The Surprising Benefits of Canola Oil

The Surprising Benefits of Canola Oil

Producer Potts 0:07

For years, we have collectively known that olive oil is a health promoting choice, and thanks to you, we now know that vegetable oils do have health benefits. Now this has me thinking, How does olive oil stack up with the most common and well known vegetable oil, canola oil?

Dr. Sarah 0:30

The most exciting thing that I have learned in all of this research is that, just like we put olive oil kind of in its the class of its own right. We make it its own category of, like, heart healthy fat. We should be doing the same thing with canola oil and putting it in, like, another its own, like, I think we create, you know, it’s a tide. It’s both people got a gold medal at the Olympics, and they got to share the platform. And we have canola oil on the platform and olive oil on the platform. And actually, we want to be including both in our diets. So let’s, let’s actually just start with like what canola oil is and and how, like what it’s composed of. Because I think canola oil is, yeah, people love to hate canola oil. It really doesn’t have the same PR team that olive oil has. I think that is the most important take of this.

Producer Potts 1:30

And I’ll just say, you know, prior to getting all this information from you about vegetable oils, whenever I thought of canola oil, I would I didn’t think canola oil. I thought industrial processing. And I know we’re going to cover quality and all of that in another video. So everyone just put a pin in that for a second. But like, you know, I think that’s where all of our minds go, is like to something that’s, you know, ultra processed and, just like full of chemicals and all of this. So, yes, what is canal oil? Because I think we all have this skewed view of what it is.

Dr. Sarah 2:09

Yeah, it comes from the seed of a cruciferous vegetable plant. It’s a two two different cultivars. One is brassica napus. One is brassica rapa. So exactly the same species of cruciferous vegetable that lots of our our favorite vegetables.

Producer Potts 2:32

Sarah you just blew my mind a cruciferous vegetable like we know that cruciferous vegetables are like, one of the best things we can eat to, like, help reduce cancer. You say that all the time, like, it’s a very health promoting vegetable, that’s where, okay, I think I need, I need to learn. So I’m gonna, Okay, go. I need to learn the things this is mind blowing.

Dr. Sarah 2:55

So here’s, here’s, it’s, it’s common name it got Canada gave it its name canola. It actually, literally comes from can Canada and Ola, which is the Latin for oil. Um, because it needed, it needed some branding help, because the the common name of the plant, it’s, it’s not broccoli or cabbage, it’s rapeseed. Oh, I’ve heard of that before. Oh, okay, well, so, um, so I think, Okay, I think that’s where, that’s where the rebranding came from, but I think that’s where a lot of the the love to hate also comes from. Is the fact that it’s, it’s common name just sounds Royal. Yes, correct, but that’s a cruciferous vegetable. Yes, it literally comes from the Latin like brassica rapa. Wrap Up. Interesting. Okay, that’s Wow. Okay, okay, yep, okay, here’s a cool thing. Okay, so, uh, first came around in the early 1970s So also, it’s a fairly new oil. So we always want to blame the new thing, right? But what they had to do was they had to very specifically create a variety of this cruciferous plant where the seeds had low it’s called erucic acid. I should have said that more confidently and pretended I know how to pronounce that word. I’m not sure, but that is a a it’s actually a fat but it is one that is, is actually toxic and high levels. It’s not found in a lot of plants. We’re not getting this in any meaningful quantities from our diet under normal circumstances. So that was like a prerequisite for rapeseed oil. Then canola rebranded to canola oil to become a thing. And then the other thing is, like the original attempts to isolate this oil, it was very, very bitter. And so they actually also kind of like the same thing that happened to Brussels sprouts, where they bred cultivars that. Had fewer of those bitter glucosinolates. Same thing happened with the rapeseed cultivars, as they were bred to have fewer of the really bitter glucosinolates, so that the oil would have a more neutral taste.

Producer Potts 5:13

Here’s a random question. I don’t even know if you know the answer to this, but this is where my brain went. Is like, why did we need another oil? What was the, what was the necessity of that? I guess, if we already had butter, and what olive oil at that moment in time, right? Like, what was the, was there a driving factor behind that? Or, do we not?

Dr. Sarah 5:37

I mean, I’m sure someone knows the answer to that question. It’s not, yeah, interesting. I doubt, I don’t know, I imagine, has something to do with, you know, cheaper sources of vegetable oil for food, right? Because it does take a lot to for all for olive oil, like, right? Yeah, olive oil is, is? I mean, everyone knows, you see the prices at the grocery store. It’s a more expensive oil to make right. Olive Trees only grow in certain varieties and then, or certain areas, they have to be fermented like it’s, it’s, there’s lots of stuff to it. Whereas, you know, this would be in the same period of time where sunflower seed oil, safflower oil, corn oil to sort of all gaining popularity. And that makes sense again. I’m guessing here. My guess is there was some, you know, an increased demand for for cheaper, affordable oils, yeah. And like, how also, just as a side tangent, really quick, since we’re talking about the canola oil, I just feel like, how sad, if you like, figured out how to do this and made this more affordable oil that was health promoting that we know now, and you know, a great oil to use, and you were able to do it more affordably, which meant that you were helping people like, you know, use Something more affordable. I feel bad for, I feel bad for canola oil that it’s had all this horrible marketing against it for so long. They’re just trying to do, like, a good thing, like, here’s some more affordable. Wow. That kind of makes me sad. I feel bad. Yeah. Well, okay, here’s the other thing, no, oil is, like, a really cool composition of fats. So I think in a previous video of the vegetable oil video Saga series, we talked about safflower oil being nearly entirely linoleic acid, right? Palm oil is only about 20% linoleic acid, so it’s still considered a vegetable oil because it’s still high linoleic acid, but it’s actually up to 66% of its fat is from oleic acid, the same heart healthy monounsaturated fat that is an olive oil and avocado oil. So why have people been so fast all this time? Then, wow. Okay, that’s I’m I’m kind of upset now, okay, okay, I’ve got two more, three more, I’ve got several more data points for you that are going to further. Let’s go i because actually, this video is the video that’s going to make me go buy canola oil, because now I feel bad, yeah, yeah. This research got got me to go buy canola oil and start using it. Yeah? So, okay, let’s keep going. That’s what we’re doing. We are fired up now. We are loving canola oil.

We are doing the PR job that nobody has done for canola oil in the past. Yeah. Okay, so canola oil is up to 66% oleic acid. Olive oil, depending on the cultivar, like what type of Olive where it’s grown, is between 60 and 80% oleic acid. So canola oil actually has about the same amount of heart healthy oleic acid as olive oil, depending on depending on the olive like, where you’re getting your olive oil, the money I could have saved, oh my gosh, I’m really starting to get upset. Okay, so we’ve already talked about linoleic acid being good, right? You’ve alluded to many times. Oleic acid definitely hugely beneficial, right? Right. Also talked about omega threes being good, including, right, alpha linolenic acid, which is the plant based Omega three, right? Nola oil comes from plants. We’re not surprised. It has the plant based Omega three, right, right, right, right. Seven to 15% of its fat is alpha linolenic acid. It’s an Omega three. Oh, like they had all of the key tenants to promote their oil and outdo olive oil. And they just, they just had a horrible PR team. I mean, not that foods, well, I guess foods have PR too. I don’t know if foods actually have PR teams.

I just like, wow, that’s that’s Mind Blowing. I have one more data point. Oh my gosh, I can’t handle it. Go, go. It is one of the highest concentrations of phytosterols of any oil. Phytosterols are a group of phytonutrients that have a cholesterol like structure, and because they have a cholesterol like structure, they block cholesterol from being absorbed in our digestive tract, and are known to lower our cholesterol levels. Okay, I’m going to the Sweet oil now, I really am, but I even have, I have in front of me, I have the actual amounts here. So this is my 2019 analysis. I’m cry laughing right now, just so everyone knows. Oh my gosh. Okay, canola oil has 893 milligrams of phytosterols per 100 grams of oil, compared to olive oil, which only has 288 milligrams of phytosterols per 100 grams of oil. That’s like three times, three times the phytosterol content of olive oil. So all of this just makes so much sense of why you said, you know, have both canola oil and olive oil in your kitchen, and, you know, use, use both. Swap, swap between the two. So this makes so much there have been studies where they have pitted canola oil against olive oil, or they’ve looked at a bunch of different oils. I’ve got some in front of me that we can, we can actually, okay, yeah, let’s see. Let’s do it.

Okay. So this one was a 2021, randomized control trial in females with PCOS, and they did 10 weeks of canola oil consumption, or olive oil or sunflower oil. So they had the three different oils to compare, 25 grams daily, which is a couple of tablespoons, like, that’s a that’s a good amount, a lot, that’s a lot of fat. Uh, so the canola oil consumption improved their cholesterol. So it improved their triglycerides, total cholesterol to HDL ratio, and try triglyceride to HDL ratio, and also improved their insulin resistance. Okay, yeah. In a bigger effect. In a bigger effect, let me just say that again, in a bigger effect than olive oil, wow. And then they both improved the severity of non alcoholic fatty liver disease in this 2021, study. But you know how we like systematic reviews over here at Nutrivore, right? Yes, yes, what the study will never do. 2020 systematic review and meta analysis of 42 controlled clinical trials that compared canola oil to other edible oils, including olive oil, saturated fats and sunflower oil. Canola oil led to the greatest improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors. They reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, LDL to HDL ratio, total cholesterol to HDL ratio, apo B levels, the APO B to APO A one ratio, which is stuff that you if you have a really nerdy doctor, they will go through all of that stuff with you. Just know, it’s good. It’s good when that happens and they showed a dose response that showed that the optimal effects on serum lipids. So like our cardiovascular disease risk factors was in the sweet spot of 15% of our total calories coming from canola oil.

Producer Potts 13:33

Wow. So I think I mean, this is crazy. Okay, so where my brain goes is, I think, like, canola oil should hire you to redo to their marketing campaign, because I’m available. This is actually crazy. And I think also, here’s what I’ll just say to everybody, now, go stock up on your canola oil, because once this gets out there, the tables will turn, and canola oil will then be too expensive for all of us. That’s what will happen, unfortunately. So get enjoy it now. Why it’s cheap everyone, like my brain, that is a very sad part of the supply and demand equation, right? But it’s also part of the problem of, like, putting anyone food on a pedestal, because you’ve also said dietary diversity, and that’s why you say it’s good to have, like, a mixture, because I know you use coconut oil for some things in your house. Use olive oil, use canola oil, and even, like, avocado oil. You say when it’s on sale, you snag it. So, like, I think it’s all about and butter is just like the best thing for some things, right? So it’s good to use a diversity and not put anyone on a pedestal. But it sounds like, from what you’re saying, canola oil is equal, if not better, than olive oil. It might. So am I taking this too far?

Dr. Sarah 15:03

Now, there was a really interesting study that just pitted canola oil to olive oil and compared their impact on like they were looking at really interesting like biochemistry, details of cardiovascular disease risk. So not like this meta analysis that looked at like the big things that any doctor can can order on a blood test, but they were looking at like the really interesting biochemistry that leads to those big things. And what they showed was that they worked differently, so that they were they were both improving cardio metabolic risk factors, but through different pathways, which implies that we actually would be healthiest consuming, like making room for both in our diets. So that’s why I say like the tide for gold medal, they get to share. They get to share. The Olympic champion platform together is canola oil and olive oil, because they seem to benefit our cardiometabolic risk factors in different but approximately equal magnitude ways. So ideally, we would actually make room for both, and that’s probably because they both have lots of oleic acid, and it’s the other fats that are a little bit different between olive oil and canola oil, and like differently beneficial. So yeah, I would, you know, I will, I will say in my kitchen I am since, since ditching my own fears about vegetable oils. Because one of the reasons why I care so much about busting these myths is because I used to believe them. So I do understand how like mind bending it is to actually dig into all the science. Because I had, I had to do it. I had to, like, really work to, like, go through all of the scientific evidence and face my own biases about vegetable oil and well, also rid of them. This is the sixth video we’ve recorded today on this topic. And it took me getting to video number six for me to be like, Okay, I’m gonna go buy some commercial also, yeah, okay, this, it’s good though, it’s good though. That’s why we’re doing this series. Like, that’s, yeah, that’s why we decided we really needed to take this epic article and turn it into a video series. Because also, you know, there’s just a different opportunity to explain things differently in a video versus an article. So hopefully these videos and the article can go hand and nearly help you really look at the science and go, okay, yeah, I’m gonna go to the store and buy some canola oil now. And I’m not gonna be afraid of safflower or sunflower or corn or soybean oil or any of these other vegetable oils, because I know that they’re all beneficial. But we are gonna put canola and olive oil on this pedestal together. I get the top avocado oil filling. Could probably join them, but they’re so expensive. It is so expensive for sure, like, that’s the other thing is, canal is so affordable. Oil is so cheap compared to these other oils, I think. And the other thing is, avocado oil has not been as extensively studied, so there isn’t the same body of scientific literature just based on its composition. It’s very similar in composition to canola and olive oil. We would expect it to be similar. There are some studies, but if we’re looking at sort of like the depth of scientific evidence as well, that’s also why this pedestal, right? And you know, other vegetable oils, you know, and avocado oil can, can be over here with with a silver metal. And then, you know, coconut oil in moderation, because the the data on that should fats is, is mixed. You know, I still use butter or ghee in cooking when I need that flavor, but if I don’t need that flavor, I use anything else, right? So, you know, making sure that that saturated fat intake is in moderation, whether that’s animal or plant, I think, is really important as well. So, yeah, canola oil is fantastic, so good for us, and deserves a redemption arc like we’ve never seen. I need I’m making. This is my apology video to canola oil for all I feel bad fast.

Producer Potts 19:06

I feel bad. I’m not, you know, I don’t even have, yeah, this is pretty mind blowing. Okay, well, um, and everyone who has questions on quality, hold them, because we have one more video in this series, and we’re going to tackle that next so watch out for that video. This will all be in a playlist. There’s the in depth article. We are going to get into quality and processing and all that, because I’m sure that’s everyone’s like, well, what canola oil do I buy? Do I buy? So we’re going to get into that next video. So stay tuned for that. Come on back. Please drop your questions below. If you have them, we just ask that you approach with curiosity and kindness and yeah, wow, I’m as soon as we’re done, I’m going to buy some canola oil today, so thanks, Dr Sayre no problem.