CANOLA OIL AND THE DANGER IT POSES TO YOUR HEALTH A few years ago I wrote an article on canola oil. Because it so heavily used today, I always like to remind people of the danger it poses to your health. Despite what you think canola oil does not come from corm. Canola actually stands for “Canadian oil low acid”. On a side note its original name was LEAR (Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed). But as you can imagine with a name like that it didn’t sell well. The name was eventually changed to canola and BAM a cooking oil star was born. It has been heavily marketed with much success as the world’s healthiest oil, because it is low in saturated fat and mimic omega-3 fats and monounsaturated fats (olive oil). Stores like Wholesfoods uses it a lot in their hot bar, you can find it at most health food stores, and in the recipes of many health books. WHERE DOES CANOLA OIL COME FROM? Canola oil actually comes from genetically modified (GMO) rapeseed. By the way normal rapeseed has high levels of Euric Acid, which in case you didn’t know is the source of mustard gas, which blisters skin on contact. But the GMO rapeseed used to make canola, is said to have less than 1-2% of the harmful erucic acid, “safe” for human consumption. Of course I would take that word “safe with a grain of a salt which I will explain later. HOW IS CANOLA OIL MADE? Manufacturers tout canola oil as being naturally made, but when looking at this video https://youtube/watch?v=omjWmLG0EAs#t=173, I beg to differ. WHY IS CANOLA OIL DANGEROUS? Much like high fructose corn syrup canola oil is highly refined. To extract the oil a combination of high temperature mechanical pressing, and solvent (usually hexane) is used. Even after refining, some of the some that solvent will still remain in the oil. It will also go through a process of caustic refining, bleaching, and degumming, which also involve high temperatures and other chemicals. Now here is where it gets interesting. Because canola is high in omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, which can become quickly rancid and foul-smelling when subjected to oxygen and high temperatures, it must be deodorized. Now the deodorization process extracts a large portion of the omega-3 fatty acids, by converting them into trans fatty acids. Now the health problems associated with trans-fats are well documented. Of course the manufactures will tell you that canola oil only has 0.2% of trans fatty acids. But because of the process making canola, many health experts believe that the 0.2% is more than likely higher. Another major problem with canola oil is that its come from GMO rapeseed. GMO plants are resistant to herbicides such as Monsanto’s Roundup. Which basically means famers can spray theirs crops, and kill weeds or any green thing for that matter, but not the plants. The health effects from consuming products from GMO crops have come into question much more over the last few years. Researchers are finding growing links between the increased rates of autism, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and sever imbalances in gut bacteria. CONCLUSION In a nutshell folks stay away from canola oil. It is a highly refined oil product which has a smoke point of over 400 °F. FYI, you cannot heat a healthy unrefined oil/fat very high without denaturing it. Canola oil is also potentially contaminated with herbicides, and possibly higher than stated hydrogenated fats (definitely refined fats). In studies done when given to rats, they develop fatty degeneration of heart, kidneys, adrenals, and thyroid glands. When it was removed from the rat’s diet, these fatty deposits went away. In addition, that 1-2% percent Euric Acid level just does not sit well with me. So do yourself a favor family and stay from canola oil. This is easier said than done because if you like to eat out, many restaurants use canola oil. So actively research your favorite restaurants to see what types of ingredients they used in their dishes. Also at home try healthier substitutes such as coconut oil. By the way compare this video of coconut oil being made to the one above on canola https://youtube/watch?v=wITniMLm89Y. Not sure about you, but to me this process seems closer to natural . As always I hope you found this information useful. In the meantime stay fit and well family.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 21:24:06 +0000
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