The Great Con-ola

The Great Con-ola is the title of an article published in several magazines/journals by Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation and Mary Enig, fat researcher and author of Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol. It's a must-read for all Foragers.

Synopsis:
In the mid 1980s, researchers determined that that polyunsaturated oils, particularly corn oil and soybean oil, caused numerous health problems, including cancer. Olive oil, while a healthy monounsaturated fat, is high-priced. The industry needed a less expensive monounsaturated oil. Enter canola.

Canola oil came to the rescue when the promotion of polyunsaturated corn and soybean oils had become more and more untenable. Scientists could endorse canola oil in good conscience because it was a "heart-healthy" oil, low in saturated fat, high in monounsaturates and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

In reality, studies indicate that canola oil is not healthy for the cardiovascular system. Like rapeseed oil, canola oil is associated with fibrotic lesions of the heart. It also causes vitamin E deficiency, undesirable changes in the blood platelets and shortened life-span in stroke-prone rats when it was the only oil in the animals' diet. Furthermore, it seems to retard growth, which is why the FDA does not allow the use of canola oil in infant formula.

Prior to 1985, rapeseed (predecessor to canola) was never given GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status by the US Food and Drug Administration. A change in regulation was necessary before canola could be marketed in the US. Just how this was done has not been revealed, but GRAS status was granted in 1985, for which, it is rumored, the Canadian government spent $50 million to obtain.

For more intrigue, read the whole article, The Great Con-ola.

Comments

[Sylvia]

Canola oil is great ant killer, it keeps them away for a long time. I pour it into a spray bottle and spray the outside base of the home foundation, I've wiped areas around doors and windows. I think it was in Lowes that I saw some "organic" pesticide by the rose sprays...Its main ingredient was canola oil.
Sylvia