Reacting to Olive Oil

[artsyadventurer]

Hi all! I was not sure where to find an answer to this (after multiple google searches  ) so hopefully this is an ok spot.

 

Part of my Whole 30 journey has been figuring out what foods work well for my body - Whole 30 and non-Whole 30. I frequently get red, hot cheeks after eating certain foods, but I have had a hard time pinpointing the culprit. A few weeks ago, I started to suspect that it was olive oil used in my cooking - I could also feel a difference when eating food cooked in EVOO vs coconut oil. So I cut olive oil out for two weeks and only used coconut & avocado oil. Last night, I decided to try roasting my potatoes in EVOO to see if anything occurred. Immediately, my cheeks were bright red and burning.

 

So my questions are... has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone know what causes this? Should I be on the look out for any other related foods? Meaning - every source I read says that EVOO is supposedly sooo good for your skin internally and externally. It seems odd. 

[Oldehiker]

I have my doubts with EVOO on me too, been suspecting it for a few years, haven't tried eliminating it yet. But I'd say why can't you react to it? You may have an olive allergy.

[jmcbn]

It's unusual but not impossible to suffer an olive allergy. Most cases involve an allergic reaction to the pollen from the olive tree rather than the actual fruit, resulting in asthma like symptoms.

If you've eliminated the potential culprit, seen an improvement in symptoms, then seen the symptoms return upon reintroduction of the offending item then I'd say it's likely you have an IgE type allergy and you should go back to excluding them.