Canola Oil: Friend Or Foe To Keto Diet?

Canola oil is a highly refined seed oil, similar to corn oil and soybean oil. It is made from the seeds of the rapeseed plant, a flowering plant in the Brassica family. It is a popular choice for cooking due to its neutral taste, high smoke point, and low cost. However, it undergoes intensive industrial processing to become edible, and there are concerns about its potential health risks. Canola oil is highly processed, rich in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats, and unstable, which can lead to the build-up of harmful compounds when heated. Additionally, it is often made with genetically modified rapeseed, which is sprayed with large amounts of pesticides. For these reasons, it is generally discouraged on the keto diet.

Canola oil is highly processed

The high level of processing that canola oil undergoes is concerning because highly processed foods have been linked to adverse health effects. Studies have shown that highly processed foods may contribute to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, high blood pressure, and other health issues. Therefore, opting for less processed alternatives, such as olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil, may be a healthier choice.

In addition to being highly processed, canola oil also contains high levels of omega-6 fats, which can promote inflammation in the body when consumed in excess. This imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6 fats can further increase the risk of chronic health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cognitive decline.

While canola oil is often recommended for cooking due to its neutral taste, high smoke point, and low cost, it is important to consider the potential health risks associated with its consumption. Making gradual changes by replacing canola oil with healthier alternatives can be a good strategy to improve one's diet and overall health.

It's rich in omega-6 fats, which can cause inflammation

Canola oil is not the best cooking oil for optimal health. It is highly processed, rich in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats, and unstable. These factors could lead to worse health outcomes.

Firstly, canola oil is highly processed. It must undergo intensive industrial processing to become a clear, tasteless oil that is appropriate for cooking. This involves extracting the oil from the seed, degumming, neutralizing, washing and drying, bleaching, dewaxing/winterization, and deodorizing.

Secondly, canola oil is rich in omega-6 fats. While we need a specific ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fats for optimal health, we are currently consuming larger quantities of omega-6 than ever before, due mostly to these oils. This imbalance promotes inflammation, which is a driver of several chronic health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cognitive decline.

Finally, canola oil is unstable and oxidizes quickly. Canola oil and other seed oils are rich in polyunsaturated fats, which are especially fragile. This makes them prone to breaking down into free radicals and other harmful compounds when heated. When the oil is heated and cooled repeatedly, this problem is compounded, and large quantities of these compounds can lead to oxidative stress, causing damage to the body at a cellular level.

It's unstable and oxidises quickly

Canola oil is unstable and oxidises quickly, which can lead to adverse health outcomes. The oil is rich in polyunsaturated fats, which, unlike saturated fats, are not fully saturated with hydrogen and therefore less stable. This means that canola oil is especially fragile and prone to breaking down into toxic by-products when heated.

When canola oil is heated and cooled repeatedly, such as in restaurants that serve fried food, large quantities of these harmful compounds can be produced. This can lead to oxidative stress, which causes damage to the body at a cellular level and could contribute to chronic health problems such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Therefore, it is recommended to limit the consumption of canola oil and other highly processed seed oils, such as soybean and corn oil, and opt for more stable oils like extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and animal fats.

It's made from genetically modified rapeseed

Canola oil is a genetically modified version of rapeseed oil. In the 1970s, scientists in Canada used traditional plant cross-breeding to create canola by removing two undesirable components from rapeseed: glucosinolates and erucic acid. The name "canola" is a portmanteau of "Canadian" and "oil" (or "ola"), emphasising its origin.

Rapeseed oil was historically restricted as a food oil due to its content of erucic acid, which can be harmful to cardiac muscles in high quantities. Rapeseed oil from standard cultivars can contain up to 54% erucic acid. Canola oil, on the other hand, is limited by government regulation to a maximum of 2% erucic acid by weight in the US and the EU. These low levels of erucic acid are safe for human consumption and do not cause harm.

Canola oil is also known as low erucic acid rapeseed (LEAR) oil and is generally recognised as safe by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The development of canola oil has allowed rapeseed oil to become more widely used, as it now has a more favourable nutritional profile and much less erucic acid.

Genetically modified canola has become a controversial topic, sparking contentious legal battles. While GMO foods have been approved for human consumption, concerns remain about their potential impact on the environment, public health, crop contamination, property rights, and food safety. Over 90% of canola crops in the United States and Canada are genetically engineered, primarily to improve oil quality and increase herbicide tolerance.

The creation of canola oil has made rapeseed oil more accessible and suitable for human consumption, addressing the limitations of its high erucic acid content. However, the widespread use of genetically modified canola continues to be a subject of debate and individual preference.

It's sprayed with pesticides

Canola oil is not recommended for a keto diet due to its high polyunsaturated fat content. When exposed to high heat, these fats quickly break down into toxic by-products. However, canola oil is an excellent vehicle for eliminating pesticide residues. Its use as a pesticide has a low overall toxicity rating and no known risk of runoff. Canola oil is also not listed on the US EPA or CA Proposition 65 lists.

Canola oil is an effective and affordable way to remove pesticide residues from aqueous ginseng extract. In a study, six different vegetable oils were compared for their ability to remove pesticide residues. While soybean oil had the highest efficiency, canola oil was the best in terms of organoleptic properties, with no undesirable odour or taste. The study concluded that canola oil was the best vehicle for eliminating pesticide residues in aqueous ginseng extract due to its efficiency, organoleptic properties, health and environmental benefits, cost-effectiveness, and lack of impact on ginsenoside levels.

Canola oil is also used as an insecticide, specifically to target pests such as aphids, black scale, spider mites, squash bugs, and more. It is important to take precautions when using any type of pesticide, including canola oil, to minimise exposure and potential risks.

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