Fats in the diet are extremely important.Without the right ones, our bodies can not function properly.
However… there is a lot of confusion out there about the health effects of different fats and oils.
One cooking fat that is heavily marketed as a healthy choice is canola oil.
It is low in saturated fat and high in unsaturated fats, including Omega-3 fatty acids.
The manufacturers call it the “world’s healthiest cooking oil” – although some experts disagree.
This article takes an in-depth look at canola oil and how it can affect your health.
What is Canola Oil?Back in the day, an oil called rapeseed oil was often used for industrial purposes.
It was cheap to produce, but people couldn’t eat it because it contained some unfavorable substances:
This is how canola was born… but “Canola” is a marketing term. It stands for Canadian Oil (some believe it stands for Canada Oil, Low Acid).
Canola is actually not a unique plant. It’s just a name for rapeseeds that have been bred to be low in these undesirable compounds.
Since the year 1995, biotech giant Monsanto has manufactured rapeseeds that are genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide RoundUp.
Today, about 90% of the world’s canola crop is genetically modified.
However… there is a lot of confusion out there about the health effects of different fats and oils.
One cooking fat that is heavily marketed as a healthy choice is canola oil.
It is low in saturated fat and high in unsaturated fats, including Omega-3 fatty acids.
The manufacturers call it the “world’s healthiest cooking oil” – although some experts disagree.
This article takes an in-depth look at canola oil and how it can affect your health.
What is Canola Oil?Back in the day, an oil called rapeseed oil was often used for industrial purposes.
It was cheap to produce, but people couldn’t eat it because it contained some unfavorable substances:
- Erucic acid: a fatty acid that caused heart damage in some rat studies.
- Glucosinolates: bitter compounds that made the oil taste bad.
This is how canola was born… but “Canola” is a marketing term. It stands for Canadian Oil (some believe it stands for Canada Oil, Low Acid).
Canola is actually not a unique plant. It’s just a name for rapeseeds that have been bred to be low in these undesirable compounds.
Since the year 1995, biotech giant Monsanto has manufactured rapeseeds that are genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide RoundUp.
Today, about 90% of the world’s canola crop is genetically modified.
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