{"id":81029,"date":"2009-12-14T11:58:16","date_gmt":"2009-12-14T16:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marksdailyapple.com\/?p=9590"},"modified":"2009-12-14T11:58:16","modified_gmt":"2009-12-14T16:58:16","slug":"dear-mark-canola-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/81029","title":{"rendered":"Dear Mark: Canola Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"canolaoilI get a lot of questions about differentiating fact from fiction when it comes to all the \u201chealthy\u201d labels out there. Spanning everything from \u201cheart healthy\u201d to \u201cboost your child\u2019s immunity,\u201d these classic marketing ploys are just part and parcel for the food industry. And yet these companies wouldn\u2019t get away with the games if their claims didn\u2019t reflect conventional wisdom<\/a> on some level. The industry\u2019s marketing tactics simply manipulate already strained, twisted messages about health and nutrition. The consumer is left to wonder what\u2019s truth, half truth and bold-face scheme. Unfortunately, it\u2019s never safe to judge a product by its label. In fact, if it needs a label at all, it\u2019s already subject to questioning. The safest assumption is this: there\u2019s always more to the story.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear Mark, <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been adapting my diet to the Primal Blueprint over the last few months. I like olive oil for salads but wonder about the bottle of canola oil sitting in my cupboard. I tend to use it more for cooking, but I don\u2019t see canola oil mentioned on MDA like I do olive oil. The label says something like \u201cgood source of omega-3.\u201d Is this true? I\u2019m wondering what your take on canola is. Thanks!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to Deb for this week\u2019s question. Canola oil isn\u2019t part of the recommended Primal foods for a number of reasons actually. Of course, you\u2019ll find it everywhere these days \u2013 in bottled mayonnaise<\/a>, salad dressings, margarine spreads, etc. It\u2019s the latest darling of the \u201cheart healthy\u201d food industry, and their marketing gurus splash \u201comega-3\u201d all over the labels to catch consumers\u2019 interest. The problem is, canola oil goes through more primping and processing than a dog at a Kennel Club show.<\/p>\n

Canola was a hybrid derived from rapeseed to reduce the high erucic acid<\/a> content of traditional rapeseed oil, which had a bitter taste and toxic effects from the acid. Canola oil is also called LEAR (Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed). Like most cash crops, the largest share of the market is by far GMO-based, and one corporate GMO giant, Monsanto, has been accused<\/a> more than once of the release of unapproved GMO seed varieties. Despite all the genetic engineering, somehow canola remains one of the most heavily pesticide-treated crops. Hmmm \u2013 wonder how that all works.<\/p>\n

Continuing on the canola\u2019s journey now\u2026. Once harvested and graded, seeds are heated to facilitate oil extraction. Most canola oil is chemically extracted using the harsh petroleum-derived solvent hexane. Even when expeller pressing is used, a process common to organic brands, the massive force of industrial presses still produces heat. True \u201ccold-pressed\u201d canola oil (extracted with millstones) does exist but can be hard to find and is more expensive.<\/p>\n

Following extraction, canola oil must be de-gummed to remove unappealing solids that settle during storage<\/a>. The process involves heat and sometimes the addition of acids. Next stop, the oil is then bleached and separated. Finally, the oil (known for its stench) must be deodorized through heating methods that use temperatures as high as 500 Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n

(Frankly, the whole process is rather unappetizing<\/a> if you ask me. Deodorized food? Seriously.)<\/p>\n

This brings us back to the omega-3 issue. Polyunsaturated fats aren\u2019t the most stable fats out there. In fact, they\u2019re pretty sensitive to heat and will turn rancid quickly. Obviously, canola oil undergoes a good deal of heating and heat-related degeneration in its processing. Needless to say, this is no good. Whatever omega-3 benefit there might have been is gone \u2013 like keys in lava, as one of the old Jack Handey quotes put it. What\u2019s more is, you end up with a small but damaging amount of trans fat in your \u201cheart healthy\u201d oil. How\u2019s that for irony?<\/p>\n

My thinking is this: why bother with something so processed and unhealthy when there are umpteen other, better options out there? Olive oil<\/a>, coconut<\/a>, palm oil<\/a>, lard and ghee<\/a> are suitable for most cooking applications. And for salads and other \u201cno heat\u201d dishes, you have dozens of tasty (non-deodorized) choices, including avocado and nut oils<\/a>. As for canola, who needs it?<\/p>\n

For more on canola oil check out The Great Con-ola<\/a> by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig and join the discussion in our forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m sure many of you have something to say about this oil. Share your knowledge and thoughts in the comment board, too. Grok on!<\/p>\n

Get Free Health Tips, Recipes and Workouts<\/a> Delivered to Your Inbox<\/em><\/h4>\n

Related posts:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Dear Mark: Cooking Omegas<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Dear Mark: Arachidonic Acid<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Dear Mark: Is Flax Bad?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I get a lot of questions about differentiating fact from fiction when it comes to all the \u201chealthy\u201d labels out there. Spanning everything from \u201cheart healthy\u201d to \u201cboost your child\u2019s immunity,\u201d these classic marketing ploys are just part and parcel for the food industry. And yet these companies wouldn\u2019t get away with the games if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81029\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}