Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I have always been a firm believer that as canola oil is a frankenfood, it should certainly be avoided. The heat involved in the processing of the oil is usually blamed for the unhealthfulness of the end product - omega 3 fats are rancid, etc.

However, a colleague of mine is claiming that it is scientifically possible to extract the oil from rapeseed without hydrolyzation etc, resulting in a healthful end product. The next stage of damage is usually during deoderisation through heating, but I can't find any expeller pressed oils that don't seem to be deoderised.

Try as I might, I cannot find anything reputable online to support this. Fallon & Enig's The Great Con-ola is wonderful, as are many other resources, but they don't seem to rule out the scenario that my colleague suggests. While I can't imagine a way to removing erucic acids, refining and deoderising the oil, in an effort to make it palatable, maybe it has been done...

His wife is vegan, and uses margarine as her source of omega-3. With cold-pressed canola, this seems technically possible; however, I see no evidence of any research in this area (but I don't subscribe to many study websites).

I'm curious about this mainly because I have a relative who is utterly fat-phobic, thanks to his high school education teaching him that animal fats are bad (blah, blah). If he's going to use margarine, I'd like to find the least damaging option for him, if such an item exists.

Thoughts?

Edit 4th August - from the lack of evidence, I'm left with a pretty strong sense that VERY few producers, if any, are making canola oil and products without risking the integrity of the fats via heating for various purposes. So canola will remain on my blacklist, and my respect for my colleague forever tarnished ;)

edited Aug 4 2010 at 6:29

asked Jul 16 2010 at 7:50

Girl Gone Primal
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"uses margarine as her source of omega-3" -- I don't get this. Am I missing something? Are there margarines out there high in n3? – JJ Jul 17 2010 at 1:40

Exactly. Canola oil is widely touted as a good source of omega-3, but it seems that the heat-driven refining process damages the fatty acids, neutralising any potential benefit. There are some brands that seem to add omega-3 back into the mix, but I don't want to know how and from where... – Girl Gone Primal Jul 17 2010 at 2:56

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Well, even leaving the heating process aside: because most (or all?) of the n3 is ALA, even any undamaged n3 will be converted inefficiently to EPA and DHA in the body. Even if you find a cold-pressed non-GMO supplier, the effective amount of n3 used by the body is less than 10% of the ALA content. That said, I hope you do find a cold-pressed canola that works. It's probably much better than soy or corn oil, anyway. Dubious whether it's better than high-quality olive oil IMO. Even if the canola' PUFA numbers are better on paper, at least olive oil is not a seed oil. – JJ Jul 19 2010 at 2:46

Does anyone have any comments of eating ALA for taste (even though its not biologically available in great amts) so it decreases your n6 consumption to keep your ratio in balance? – Krish Aug 4 2010 at 6:20

JP · Answer 1 · 2010-07-16 12:32:24Z UTC

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IMO, just stay away from fake foods. If you have to add something to a food to make it ''good'' then it means that they are probably really bad in the first place. Butter from healthy cows has omega 3 too.

Plus, Olive oil taste better than canola.

answered Jul 16 2010 at 12:32

JP
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Yes, that's my opinion too, but that doesn't answer my question... – Girl Gone Primal Jul 16 2010 at 13:16

Olly HT · Answer 2 · 2010-07-16 08:35:59Z UTC

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One thing I do know is that, if you are based in the US or Canada, canola is best avoided altogether, due to the fact that it is highly likely to come from a Genetically Modified source (according to Jeffrey Smith in Seeds of Deception).

answered Jul 16 2010 at 8:35

Olly HT
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	I know, and I'm in Australia. We are just starting to have GM issues here. – Girl Gone Primal Jul 16 2010 at 13:17
	Oh snap, another Primal Aussie. Where do you live? I'm in WA. – Alan Jul 17 2010 at 12:40

pjnoir · Answer 3 · 2010-07-19 16:37:04Z UTC

Sorry - this would not attach as a comment under yours so here goes:

There are some Canolas labeled Cold Pressed but he is the rub: If cold pressed in Europe (doubtful) is is pressed without generating heat or it can't be called "Cold Pressed" BUT... In the United States, oil labeling is not regulated, so “cold pressed oil” may not actually be cold pressed oil at all. There are 'expeller pressed oils that use high pressure and does generate heat so my GUESS is yes all Canola oil needs to be de-oderised. I'd go with coconut oil- I use a ton of it. btw- California has strict requirements for Olive Oil. As does Spain but not Italy. I buy only Spanish Olive Oil and use for salads. Good Luck. Let us know what you find.

archaea · Answer 4 · 2010-07-17 13:02:01Z UTC

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Correct me if I'm wrong... but doesn't the margarine manufacturing process involve hydrogenation of the oil, resulting in production of trans fats (which is just about the most harmful fat known)?? Or are some margarines entirely free of trans-fats?

Just surprised no-one's mentioned this yet. Maybe it's just me who automatically associates the word margarine with trans fat.

Also, if he's going to rely on plant sources of O3, why not explore linseed (either whole, or as linseed oil) or walnuts? Not sure how great their O3-O6 ratios are, though.

answered Jul 17 2010 at 13:02

archaea
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Trans-fats result from the incomplete hydrogenation of fats. Many margarines now mix totally hydrogenated fats with liquid fats and emulsifiers and so can have zero or almost no trans-fats. It is the "partially-hydrogenated fats" used in so many other food products that contain the trans-fat. – Matt Jul 17 2010 at 13:13

I see! Thanks for the explanation :) – archaea Jul 17 2010 at 14:48

One of the claims that he makes that I'm looking to verify is his belief that margarine can be made without ANY hydrogenation, but I've yet to find evidence of any companies making margarine this way... – Girl Gone Primal Jul 18 2010 at 1:32

There are a few brands of margarine made without any hydrogenation now, at least in the UK. They use a small percentage of coconut or palm oil and various emulsifiers to mix the other oils used (soy, sunflower, canola or olive) into a soft spreadable fat. – Matt Jul 19 2010 at 11:10

Matt · Answer 5 · 2010-07-17 13:04:12Z UTC

It is a conincidence that you should ask this as I bought some rapeseed oil (as canola oil is called in Britain) today to try from my local farmers market.

http://www.summerharvestoils.co.uk/about_oil/about_oil.htm

100 Calories of oil contains:

8.3g monounsaturated

0.7g saturated

1.9g omega 6

1.2g omega 3 (alpha-linolenic acid)

It is cold pressed and filtered without any deoderisation or heating. Maybe this fits the bill for what your colleagu was thinking of. It's abit pricey for me to use much of but I like to try new things. I wouldn't use it as a major source of fat. The idea of making cold pressed rapeseed oil is quite new and on a small scale, it's only available in a few places.

It wouldn't be genetically modified as GM crops are still not grown in Britain. The rapeseed oil plants used now are naturally already low in euric acid and gluconsinolates due to conventional plant breeding, not GM. The GM plants have simply had a herbiside resistance gene added.

Margarine is a separate issue as it always requires a lot of processing and I dont't really know any details when it comes to canola oil margarine. There would not be much point using cold pressed oil to make maraerine anyway.

pjnoir · Answer 6 · 2010-07-18 00:55:51Z UTC

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Quick answer - NO. yes you can get Canadian Oil in a old press version but it is expensive and still a seed oil. Use the money and buy a totally natural oil like coconut or olive oil or better yet a grass fed butter or lard or beef tallow. Industrila seed oill is NEVER the right choice- paleo or not.

answered Jul 18 2010 at 0:55

pjnoir
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Ok, FINALLY someone's answering the question - so there IS someone out there making cold-pressed canola? Do they deoderise the oil? How? – Girl Gone Primal Jul 18 2010 at 1:28

Alan · Answer 7 · 2010-07-17 12:52:53Z UTC

I think you just point out just how wretchedly evil all these franken foods are, canola, corn and soy etc. There is ample information available on the web to print for them. Point out that margarine is just an artificial construct and the real thing is far more healthy. It seems futile to take something inherently unhealthy and refine and deodorise and then try to add healthy things and imagine it can be good for you. Just eat real food that has one or two ingredients and you can't go wrong.

coprophagous · Answer 8 · 2012-02-02 02:10:41Z UTC

canola or rapeseed oil low acid is generally considered safe. that means nothing but it also means its not illegal. ha ha ha. just look up the dangers on the internet and decide yourself.oh buy the Way , canola is the least expensive oil meaning its the highest profit oil. billions of dollars means millions can safely pay people and politicians to make an oil that was banned as cattle feed find its way into the human food chain. im not in the habbit of buying an oil that would make a man vomit if it wasnt deoderized.

Energymonkey · Answer 9 · 2012-02-02 02:21:43Z UTC

Let all your vegan and fat-phobic friends watch the movie "Fat Head". (Since we know they won't actually read a book that threatens their current paradigm) Perhaps then they will quit pestering you with such silliness... My response to those folks who think animal fats are bad and super-modern industrial products like corn, canola, soy oils are ok is usually like this: "What kind of fats did your grandma and my grandma, and every person over 100yrs ago on the planet cook with?" (lard, tallow, chicken grease, duck fat, butter, coconut, olive) "OK, so why do you think we should't use those?"

Wcc Kamal Stabby fan · Answer 10 · 2012-03-02 02:01:31Z UTC

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Margarine has a "colorful" history and dairy producers were able to put all margarine producers out of business at a couple of points in time but they kept coming back.

http://www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/the-war-on-margarine/

answered Mar 2 2012 at 2:01

Wcc Kamal Stabby fan
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Karen · Answer 11 · 2010-07-16 12:19:07Z UTC

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They could take omega-3 derived from algae, which is where the fish obtain it to begin with. I can't recommend brands, but the source should be acceptable to fat-phobes and vegans.

answered Jul 16 2010 at 12:19

Karen
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	My relative has a stubborn bias against any of my "weird" health foods - if he's not ready for butter, he's certainly not going to touch algae! – Girl Gone Primal Jul 16 2010 at 13:15
	The algae derived omega-3 is in capsules or gel caps, no actual seaweed involved. – Karen Jul 16 2010 at 13:37
	I know... And I know him. He doesn't take supplements. – Girl Gone Primal Jul 17 2010 at 0:16
	Some people can't be helped.... – JJ Jul 17 2010 at 1:39
	I think algae omega-3 is probably the future as there isn't enough oily fish in the oceans for everyone who will want it. – Matt Jul 17 2010 at 13:19

show 2 more comments

Issac · Answer 12 · 2010-07-20 15:59:09Z UTC

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archaea, clary-sage oil is another option, and has a good n3:n6 ratio of 3:1 (see http://blog.ohmyomega.com/research/salvia-sclarea-fatty-acid-composition/)

answered Jul 20 2010 at 15:59

Issac
1

Clary-sage oil for eating? I used to distill clary sage oil at work, but for an essential oil. It's a pretty strong smell, does that come out when you eat it? – JeJ Mar 2 2012 at 2:31

Lady_Arwen · Answer 13 · 2012-05-10 15:22:48Z UTC

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Please show this article:

http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/the-great-con-ola

Here's the nice pic that captures oil processing!

http://www.westonaprice.org/images/articleimages/kyf-conola-oilchart.gif

answered May 10 2012 at 15:22

Lady_Arwen
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Is canola oil/margarine ever okay?

13 Answers