286934 Tue Feb 13 17:15:08 -0800 2001 26 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1540591 I just received an alarming email regarding canola oil. It claimed that the word "canola" comes from the Canadian Oil company and that canola oil is made from rapeseed oil which is toxic. Does anybody out there know if this is true? I'm about to search the web to find out but I'd like to hear from somebody who knows. Tue Feb 13 17:15:08 -0800 2001 0 Joan Winston 1 1540592 Canola oil IS made from the rapeseed plant, but I have not heard that it is toxic. In fact, it seems to be highly recommended by most health/medical authorities, similar to olive oil. Tue Feb 13 17:35:54 -0800 2001 1540591 0 rjka 2 1540594 Could be that the email was sent by the people who make corn oil in a sort of smear campaign attempt. But I think I'll toss out my bottle of canola oil anyhow, just in case. Tue Feb 13 18:29:06 -0800 2001 1540592 0 Joan Winston 3 1540595 with all due respect, throwing out your bottle is nuts. Im not throwing out mine just yet. Rapeseed or canola oil is a major cooking oil in many countries, and as noted has health benefits. Im not aware of any bad info about it. I do believe that it is being marketed as "canola" in north america because the food companies were squeamish about the name "rape"seed. Perhaps with good reason. If you develop more info, why not post it? Tue Feb 13 18:43:00 -0800 2001 1540594 0 jen kalb 4 1540596 When I was in the countryside of England I saw field after field of yellow blossomed plants literally as far as one could see. I thought it must be some sort of flowering mustard plant. The locals called it rape. It turns out that rape is related to mustard. I don't know if it's bad or not. I use a lot of grape seed oil, which is an entirely different thing. Very nice, high smoke point, unobtrusive taste. Awful expensive though. pat Tue Feb 13 19:01:45 -0800 2001 1540595 0 pat hammond 5 1540599 In fact the same plants Pat saw in the English countryside are all over the French countryside, too. It's my understanding that it's the same plant as broccoli rape. In any case, if you consult a source like The Wellness Encyclopedia, published by U.C. Berkeley Press, written by the editors of the Berkeley Wellness Letter, rather than some unknown crank on the internet, you'll find that canola oil is in fact very healthy--with the highest ratio of unsaturated to saturated fats of any cooking oil (15.7:1 as compared to 9.6:1 for safflower oil or 5.8:1 for olive oil). So rather than throwing away your canola oil, can I have it? Tue Feb 13 19:44:11 -0800 2001 1540596 0 Leslie Brenner 6 1540603 Check the "What's New" section of snopes.com. Link: http://www.snopes.com Tue Feb 13 23:38:36 -0800 2001 1540599 0 Karl 6 1540606 And by the way, I believe the word "rape" is pronounced, in this case, "rah-pay," and is sometimes seen spelled "rabe." Then there is rapini, which is probably related, and is used as a green vegetable in Italian cooking. Wed Feb 14 09:22:52 -0800 2001 1540599 0 Sarah C 7 1540608 Nope, in English the plant called rape is pronounced just like the crime. - VF Wed Feb 14 10:16:32 -0800 2001 1540606 0 VF 7 1540609 Rapini is the same as rape or rabe. Wed Feb 14 10:18:21 -0800 2001 1540606 0 Leslie Brenner 8 1540611 Based on some stuff at a Colorado State website, the description of the rapeseed plant does not sound like the broccoli rabe plant, although they are both members of the broccoli family. Wed Feb 14 11:10:53 -0800 2001 1540609 0 rjka 9 1540612 that's right; it is a brassica (cabbage/mustard family) but not the same species. Wed Feb 14 12:38:09 -0800 2001 1540611 0 jen kalb 6 1540628 "some unknown crank on the internet" Well, yes--as you should not believe something is so simply because you see it on TV or read it in the paper, in the same way (and even more so) why would you believe everything you see on the internet? I've been using canola oil (I like Hain's, available in most natural foods stores) for years without the slightest fear of harming anyone I'm feeding. If Jen or Leslie don't want that oil, I'll take it. Wed Feb 14 16:59:29 -0800 2001 1540599 0 Martha Gehan 1 1540598 Joan, I'm going to provide a link about the email you got. There are lots of posts about it, but this is a response I found interesting. Link: http://www.canola-council.org/board/biotech/291.html Tue Feb 13 19:13:30 -0800 2001 1540591 0 pat hammond 1 1540610 I came across this last week while searching for something else. I make absoutely no claim that it is either valid or hokum. Just thought you might want to see it. Link: http://www.braintherapy.com/canola.htm Wed Feb 14 11:06:10 -0800 2001 1540591 0 Miriam Garron 1 1540616 I have heard this many times before and I know many chefs and organic food people who do not use canola oil for this reason. I myself have never bought any, but probably more because "better safe than sorry" than because of any actually proof I have seen. Please let us know what you find out. Wed Feb 14 13:45:08 -0800 2001 1540591 0 Ari Ariel 1 1540629 I think the Canola oil is one of the more pervasive Urban Legends around right now. There appears to be a great deal of misinformation on Canola oil lately. I have seen several hysterical websites making false claims that it is toxic, causes mad cow disease, or it is an industrial oil unfit for human consumption. None of these websites are reputable and I am convinced the claims are false. The producers must be distressed. I have attached a very good article from the Washington Post debunking the rumors. Link: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/food/A31594-2001Feb6.html Wed Feb 14 19:13:00 -0800 2001 1540591 0 Anne H. 1 1540725 When I started importing olive oil, I became curious about its many purported health benefits. I did a little research, came across some info about canola oil in the process, and stopped using it. Since I have a financial interest (albeit a quite small one) in the increased consumption of olive oil, feel free to write this off as one-sided marketing hype. But these are the facts about canola that I discovered: It’s not that canola oil is toxic. Rapeseed oil is, but canola comes from a strain of the plant that was bred not to produce the toxin. The new strain (and the name is pure marketing, a blend of “Canada” and “oil” created to avoid using the word rape) was originally bred using traditional plant genetics, but almost all of the canola oil now sold comes from plants grown from genetically engineered seed. That’s one reason I avoid it. But the primary reason I dropped canola oil is its rather high level of trans fatty acids. Trans fatty acids are a by-product of hydrogenation, the addition of hydrogen to unsaturated fats to link up with the open hydrogen bond and make them solid at room temp. In other words, to make oil into shortening or margarine. But liquid oils can also have trans fats, typically formed during the high temperature refining process used to purify almost all vegetable oils. Canola oil has a particularly high level of trans fats. While a few medical researchers have been warning about the health implications of trans fats for years, only recently has the FDA agreed and included trans levels on nutrional labels. (This was behind the butter vs margarine stuff that added to consumer confusion in the last couple of years.) Trans fats are a bigger health threat than saturated fat, and an article in the NEJM cited research that showed trans to have twice the impact on health as saturated fat. I use extra virgin olive oil almost exclusively because it tastes better. But it is also a basic agricultural product (squeeze olives and collect the oil). The refining by-products are one reason why you shouldn’t use “pure” olive oil, which has been extracted from the olive pomace with benzene or something similar. It is an industrial process that creates trans fats in canola, and trans fats are not good for you. That’s why I don’t use it. Mon Feb 19 12:58:57 -0800 2001 1540591 0 Jim DIxon 2 1540727 Thanks for the good summary. Are there better alternatives when you want to use a neutral oil (esp.in baking, pancakes, etc.)? Corn oil, safflower, soy--arethey any better? For cooking we almost exclusively use olive oil but there are times when we don't want to use an oil that's so flavorful. Thanks. Mon Feb 19 15:21:41 -0800 2001 1540725 0 berkleybabe 3 1540728 I mentioned somewhere in this thread that I very much like grapeseed oil. It has a delicate flavor and a smoking point of 485F. All purpose, but too expensive to use for deep frying. Perfect for sauteeing and salad dressing. I get mine in New York, but I'm sure a large city like Detroit would have it somewhere. pat Mon Feb 19 15:47:23 -0800 2001 1540727 0 pat hammond 3 1540733 Peanut oil is great for most frying. It can be mechanically pressed instead of solvent-extracted, doesn't have tons of peanut flavor (a pronounced but mild flavor in less refined versions, however), and has a really high smoking point. Tue Feb 20 11:42:47 -0800 2001 1540727 0 MU 3 1540735 Like I said, I use olive oil for everything, but if you want to use something else, look for words like "expeller" or "cold-pressed" on the label. Grapeseed oil is usually mechanically pressed, not chemically extracted and refined, and there are brands of other seed oils (look in natural foods stores) that are made the same way. In any case, I would avoid the industrially produced vegetable oils. My post in response to Jen has a link to a fascinating article about cooking fats. Jim Tue Feb 20 11:59:40 -0800 2001 1540727 0 Jim Dixon 2 1540731 For starters, let me say that I agree that olive oil rules for most cooking uses, with butter a close second. However, there are uses for the lighter, refined vegetable oils. I am confused by your argument that canola or other refined LIQUID vegetable fats are unhealthy because they contain lots of trans fatty acids. My understanding is that the trans fats are produced in HYDROGENATION, an industrial process in which liquid fats become solid or semi solid (as with margarine or shortening). It is the hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats (which might include canola) which are widely used in commercial frying, snack foods and cookies which have recently been warned against in the public press, not liquid fats. I am attaching a link to the Canola Council (take it for what it is worth - this Canola controversy has made it into Urban Legends compilations!) where many of these claims, rebuttals, articles and scientific info are compiled. Contrary to your post, many of the sources I have read recommend the use of canola, sunflower and other liquid oils instead of shortening or marg to avoid the consumption of trans fat. I would be interested in seeing a source which gives the relative trans fat content of liquid vegetable oils and supports your argument that canola is particularly bad. Meanwhile, I wish you all success on the olive oil front! Link: http://www.canola-council.org/ Tue Feb 20 00:04:59 -0800 2001 1540725 0 jen kalb 3 1540734 My information about trans in canola comes the following article The Oiling of America, by Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. and Sally Fallon Dr. Enig is a researcher at the University of Maryland, and her work in the 1960s and ‘70s is largely responsible for the FDA’s more critical look at trans fats. Originally published in Nexus Magazine in two parts, Nov/Dec 1998 and Feb/Mar 1999. . Here’s the passage that convinced me. “Canola oil, processed from a hybrid form of rape seed, is particularly rich in fatty acids containing three double bonds and can contain as much as 50% trans fats. Trans fats of a particularly problematical form are also formed during the deodorization of canola oil, although they are not indicated on labels for canola oil.” The complete article is at www.nexusmagazine.com/OilingAmerica.1.html Jim Tue Feb 20 11:54:08 -0800 2001 1540731 0 Jim Dixon 4 1540737 IMO you gotta do better - this was the only mention in the very long article on canola and the particular statement was unsupported by a citation to scientific literature. The article was a lengthy and rather incoherent attack on all vegetable oils, not just canola, and the author seems to be advocating a return to the traditional animal saturated fats. I think the truth on these matters is likely to be a bit more complex and nuanced than the article would indicate. Finally, Im no food industry advocate, but I have to question the editorial standards of a publication dedicated to issues like UFOs and conspiracy theories of various sorts, including in the current issue, some sort of Bush-Cheney led drug ring (???) See attached link to the Nexis home page. But I am verging into NOt about Food... Link: http://www.nexusmagazine.com/index.html Tue Feb 20 12:35:55 -0800 2001 1540734 0 jen kalb 5 1540738 Wow, what a wacky magazine! My favorite article was on the evidence for ancient atomic explosions.The same two authors of the canola piece have an article in there on the hidden dangers of consuming soy based products as well. Tue Feb 20 16:58:15 -0800 2001 1540737 0 rjka 5 1540751 I’m not trying to convince anyone to stop using canola oil, and I don’t know anything about Nexis. I found the article on the web during a Google-powered search, and I found it compelling (anyone who is vilified by an industry group like the Edible Oils Council gets a certain level of street cred from me automatically...but Enig just might be completely wrong, too). My approach for healthful eating, and it extends to other foodstuffs besides oil, is to stick to things as close to their natural state as possible. So I try to avoid foods that have undergone much industrial processing, and the vast majority of edible oil, including canola, falls into this category. Wed Feb 21 16:40:51 -0800 2001 1540737 0 Jim Dixon