevalent in personal care and cleaning products, again because it’s so versatile and works in hundreds of capacities.

Palm oil in medicine

Once you start trying to avoid it, you will see it’s very difficult to find vitamins and supplements without palm oil.

We didn’t realize we had been giving my son a vitamin with palm oil.  We have yet to find a child’s vitamin without it.

Even worse, his allergist suggested we give him Allegra on a daily basis as maintenance. He recommended it because we told him we’d occasionally given him children’s liquid Allegra.

After several weeks, we read the label and saw it contains propylene glycol. This ingredient is usually derived from palm oil!

Can you imagine how we felt when we learned we were giving him medicine with palm oil derivatives to alleviate his palm oil allergy symptoms?

To this day, we cannot find an OTC antihistamine or allergy medication without propylene glycol, magnesium stearate, and/or polyethylene glycol.

They all contain palm oil ingredients.

(Update: See our post for what we are doing for medicine without palm oil. We went to a compounding pharmacy to get allergy medications, a fever reducer, and other medicines without fillers, preservatives, etc.)

Palm oil allergy symptoms

So, what happens to my son when he uses something with or consumes something with palm oil?

What palm oil allergy symptoms and allergic reactions does he have? Some symptoms are delayed but most are immediate.

Allergic reactions from palm oil

When he ate foods with palm oil, palm kernel oil, and hydrogenated palm kernel oil, almost immediately, he would:

• Become congested
• Start to clear his throat
• Cough
• Go through dozens of Kleenex
• Hives — sometimes he would get hives
• Fever with a sore throat; both lasting for days
• Lip and mouth sores from using toothpaste with palm oil derivatives

Example of a delayed reaction:

• The next morning, he would wake up with a sore throat and need a box of Kleenex from blowing his nose so much. Sometimes this would last for days, other times, weeks. He often would miss school.

Reactions from palm oil derivatives

It’s difficult to know if palm oil may be affecting you. In our case, some of the symptoms were delayed and others were immediate.

Symptoms from Tocopherols and Tocopherols / Vitamin E

There were other times when he was getting sick from foods, and we didn’t know why.

I’m grateful we kept the cereal and cracker boxes from these foods that made him sick because we learned they all contained tocopherols.

Tocopherols are sometimes made from palm oil.

When he would eat foods with tocopherols — used to preserve freshness or as a Vitamin E supplement — some or all of these symptoms would happen:

• He became so lethargic and exhausted, completely wiped out
• He would have a change in mood/temperament
• Became itchy
• Would get a few hives

After my son went through these experiences of being so tired, itchy, and very upset, there was no way we would ever take a chance on him having palm oil derivatives again.

Tocopherols aren’t usually labeled as to where they are derived from.

Some candy manufacturers are making their new flavors with “Mixed Tocopherols (to Preserve Freshness).” These are typically derived from palm oil.

We avoid all products with tocopherols.

Glycerin and Glycerine cause symptoms

These are ingredients also typically made from palm oil. They are very prevalent in nutrition bars and other types of granola bars.

Glycerin is in hard candy, cough drops, and bar soap.

My son gets congested from products with glycerin and glycerine.

Symptoms from Mono- and Diglycerides

We avoid these ingredients At All Costs. These are man-made ingredients which are often made from palm oil.

Food manufacturers use mono- and diglycerides as a replacement for trans-fats. You will see these ingredients now in ice cream, sherbet, baked goods, Pringles, sliced bread, store-bought baked goods, and many chocolate bars.

Companies use Mono- and Diglycerides to create “mouth feel” in creamy-type products. This ingredient is less expensive than using “real” ingredients such as cream, milk, cocoa butter, etc.

These make my son so incredibly sick even to the point of sometimes changing his personality. He often becomes completely exhausted and wiped out.

They also give him allergy symptoms — congestion, sniffles, sometimes hoarse voice, coughing, etc.

Symptoms from Propylene Glycol

His children’s allergy medicine contains propylene glycol and gave him sore throats as mentioned above.

Another time, we gave him a liquid children’s pain medication because he had a bump on his tongue (he bit it) which was painful.

Afterwards, he had a sore throat.

Regrettably, we continued to give him the medicine every 12 hours for two days.

I finally thought to look at the ingredients and saw there was propylene glycol in it. I couldn’t believe I gave it to him without reading the label.

We stopped giving it to him, and his sore throat was gone the next day.

Symptoms from Lecithin

After my son had a piece of gum that I thought was palm oil free, he started scratching his head — he felt so itchy. It contained lecithin. (Also, chewing gum often contains glycerin or glycol which also can be made from palm oil.)

If you see lecithin in an ingredient list, know that it’s a substance found in the oil component of certain plants. Manufacturers use it as an emulsifier so ingredients don’t separate.

Unless the lecithin is clearly labeled, as in “soy lecithin,” you won’t know if it’s made from palm.

Reactions for palm oil derivatives not on label — including Natural Flavors

Some new symptoms from palm oil are bumps around his nose and/or a recurring sore between his mouth and chin: facial dermatitis. The latest concern has been the ingredients at the source.

The really unfortunate thing about this is that these symptoms occur despite us reading labels. We know the names for palm oil ingredients and avoid them. These reactions occur to foods we think are safe.

So in addition to avoiding the hundreds of ingredient names for palm oil derivatives, we are even concerned about spices, seasonings, cereal, granola bars, and other additives in foods in their Natural Flavors.

When this happens, l email the company about the SOURCE of whatever the questionable ingredient seems to be. Most of the time, companies do not answer. 

Sometimes they are responsive enough to check with their Research & Development department who often needs to verify with the supplier.

Each time my son had experienced a reaction, and I checked with the company and they got back to me, the ingredient was treated with or processed with or made from palm oil. The ingredient came from the supplier and didn’t need to be labeled on the final product.

This makes it really daunting to try new foods.

Again, many foods with palm oil and palm oil derivatives are not healthy anyway, so no loss. But he’s a kid and that’s what makes it more difficult. Also, when the palm oil is in the spice, seasoning, or sauce and not clearly labeled, it make it very difficult.

In our home we can control the food; but when we are out, it’s a huge concern.

Nervous to eat new foods

He and I do a good job of reading labels and avoiding problematic foods.

Yet, it’s frightening giving him new foods at home, someone else’s house, or when we have to go out to eat. On vacations, we usually rent a place with a small kitchen. We carry snacks around so we don’t have to eat out as much.

In addition, we try to encourage play dates at friends’ houses around non-mealtimes. We can send him with fruit as well as other safe snacks.

While everyone is always great, we don’t want it to be an inconvenience to anyone. We also don’t want to risk him eating something he can’t have, however, well-meaning the host is trying to be.

Report your symptoms to FDA

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has a MedWatch Voluntary Reporting online form you can complete and submit to easily report your symptoms. You just need to have the product information.

Bookmark this link for later and click on Consumer/Patient. It’s easy to complete. You can also call them at 1-800-FDA-1088.

This will create awareness and alert the FDA that palm oil is causing health issues. At the very least, it may make them require companies to list palm oil derivatives on ingredient labels like companies must do in Europe.

Allergic to palm oil

Even though my son has allergic reactions to palm oil, his allergist insists he can’t be allergic to palm oil. The allergist was certain there isn’t a way to test for a palm oil allergy or a palm allergy intolerance.

It’s frustrating because we wanted a solution or a least an allergy test to confirm what we already know. We felt it would validate our findings. Also, it would make companies aware that this is something consumers avoid.

Instead, the allergist ordered blood work for food allergy testing. They ran tests for common food allergies, a cereal panel, a nut panel, and a general foods list for him.

Also, he did a skin prick test for 40+ environmental allergens.

We wanted these tests done but we still knew we needed to eliminate palm oil from our son’s diet.

Palm oil intolerance

Left without a medical name or reason, we continue to avoid all products and foods that contain palm oil and the 500+ names it goes by.

This is very difficult to do, but it can be done.

Scientific name for palm oil

Elaeis guineensis is the scientific name for the palm oil companies use in foods, cleaning products, self-care items and more. It’s commonly known as the African Oil Palm.

The United States Department of Agriculture has a website where you can learn about the classification of plants.

Here is the information for Elaeis guineensis from the Kingdom — Plantae — to the Species — Elaeis guineensis Jacq. (We’ve spelled it out in the next paragraph.)

Coconut oil allergy

There’s concern about coconut allergies being related to palm allergies. 

Many people who have a coconut allergy think they should avoid palm oil. Please speak with your doctor.

Also note, if you experience allergic reactions and think you have a coconut allergy or coconut oil allergy, be sure to discuss with your doctor.

It may be interesting to compare the USDA classification for African Oil Palm with Coconut. According to the USDA, both share the same:

Kingdom (Plantae) Plants

Subkingdom (Tracheobionta) Vascular plants

Superdivision (Spermatophyta) Seed plants

Division (Magnoliophyta) Flowering plants

Class (Liliopsida) Monocotyledons

Subclass (Arecidae)

Order (Arecales)

Family (Arecaceae) Palm family

Genus — This is where palm oil and coconut differ:

Genus Cocos L. – Coconut palm

Species — Cocos nucifera L. — coconut palm

Genus Elaeis Jacq. – Oil palm

Species — Elaeis guineensis Jacq. – African Oil Palm

Species — Elaeis oleifera (Kunth) Cortes – American Oil Palm

This is not medical advice; it’s from the USDA’s website. We included it here so you can see the botanical similarities between palm oil and coconut.

Please talk with your doctor if you have allergy symptoms or allergic reactions or get sick after eating certain foods or using certain products.

Coconuts and dates 

Also, we are happy he is able to eat dates.

Like palm oil and coconut, dates are also from the Arecaceae palm family, from the genus Phoenix L. 

So there really is something about palm oil specifically that causes him to have reactions. What exactly? We still do not know.

Can you have tree nuts and peanuts with a palm oil sensitivity?

In addition to wondering about coconut and palm oil, many worry about allergies to tree nuts and peanuts, and if you should avoid palm oil. Again, please speak with your health team. 

We are not advising you to include peanuts or tree nuts in your diet if you are sensitive to palm oil. We are sharing that our situation, our son can have tree nuts and peanuts. 

He has been able to have peanuts. Regarding tree nuts, he has safely had cashews, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, and filberts.

We try to only give him peanuts and nuts in the shell with just salt (no other flavorings or ingredients) because they have less processing.

Note, peanut butter often contains palm oil. Read labels before buying. Choose those with just peanuts and salt. Avoid “No Stir” labeling which is code for There Is Palm Oil Inside.

Again, in our situation, even though he is sensitive to palm oil, he is able to have peanuts and tree nuts. If you are sensitive to palm oil, please talk to your doctor about the connection with nuts and peanuts. 

MCT oil from palm oil

MCT stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides. These have become very popular in the last decade. People use MCT products in all sorts of ways — as supplements, cooking, etc. 

While we have bought coconut oil to cook with, and buy products with coconut, we haven’t tried MCTs from coconut,. We won’t ever buy or try MCTs made from palm oil.

Palm oil sickness

Whether or not someone can be “officially” allergic to palm oil or have a palm oil sensitivity, we are diligent about avoiding it completely.

If you are someone who experiences allergy symptoms from palm oil, you should learn how to find products without palm oil.

A sensitivity to palm oil can manifest itself in many ways. Unless you are reading all labels and tracking the all the products you use, you might not be able to pinpoint what is causing symptoms.

Names for palm oil

After doing a lot of online research to learn everything possible about a palm oil allergy or intolerance or sensitivity — there isn’t a lot of information out there because it’s not typically recognized by the medical community — I found an amazing list of alternate names for palm oil.

It’s from the International Palm Oil Free Certification Trademark Accreditation Programme.

There are over 500 alternate names for palm oil on it. You will be stunned by all the names palm oil goes by. This is their list. We have a condensed version in the next section for you to print out.

Checking ingredients for palm oil

When we are diligent about following it — checking every single ingredient against the list — he hasn’t had any issues.

I made and printed out a copy and refer to it — literally — in stores before I buy my son anything packaged or processed. I walk around with the list in my purse.

Then at home, before he eats a new packaged food, I double check the ingredients against the list. You can print it here.

All of his hygiene items are palm oil free.

My son and I have learned some of the hidden words for palm oil to look for so that we can scan ingredient lists quickly. This makes it a lot easier. It’s also been helping my son for when he is out places without me.

Also, this helps us to support palm oil free products and to do our part to not support the palm oil industry.

Please note, palm oil can be hidden in “Natural Flavors” on ingredient labels.

Using a palm oil free app

We also use Spoon Guru to double check ingredient lists. This is a free app which scans for palm oil. Many other apps scan for sustainable palm oil. Spoon Guru scans for any palm oil.

Avoiding palm oil if it makes you sick

In addition to using the list, you can:

1) Look for the obvious words:

• Palm oil
• Palm kernel oil
• Hydrogenated palm kernel oil
• Red palm oil
• Organic palm oil
• Organic red palm oil

2) Watch for these ingredients:

• Vitamin A Palmitate
• Tocopherols
• Glycerin
• Stearic acid
• Magnesium stearate
• Mono- and diglycerides
• Sulfates (in non-food items)

3) Look for these prefixes:

• Glyc-
• Laur-
• Palm-
• Stear-

4) Know what products usually contain palm oil and palm oil derivatives:

• Baked goods: anything baked and packaged
• Candy and gum
• Cereals
• Milk
• Nutrition bars and granola bars
• Packaged desserts: cookies, donuts, pastries, muffins, cakes/cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, etc.
• Shortening, margarine, frosting, spreads
• Toothpaste, shampoo, mouthwash, sunscreen, cosmetics, lotion
• Vitamins, supplements, medicine

5) Know what to watch for:

• Chewy, gummy or stretchy foods
• Foods with chocolate, caramel, peanut butter
• Fortified foods
• Vitamin A of 10% or greater

It’s so important to read labels every time.

We were shocked to learn how some companies change ingredients and are now including palm oil.

In the last year, HoneyComb Cereal, Peanut M&M’s, and Mr. Goodbar changed ingredients and are now using palm oil.

In addition, several products that didn’t contain palm oil are now discontinued. This is the case with several M&M’s flavors, including Dark Chocolate Mint. We are concerned they are changing ingredients in their Almond M&M’s as well because they have been difficult to find in stores. 

Companies that make new flavors and introduce new products often use palm oil derivatives.

They may try to hide them in Tocopherols, Mixed Tocopherols, Tocopherols (to maintain freshness), and Tocopherols / Vitamin E. 

6) Support products with Palm Oil Free labeling

Learn which products have earned Palm Oil Free certification and be loyal to them. Tell companies to apply to get their products certified.

Palm oil intolerance means finding palm free solutions

Like our family, you will find some products without palm oil, and you will be loyal to them. This will make it a lot easier.

Be sure to only introduce one new packaged food (or self-care product) at a time.

Even when we checked ingredients closely, sometimes we missed an ingredient or didn’t know an ingredient was made with palm derivatives.

See some of our additional lists of palm oil free products:

• Products without palm oil
• Pretzels without palm oil
• Cookies without palm oil
• Peanut butter without palm oil

Fresh, whole, unprocessed foods are best.

Be willing to make changes. Instead of buying pre-made desserts and baked goods, make your own. (Be sure to make frosting from scratch; avoid fondant; avoid shortening. See our post about desserts without palm oil.)

We are in the process of researching other categories of foods and self-care products. Please look around our website for categories. We update this site regularly, and post to social media daily.

See our post for what he eats.

Because my son gets so sick from anything with palm oil, for now, I use vinegar, baking soda, and Norwex cloths to clean.

Palm free personal care items to stay healthy

If you experience palm oil allergy symptoms, you may want find palm free soap, deodorant, and more.

My son had lip sores that wouldn’t heal. At the time, we didn’t know palm oil ingredients are common in toothpaste.

A friend gave us Lip Serum by Rodan + Fields to try to help him. While it healed his lips overnight, he woke up sick with a sore throat, runny nose/congestion, coughing and other allergic reactions.

When I looked at the label, I saw there were at least two palm oil derivatives in the product.

He missed two days of school from being so sick.

Another time, he used soap in a hotel and had the same allergic symptoms. Again too late, I looked up the ingredients online and saw it contained palm oil.

Now we bring his hygiene items with us when we travel. These are the personal care products he uses. 

Palm oil allergy symptoms

If you have allergic reactions to foods and/or self-care items that contain palm oil and palm oil derivatives, it’s a real thing.

It may not be an official diagnosis of being allergic to palm oil, but if it affects you, you should try to avoid it.

We can only hope the FDA takes notice. You can do your part by reporting your symptoms to them.

The increased demand for palm oil is a real issue — most likely for our health and definitely for our environment.

Hopefully some innovative companies will apply for Palm Oil Free certification labeling. They will advertise their brands as “palm oil free” just like companies promote “fat free,” “gluten free,” “no high fructose corn syrup,” etc.

There is a palm oil free certification label you can look for. This company ensures all of the ingredients — down to the source — are free from palm oil. They are registered in 20+ countries.

It can be great marketing for companies, especially when so many packaged products contain palm oil.

We hope more companies will eliminate it from their foods, cleaners, and personal care products.

Palm oil allergy test

Our allergist said there isn’t a palm oil allergy test as there isn’t an available serum-specific IgE to the oil. So officially, you can’t be allergic to palm oil.

He tested our son for all the common food allergies but he didn’t have any except for two false positives, according to the allergist.

Therefore, we continue to perform our own food intolerance test to see what his food sensitivities are. So far, it seems palm oil and palm oil derivatives are the only problem.

We work hard to eliminate personal care products and food with palm oil so he can be healthy. Even though the allergist said he can’t be allergic to palm oil because there aren’t proteins in it, we know our son gets sick from palm oil.

Problem digesting palm oil

We learned palm oil is a medium chain triglyceride (MCT). Through our doctor and online research, we learned MCTs bypass “traditional” digesting.

Meaning, palm oil is absorbed into the bloodstream from the gastrointestinal tract more easily and faster.

This is interesting because depending on the palm oil ingredient, our son has some symptoms almost immediately.

However, we don’t believe it’s solely a digestive issue or something to do with palm oil being a medium chain triglyceride.

Coconut is also a medium chain triglyceride. Our son can tolerate coconut perfectly fine. (Please discuss with your doctor if you suspect a coconut allergy; there are allergy tests for it.)

Or maybe he does have trouble digesting palm oil and palm oil derivatives, but there is something additional that it does to his body. Palm oil seems to be affecting at least one other system.

Some palm oil ingredients give him immediate, traditional allergy symptoms. Some give him a delayed sore throat which leads to a longer-term illness.

There are others that affect his entire body immediately or within 1-3 hours, changing his mood and making him lethargic, sad, feeling a sense of doom, etc.

On separate occasions, when he used deodorant, lip balm, toothpaste, and soap with palm oil derivatives, he had symptoms. Often he became very ill.

Sometimes his reactions happened quickly, within 1 – 5 minutes of using them. Other times, they were delayed. For example, he showered at night with hotel soap and woke up sick.

These ingredients were absorbed into his body and into the bloodstream through his skin, not digested per se.

Palm oil allergy or intolerance

After a year and a half of logging foods and symptoms, we are absolutely certain our son has an intolerance to palm oil.

It’s not a recognized allergen or common intolerance. The allergist focused on other things. For example, increasing Vitamin D exposure from the sun and boosting our son’s overall health with prebiotics. 

We are working to improve his gut microbiome. We are giving our more son real, whole, unprocessed foods. For desserts, we bake from scratch. He has learned to do without. In addition, we are learning about ways fermented foods may help.

This is all well and good, yet, we know palm oil affects him negatively.

We want to know why he is sensitive to palm oil.

Palm oil allergy symptoms

My husband and I can watch him be completely fine, and then eat something with palm oil in it, and have symptoms within minutes.

Because of this, we are always researching products without palm oil.

As you may be finding, palm oil is prevalent in the majority of packaged foods as well as personal care items and cleaning products. It’s difficult to live a palm oil free life.

We started this website as a place for others to find products free from palm oil. Also, we wanted to educate others who think they are getting sick from palm oil, think they are allergic to palm oil, or may have a palm oil intolerance.

Please leave a note in the Comments why you searched for this topic. Do you suspect you have a palm oil sensitivity? Why? Please share below.

It doesn’t seem the medical community recognizes people can be sick from palm oil. We are trying to create awareness. As companies use palm oil more and more, consumers are more exposed to it.

Here, we want to give you some simple ways to help discover if you may have an intolerance to palm oil or a palm oil sensitivity.

We also want to encourage you to talk with your healthcare professional and encourage you to report symptoms to the FDA via their online form.

Palm oil is in many products

Demand for palm oil continues to increase. It’s in more products than ever before and goes by hundreds of names.

Palm oil is hidden under many names, in many products, and it’s used in many different ways.

Yet, despite our increased and repeated exposure daily, allergists, pharmacists, and other medical professionals say you can’t be allergic to palm oil.

However, we know for certain it adversely affects our child. Sometimes he “just” has mild symptoms and sometimes he gets really sick from palm oil and derivatives.

How to find out if you have a palm oil intolerance

From our experience, we believe you may be reading food labels and being perplexed as to what is causing you or your child to have symptoms.

Perhaps you’re wondering if it might be palm oil or palm oil derivatives.

In this post, we’ve used our own experience to teach you how to narrow down ingredients to see if it might be palm oil and palm oil derivatives that you are intolerant to.

We continue to update this site daily. Please search for other posts on this site, especially if there is a food, self-care product, or other product you think you react to. We may have written about it.

We are not medical professionals. Please seek medical advice from your physician.

Ways to determine if you have a palm oil intolerance

Log

Keep a food journal.

This is essential and can be a simple notebook. Write down everything you eat each day. Draw a horizontal line to separate out each meal and snack time.

Notice

What symptoms do experience?

Do you have any new or unusual symptoms throughout the day? Write down the symptoms in the same notebook you are writing down your foods.

Write your symptoms to the left. If you experience them in the morning, write them closer to the top of the page, near the foods you ate early in the day, etc.

Think

Are there any products you believe are causing you to have symptoms?

Start with what you’ve noticed or what you believe may be the issue. Pay special attention to these products, and be sure to include them along with symptoms in your food log.

Follow your intuition.

Save

Be sure to save all the ingredient labels and packages when you can.

If you can’t save the package or box, take a picture of it. You will want to reference these in the future.

I break down all boxes so they are flat, and I stack them in the cabinet. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve referred to them to reread labels.

So many times, I have gone back to empty boxes and packages to read and compare labels and ingredients.

Sometimes, it was because my son had symptoms; other times I wanted to compare the ingredients from products that didn’t cause him to become sick.

Saving ingredient labels

Once, he got so sick after a party at relative’s home. I was glad I took a picture of the ingredients from the ice cream he ate.

Weeks later, when I found a list of palm oil derivatives online, I went back to look at the picture with the ice cream’s ingredients. Sure enough, it contained mono- and digylcerides. At the time he ate it, I didn’t know these are often made with palm oil.

Introduce

Only use one new product at a time.

Your body comes into contact with so many different ingredients each day. If you can start figuring out patterns of what makes you ill, you can go back to look for common ingredients in products you’ve used before.

But if you go grocery shopping, and come home with lots of new foods and other products, and use them all in the next few days, it will be very difficult to find out what is causing your symptoms.

Think of it like a science experiment. Keep everything the same and change only one thing (the new product). Watch your variables!

Read

Review all ingredients.

Read the ingredients from everything, including from your soaps, lotions, toothpaste, lip balm, deodorant and cosmetics in addition to all food.

Do you drink milk? If so, look for Vitamin A Palmitate. If you drink vitamin or sports drinks, check those labels too.

Be thorough: If it has a label, you must read the ingredients.

When you see something has palm oil or palm kernel oil in it, note that. If you experience symptoms after you eat it or later that day, circle that food.

The more you read labels, the more you will learn what to look for in certain foods, soap, etc.

Reference

Reference lists about palm oil derivatives. 

There are hundreds of names for palm oil derivatives. The Palm Oil Free Certification Accreditation Programme has made a public list for you to reference to help you avoid palm oil.

Palm oil derivatives are in milk (unless it’s whole milk), RTE cereals, candy, bread, baked goods, toothpaste, and so many more things. Start learning what they are.

Here we explain common letters combinations to make it easier to look for palm oil derivatives.

Learn

Learn all you can about how manufacturers use palm oil.

Sometimes they use it to fortify foods with vitamins, as in the case with milk and cereal.

Other times, they use it to help the consistency, as in peanut butter. In soaps, toothpaste and shampoo, it’s used to create lather and foam.

Again, keep all labels

I cannot overstate the importance of keeping labels. It will help you in different ways.

The first way…

Even after I learned alternate names for palm oil ingredients, sometimes I missed some ingredients.

This happened to me with Glycerin, Glycerine, Tocopherols, Magnesium Stearate, and Mono- and Di-glycerides.

My son got sick from eating products with each of these, and I didn’t know why. I thought they were palm oil free. Palm oil and palm kernel oil weren’t on the labels.

It was only after keeping the food journal for months and looking back at the symptoms that I singled out these foods.

I was able to go back and look through the ingredients again, and that’s when I saw these palm oil derivatives. I knew to not let my son eat them again.

The second way…

So many times, manufacturers change ingredients.

When you save the labels, you will be able to compare the ingredients if you need to.

Also, depending on where you live and where companies are sourcing their ingredients, ingredients and labels often differ.

You may wonder why a processed food that you ate awhile ago with no issues is now causing you to have symptoms. The reason could be a change in ingredients.

More products contain palm oil

There are so many examples of this happening to us. Here are some that come to mind as listed above:

1. Oreo didn’t used to contain palm oil, and now they do.
2. Ritz Crackers didn’t use to contain palm oil ingredients but they do now.
3. Peanut M&M’s didn’t used to contain palm oil but now it’s on their labels.
4. Post’s HoneyComb Cereal now contains palm oil in the form of Vitamin A Palmitate.
5. Mr. Goodbar in 2019 uses it but it didn’t used to be on their labels.
6. Most ice creams and frozen desserts contain Mono- & Diglycerides.
7. So many other products….

It took us a long time to figure out some palm ingredients. We knew certain foods were causing him to have allergy symptoms but we didn’t know why.

Keeping your labels organized or at least all in the same place will make it easy for you to reference them as you try to figure out what’s causing you to have symptoms.

Avoiding palm oil because of a palm oil sensitivity

Again, it seems the medical community isn’t familiar with palm oil allergy symptoms and palm oil intolerance.

However, when you look online and in forums, including Facebook and other sites, you will find communities of people who avoid palm oil and palm oil derivatives because they get reactions from it.

There are many people who avoid palm oil because of the devastating environmental impacts the palm oil industry has on rainforests, animals and people.

Here we researched palm oil health to learn what the experts had to say.

Palm oil intolerance

For our family, we do all we can to avoid palm oil because of the environmental issues as well.

Also, it’s one thing when palm oil would cause our son to cough and have sniffles. It’s another when he is miserable and sick for days or weeks. It’s a very serious thing to us. We don’t want to have our son be sick.

While he is a healthy eater and does great eating protein, fruits and vegetables, he still eats processed food. He needs to be able to eat safely at a restaurant. We want to be sure he can find safe choices.

We want him to have a piece of candy or gum and not get sick.

Our goal is to find a safe vitamin without palm oil.

He can only use few self-care products. We bring them with us on vacation.

Allergic to palm oil — palm allergy — palm oil intolerance

Do you get allergic reactions from palm oil? If so, you are not alone. (Thank you to everyone who has taken a moment to Comment below!)

Depending on the palm oil processing, you may not have allergy symptoms to all food with palm.

To the best of our knowledge, all palm oil products and palm oil causes allergic reactions and affects our son adversely.

Testing for palm oil allergy

Ask your doctor if there are palm oil allergy tests. Can they do allergy testing for palm oil derivatives, such as propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, vitamin E / tocopherol, or others?

Avoiding palm oil

Once you know what products contain palm oil — there are so many more than you think — you will be able to more safely avoid those products.

It’s so important to let companies know we want more products without palm oil and to support palm free products.

Please share your Comments below. Do you get sick from palm oil? Do you think you have an intolerance to palm oil? Why do you think you have a palm oil allergy?

Will you talk to your doctor or healthcare professional about palm oil?

The more attention we bring to this issue, the more manufacturers might start eliminating palm oil from their products.

Already it’s a huge environmental concern.

Discuss palm oil allergic reactions with your doctor

Please note, we are not medical professionals. This is not medical advice. Please consult with your physician about your self-care and food allergy symptoms and the possibility of a palm oil intolerance or palm oil allergy.

Your allergist or other doctor may suggest allergy testing or other tests.

The information is based on my own personal experience. While palm oil causes allergic reactions in our situation, yours may be different. If you have allergic reactions or other symptoms, please consult with your healthcare professional.

We’d love to know your experience with palm oil. Do you think you have a palm oil intolerance or allergy? Do you have reactions from palm oil? Please let us know in the Comments so we can all help each other.

Also, please report your symptoms to the FDA.

Thank you for reading and for being an Informed Consumer!