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Ask a Nutrition Expert Use the web form below to send your questions to Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD, nutrition expert and author of The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers. Scroll down past the form to read previous questions and answers. We take your privacy rights very seriously. Your email address and other contact information will NEVER be given to a third party. It will ONLY be used by CanolaInfo.
Q: I've heard that high-oleic canola oil is being used in some processed foods in place of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. What is high-oleic canola oil? A: High-oleic (or high-stability) canola oil was developed for use in commercial-scale food production because it is shelf stable and does not break down under high heat. Unlike partially hydrogenated vegetable oils found in many processed foods such as cookies and crackers, high-stability canola oil does not contain any cholesterol-raising trans fats. It actually has an impressive nutrition profile with about 70% heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, 20% polyunsaturated fats, 6% saturated fats, and 4% omega-3 fats. New labeling regulations went into effect in January 2006 requiring food manufacturers to list the amount of trans fats in their products. This seems to have encouraged the use of healthier oils including high-stability canola oil -- good news for all of us! So although you won't find bottles of this new oil in your grocery store, expect to see more high-stability canola oil in everything from commercial baked goods to chicken pot pies.
Q: A friend told me that canola oil is not healthy because it is made from rapeseed oil that is toxic for human consumption. What's the story? You recommend canola oil in your book- have you researched this? A: My coauthor and I did extensive research into canola oil when we wrote The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers. We too had heard rumors that canola oil was made from toxic rapeseed. What we learned was that canola oil comes from the seed of the canola plant, not from the rapeseed plant. Confusion about canola may be due to the fact that the canola plant shares its botanical roots with the rapeseed plant. Rapeseed oil does indeed contain compounds called erucic acid and glucosinolates, which may be toxic to human health. In the 1970s, plant breeders, using traditional plant breeding techniques, developed a new plant that they named canola. The canola plant produces an oil that shares a similar healthy fatty acid profile with rapeseed but without the toxic compounds. In 1985 the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted canola oil GRAS status (generally recognized as safe). This versatile oil has gained popularity ever since as people learn more about its nutritional attributes. I feel good about using canola myself and recommend it to others. |
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