Have you ever heard of a canola plant? I’ve heard of walnuts, sunflower, Olives, etc. I’m also familiar with the oil extracted from these. But who has heard of a canola plant?

The name is treacherous. CANola is a Canadian bred modified RAPESEED and so named for CANada.

It is highly touted for alleged beneficial effects on blood lipids. You’ll find it everywhere, especially where stores and restaurants are looking for a cheap (disregarding toxicity) alternative to olive oil. Canola was developed to lower the amount of highly toxic erucic acid in rapeseeds. The “health food store”, Whole Foods, (now Amazon), has canola oil in most of its cooked and deli foods where olive oil should be. I see it flying off the shelves as it is touted to be healthy. But is it?

One journal reported: “After 15 years of continuing research on canola oil since the latest review by Dupont et al.,2 evidence shows a number of potential health benefits of canola oil consumption. Canola oil can now be regarded as one of the healthiest edible vegetable oils in terms of its biological functions and its ability to aid in reducing disease-related risk factors and improving health.”

Current research is expected to provide more complete evidence to support the health-promoting effects of canola oil when consumed at levels consistent with dietary guidelines. But please note that the report’s supposed “funding”

“This work was supported by the Canola Council of Canada and the U.S. Canola Association.”

A Classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse?