Rethinking Canola Oil–A Healthy Oil or Just Good PR?

Canola oil was created in 1978 from rapeseed that was bred to be fit for human consumption. Traditional rapeseed oil contains toxic levels of glucosin and high levels of erucic acid. Canola stands for “CANadian Oil, Low Acid” The name change from rapeseed to “canola” was a marketing technique to distinguish it from regular rapeseed oil and to make it a more marketable product. Rape comes from the latin word “rapum” which means turnip and the rapeseed plant is the same family as the turnip, brussel sprout, cabbage, kale and mustard seed plants. According to Wikipedia, 80% of canola is produced from genetically modified canola that is resistant to herbicide. Which means they can spray the crop with herbicide to kill the weeds and the canola plant will not be affected. You can read more about Round Up Ready Canola HERE. Which is wonderful for the farmers, but not so great for consumers of canola oil.

According to Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on our Children, chemicals are tested alone and not in combination and “The pesticide Roundup, for instance, is more dangerous in its finished formulation than its active ingredients.” 1 Yikes. Plus canola oil has to be highly refined to get the oil and can be a source of trans fatty acids, according to Dr. Mary Enig, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Maryland, who has brought public awareness to the dangers of trans fats. It is, as promised, low in saturated fat. But too low in saturated fat to be used exclusively in the diet–as we need some saturated fat to function and “Cholesterol is vital for the development and function of the brain.”2