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Canola Oil: Everybody Can Benefit From It

by Sharon Hopkins

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What is canola oil?
Canola oil is often confused with rapeseed oil that has higher content of erucic acid, which is unfit for human consumption. This negative association of canola oil with rapeseed oil could be due to the fact that many years ago canola oil was made from rapeseed plant.

A plant similar to rapeseed plant was developed by plant breeders that contain very low levels of erucic acid. The new oil was named canola oil to distinguish it from rapeseed oil. A limit has been set by food and drug administration for the erucic acid content in oil.

Canola oil has 0. 5 to 1 % erucic acid content which is much below the recommended amounts. For many years rapeseed oil was used in cooking, but it has a distinct taste a disagreeable greenish color (due to the presence of chlorophyll) and gets rancid very easily. However after knowing its undesirable effects in humans, its usage was diminished.

Canola oil benefits –

Canola oil has very low saturated fatty acid and as high as 60% monounsaturated fatty acid with added goodness of omega-3 fatty acid, making the oil healthier then the other oils. Canola oil is a made up word from 2 different words – Canada and oil. Canola oil was originated in Canada and is considered the second highest vegetable oil source of omega-3 fatty acids after flaxseed oil. Canola oil like flaxseed oil contains both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, but the ratio is different. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of flaxseed oil is 0.3:1 while in canola oil it is 2:1. Canola oil is considered one of the most heart healthy oil as it has the highest ratio of unsaturated to saturated fats. Canola oil is also believed to decrease the total cholesterol levels, reduce serum triglycerides and prevent the platelets from sticking to each other. Heating canola oil above 120 degrees or more may change some fatty acids to trans fatty acids (due to high omega-3 content) that may be responsible to raise the total cholesterol levels and lower the high density lipoproteins (HDL cholesterol) or good cholesterol in the body. Canola oil is a vitamin E source and provides appreciable amounts of vitamin E (1 tbsp provides 2.9 mg of vitamin E). Canola oil is also good vitamin K source and helps inhibit thrombosis. Canola oil is not recommended along with other blood thinning drugs or supplements.

Canola oil has a neutral flavor and can be blended with other healthy oils before using for culinary purposes. Compared to other vegetable oils it blends well with vinegar and other salad dressings as it is less prone to separation.

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