Canola oil is terrible. It is not real food, and should not be consumed by humans.

The main problems with canola oil are:

1. Canola oil is banned by the FDA in infant formula because it was shown in some animal studies to retard growth, and it's unclear whether the same will happen in humans. See 21CFR184.1555 for the actual text of the regulations.

2. Erucic acid has been shown to cause heart lesions in lab animals, and has been associated with heart lesions in human populations. I personally consider it a toxin, and arguing that the erucic content of canola oil is "low enough" is like saying "there's only a little bit of toxin left, so it's okay". 0.5% to 1.0% is not a trivial amount.

3. The poly-unsaturated fat content of canola oil is rather high (at around 30%). Even though it contains omega-3 fatty acids, the omega-3 content is exceeded by its omega-6 content two-to-one, so it doesn't help toward the goal of bringing your omega-6:omega-3 ratio into balance.

4. Canola oil has non-trivial amounts of trans-fat (at around 0.4%).

On top of all this, canola oil doesn't even smell or taste good. Given that, what's the point of putting up with its risk profile? There are so many other fats available that are both healthier and tastier.

Even cordain thinks its bad

Since the publication of the first edition of The Paleo Diet in 2002, I have reversed my position on canola oil and can no longer endorse its consumption. Canola oil comes from the seeds of the rape plant (Brassica rapa or Brassica campestris), which is a relative of the broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale family. Undoubtedly, humans have eaten cabbage and its relatives since before historical times, and I still strongly support the consumption of these health-promoting vegetables. Nevertheless, the concentrated oil from Brassica seeds is another story. In its original form, rape plants produced a seed oil that contained elevated levels (20 to 50 percent) of erucic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid labeled 22:1n9). Erucic acid is toxic and causes tissue damage in many organs of laboratory animals. In the early 1970s, Canadian plant breeders developed a strain of rape plant that yielded a seed with less than 2 percent erucic acid (thus the name canola oil). The erucic acid content of commercially available canola oil averages 0.6 percent. Despite its low erucic acid content, a number of experiments in the 1970s showed that even at low concentrations (2.0 and 0.88 percent), canola oil fed to rats could still elicit minor heart scarring that was considered pathological. A series of recent rat studies of low-erucic canola oil conducted by Dr. Ohara and colleagues at the Hatano Research Institute in Japan reported kidney injuries, increases in blood sodium levels, and abnormal changes in the hormone aldosterone, which regulates blood pressure. Other harmful effects of canola oil consumption in animals (at 10 percent of their total calories) included decreased litter sizes, behavioral changes, and liver damage. A number of recent human studies of canola and rapeseed oil by Dr. Poiikonen and colleagues at the University of Tempere in Finland showed it to be a potent allergen in adults and children that causes allergic cross-reactions from other environmental allergens. Based on these brand-new findings in both humans and animals, I prefer to err on the safe side and can no longer recommend canola oil

Bad. Very high in omega 6. Stick to omega 3 fats.

Avoid canola oil. It has 2.6 grams of omega 6 fatty acids per 1 T which is quite high. Sure, it may have 1 gram of omega 3's but that is in ALA form. ALA omega 3 does nothing for us as far as I understand.

It has the same amount of Vitamin K and Vitamin E as Olive Oil. Olive oil tastes awesome, smells awesome and EVERYONE agrees its a healthy addition to ones diet.

So, why consume canola oil when you can just go with olive oil?

With that being said... my dear mother just bought a jar of artichoke hearts. Guess what the ingredients are? Artichoke hearts, vinegar, salt and some canola oil. The amount of oil is not much at all and I will enjoy these artichoke hearts without any guilt whatsoever. If I eat 2 servings of these lovely things then that is about 54 calories. How much of this is from the canola oil? MAYBE 10? Not much omega 6 in that amount.

If their was olive oil in this jar of artichoke hearts then I would eat more. But, again, artichokes are one of the best foods you can eat. So be sensible about it!!!!

Mostly bad. Unless you get organic it is GMO. Also high in Omega 6.

From what I've come to understand (no acronyms after my name) the process to make canola is heat extraction which instantly (before buying) makes it rancid, and smells so bad it must be put through a deodorizing process to make it sell-able... so quick answer: bad. very, very bad. In my estimation you are putting some of the some of the worst possible stuff in your body in the guise of something that was supposed to be healthy.

I find it interesting that Cordain had it listed as higher in O3 than all the oils where is all this contradicting info coming from

I agree it was Cordain that first thought it was good because of its omega 3 to 6 ratio. It is processes so probably not that good. You are probably better to stick with olive oil and coconut oils.

*CAN*ola *O*il *L*ow *A*cid is made from the rapeseed and/or brassica plants. It has a long history from being an oil for lamps burning to the genetic engineering to make it more palatable and appleaing (and cheap).

It has been show in animals to cause heart damage and when it has been fed to livestock it was found 'unappealing'. Canola is now a major 'cash' crop for Canada and the United States and has been Genetically Modified so that it is disease and drought resistant. We do not know the long term effects of GMO and early reports are finding that it is detrimental to human health.

I would not recommend it in any form!