When considering nut allergy is coconut a fruit or a nut?

My 3 year old is severely allergic to tree nuts and this is question I have for the pead at next appoint 160507 just thought someone might know the answer before then

just to clarify she is not allergic to peanuts but tree nuts (cashews walnuts...)

A coconut is NOT a fruit, nor is it a true nut. I believe you can safely eat it, but ask your own personal doctor if you have ANY quanderies regarding your safety. Here is what I found on WIKI: Botanically, a coconut is a simple dry nut known as a fibrous drupe (not a true nut). The husk (mesocarp) is composed of fibers called coir and there is an inner "stone" (the endocarp). This hard endocarp (the outside of the coconut as sold in the shops of non-tropical countries) has three germination pores that are clearly visible on the outside surface once the husk is removed. It is through one of these that the radicle emerges when the embryo germinates. Adhering to the inside wall of the endocarp is the testa, with a thick albuminous endosperm (the coconut "meat"), the white and fleshy edible part of the seed. The endosperm surrounds a hollow interior space, filled with air and often a liquid referred to as coconut water, not to be confused with coconut milk. Coconut milk is made by grating the endosperm and mixing it with (warm) water. This produces a thick, white liquid called coconut milk that is used in much Asian cooking, for example, in curries. Coconut water from the unripe coconut, on the other hand, is drunk fresh as a refreshing drink.

When viewed on end, the endocarp and germination pores gives to the fruit the appearance of a coco (also C么ca), a Portuguese word for a scary witch from Portuguese folklore, that used to be represented as a carved vegetable lantern, hence the name of the nut.[1] The specific name nucifera is Latin for nut-bearing.

When the coconut is still green, the endosperm inside is thin and tender, often eaten as a snack. But the main reason to pick the nut at this stage is to drink its water; a big nut contains up to one liter. When the nut has ripened and the outer husk has turned brown, a few months later, it will fall from the palm of its own accord. At that time the endosperm has thickened and hardened, while the coconut water has become somewhat bitter.

When the nut is still green the husk is very hard, but green nuts rarely fall, only when they have been attacked by moulds, etc. By the time the nut naturally falls, the husk has become brown, the coir has become dryer and softer, and the nut is less likely to cause damage when it drops. Still, there have been instances of coconuts falling from palms and injuring people, and claims of some fatalities. This was the subject of a paper published in 1984 that won the Ig Nobel Prize in 2001. Falling coconut deaths are often used as a comparison to shark attacks; the claim is often made that a person is more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than by a shark. However, there is no evidence of people being killed in this manner.[2] However William Wyatt Gill, an early LMS missionary on Mangaia recorded a story in which Kaiara, the concubine of King Tetui, was killed by a falling green nut. The offending palm was immediately cut down. This was around 1777, the time of Captain Cook's visit.

In some parts of the world, trained pig-tailed macaques are used to harvest coconuts. Training schools for pig-tailed macaques still exist in southern Thailand and in the Malaysian state of Kelantan. Competitions are held each year to discover the fastest harvester.

Nut... a fruit has seeds within its flesh, a nut is the seed

Most nut allergies are to peanuts. They are not really nuts and have 2 problems. Many nuts are subject to fungi called Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus which produce aflatoxins.

If you buy regular peanut butter, you won't get the fungus but will be subject to fungicide. If you buy organic you won't get the fungicide but will get the fungus. I have heard that marantha uses batches of peanuts without fungicide and that have been checked for alfatoxins.

Coconut and fruit allergies are very rare.