Coconut Milk
Coconut Milk: moderate in histamine and nickel; low in tyramine, salicylate, FODMAPs and sorbitol. If you're sensitive to any of these, check it against your profile before eating.
Intolerances
- Histamine (+liberators / DAO inhibitors)Moderate
Coconut milk splits into two products with different histamine: the tinned cooking milk, which is coconut and water and little else, and the carton drink, which is mostly water with stabilisers and gums. The tin is the shorter ingredient list of the two, and on this axis the ingredient list is the whole question.
Sources· 2
- Maintz & Novak, Am J Clin Nutr 2007
- Zuberbier et al., EAACI/GA2LEN urticaria guideline
- NickelModerate
Coconut milk is pressed from the flesh, and the palm draws its nickel from sandy coastal soil. Measured directly, it sits between the low plant beverages and the nut-based ones - the fat carries little, the solids carry the rest. Coconut is one of the few plant foods measured for this axis in its own right: the level follows a survey of essential and non-essential metals across COCONUT PRODUCTS, which is why the water, the flesh and the milk do not all read the same here.
Sources· 1
- Ahmed M. et al., J Food Compos Anal 127 (2024) 105943, essential and non-essential metals in coconut products
- TyramineLow
Coconut milk is unfermented and mostly water. Plant milks have been surveyed for biogenic amines and the unfermented ones come back low; it is the cultured versions - the yogurts and the aged nut cheeses - that move.
Sources· 1
- Sen N.P., Journal of Food Science 34 (1969) 22-26, per-food tyramine content
- SalicylateLow
Coconut is mild in salicylate and tinned milk is mostly water and fat. Check the tin for added flavourings, which is where anything higher would come from.
- FODMAPsLow
Coconut milk has a SERVE LIMIT in the Monash tables, with sorbitol as the sugar that sets it. A splash in coffee is comfortable and a glass is not. The bigger trap is that two different products share this name — the tinned kind used for curry is several times the concentration of the carton kind poured on cereal. Read the tin as food and the carton as drink. Tuck measured the tinned kind and puts a number on that serve limit: 0.24 grams of FODMAP per serve, classified low. The limit is real and it is not a warning about a spoonful.
Sources· 4
- Monash University FODMAP tables
- Muir J et al., J Agric Food Chem 57 (2009)
- Yao CK et al., J Hum Nutr Diet, dietary sorbitol and mannitol
- Tuck C et al., J Hum Nutr Diet 31 (2018), FODMAP content per serve of plant-based and processed foods
- SorbitolFODMAPsLow
Coconut milk carries enough sorbitol for it to be the sugar that caps a serving: the Monash tables place three-quarters of a cup inside the low range and name sorbitol as what limits it, not fructose and not the fructans. Tinned coconut milk and the thinner carton kind are not the same product, and it is the carton kind that gets poured by the glass.
Sources· 1
- Monash University FODMAP composition tables and app — a per-serve threshold and not a content: it says where a portion stops being low, never how many grams sit in 100 g
- SucroseNone
- LactoseFODMAPsNone
- OligosaccharidesFODMAPsNone
- FructoseFODMAPsNone
- OxalatesNone
- GlutenNo
Intolerance levels are based on our documented scientific sources. See sources →
React to Histamine (+liberators / DAO inhibitors)? Check these too
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Frequently asked questions
Which intolerances does Coconut Milk affect?
Coconut Milk is notable for histamine, nickel, tyramine, salicylate, FODMAPs and sorbitol. Clear on sucrose, lactose, oligosaccharides, fructose, oxalates and gluten.
Does Coconut Milk contain histamine?
Coconut Milk contains moderate levels of histamine. Coconut milk splits into two products with different histamine: the tinned cooking milk, which is coconut and water and little else, and the carton drink, which is mostly water with stabilisers and gums. The tin is the shorter ingredient list of the two, and on this axis the ingredient list is the whole question.
Does Coconut Milk contain nickel?
Coconut Milk contains moderate levels of nickel. Coconut milk is pressed from the flesh, and the palm draws its nickel from sandy coastal soil. Measured directly, it sits between the low plant beverages and the nut-based ones - the fat carries little, the solids carry the rest. Coconut is one of the few plant foods measured for this axis in its own right: the level follows a survey of essential and non-essential metals across COCONUT PRODUCTS, which is why the water, the flesh and the milk do not all read the same here.
Does Coconut Milk contain tyramine?
Coconut Milk contains only low levels of tyramine. Coconut milk is unfermented and mostly water. Plant milks have been surveyed for biogenic amines and the unfermented ones come back low; it is the cultured versions - the yogurts and the aged nut cheeses - that move.
Does Coconut Milk contain salicylate?
Coconut Milk contains only low levels of salicylate. Coconut is mild in salicylate and tinned milk is mostly water and fat. Check the tin for added flavourings, which is where anything higher would come from. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.
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