Fats in the diet are extremely important. Without the right ones, our bodies cannot 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. What is Canola Oil? Back in the day, 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 unfavourable substances:1) Erucic acid: a fatty acid that caused heart damage in some rat studies 2) Glucosinolates: bitter compounds that made the oil taste badRapeseed oil was eventually turned into an edible oil, selective breeding techniques were used to “create” seeds that contained less of these harmful, bitter 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.Bottom Line: Canola oil is extracted from rapeseeds that have been bred to contain less of some unfavourable substances. Most of the world’s canola crop is genetically modified.
