Recently I have heard a lot of comments about canola oil being unhealthy and have been warned not to consume it. I am not very knowledgeable about oils, so thought I would look into it, especially since I have a huge jug of canola oil on the floor of my pantry! I also have a big jug of coconut oil, some olive oil and butter in the fridge. After doing some reading, I think I will be sticking with the latter three and disposing of the first.

It seems that doctors, nutritionists and the general public alike are not in agreement on the health effects of canola oil. I read many educated opinions that ranged from it being completely safe and having health benefits to no one should ever consume it EVER because it's a toxin.

I think my opinion falls somewhere in the middle.

First let me tell you what proponents and opponents agree upon and then I can let you decide for yourself who you side with.

If you pick up a bottle of canola oil in the store, it most likely has a picture of a yellow flower on it. So, most of us naturally assume that this oil comes from some part of the canola flower. Technically, I guess that's true. Except that there is no such thing as a canola flower. The word Canola comes from combining "Canada" and "ola" (which means oil). That's because Canadian scientists developed canola oil. They started with rapeseed oil but had to go back and genetically modify the plants to reduce their erucic acid content. Prior to it being modified, it was inedible, toxic even. A much smaller amount of that toxic substance (erucic acid) still exists in the GMO oil, but the small amount is considered safe to consume by the EPA.

Canola oil has a high amount of omega-3s which is something that we should be consuming more of. However, they have to be handled with care and not overheated. Using canola to cook at high temperatures is not a good idea. When the oil is processed, they use high heat, which causes free radicals (carcinogens) to form within the oil. The high heat also causes some of the unsaturated fats to convert to artificial transfats. Artificial transfats are the worst kind of fat that exists.

The oil is also processed with hexane to deodorize it. Trace amounts of hexane are left in the oil. Hexane is a very volatile solvent (boiling point 69ºC, or 156ºF) with a very low toxicity (LD50 in rats of 49.0 milliliters per kilogram). Hexane has been used to extract oils from plant material since the 1930s, and “there is no evidence to substantiate any risk or danger to consumer health when foods containing trace residual concentrations of hexane are ingested” .

So it seems that those who trust the studies saying that canola oil is safe for human consumption, are willing to believe that it is healthy and fine to consume. They believe that it has a positive effect on ones cholesterol levels when used to replace saturated fats in the diet. But those who take issue with GMO foods and who would rather see long term studies done on canola oil's health effects, are opposed to its consumption.

For me it still boils down to eating whole foods and reducing processing. Since canola oil has to be highly processed and that processing results in less than desirable side effects, I am inclined to stick with natural oils such as olive, coconut and animal fats.

Whole foods are the best foods!