Health Freedom Resources Say “NO” to Canola Oil
Public Awareness Announcement #4
May 12, 2000
In the last 5 – 10 years canola oil has practically taken over as the food processing industry’s oil of choice. One can hardly find granola in a health food store without Canola Oil as an ingredient. The same is true for salad dressing and snack foods. Why? Is it so superior in health qualities to, say extra virgin, cold pressed Olive Oil? Not on your life – all the natural health pundits will point t any number of alternatives but never praise Canola as health promoting.
See Dr. Weil at - or Gary Null at - for their say on the subject.
OK. So, there are actual health reasons not to use it; then why is it so widely found throughout the processed food industry? Answer: “It is very inexpensive to grow and harvest. Insects won’t eat it.” Read Jim Lynn’s article at
“Canola oil was first developed in Canada. It’s proponents claim that due to genetic engineering and irradiation, it is no longer rape oil, but “Canola: (Canadian oil). They also claim it is completely safe, pointing to it’s unsaturated structure and digestibility. Although I could not verify it, it is claimed the Canadian government paid the FDA the sum of $50 million dollars to have canola oil placed on the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). However it was done, a new industry was created.”
A very level-headed treatment of the subject can be found at under the heading of “THE TRANSFORMATNION OF RAPESEED INTO CANOLA.” “In order for rapeseed to be used as an edible oil in western societies it was necessary to lower the concentration of erucic acid in the oil, which was found to be a health hazard after studies were conducted on several species of animals. In addition, the meal produced after extracting the oil in rapeseed contained large amounts of glucosinates (the substances responsible for the hotness in mustard). These sulphur compounds have a negative effect on the thyroid and act as growth inhibitors, and are therefore of no use as animal feed . (Kneen 1992)….”
“In 1986, the trademark canola was legally amended to apply only to varieties yielding oil with less than 2% erucic acid, and meal with less than 30 micromoles per gram of glucosinates.” Obviously the Canadian and USA government, the cultivators and the processors and distributors of Canola Oil can all live happily with the established levels of erucic acid and glucosinates, but the big question is how much the consumer is adversely effected by these factors.
John Thomas has published a book “Blindness, Mad Cow Disease and Canola Oil” an excerpt of which can be found at
“Alcohols and glycosides in canola and soy oils shut down our protective grid – the immune system. Fluoride, immunizations, antibiotics and bio-junk food play a similar role in immune system collapse. An alcohol is a chemistry term for the “reactive” chemical group on an organic molecule. Those “R” groups are what make organic compound work – for good and bad! Canola, alcohols and glycosides are very reactive. They are as toxic as fermented alcohols, but their effects manifest differently. The danger takes year to show up.
“Rape seed oil used for stir-frying in China found to emit cancer causing chemicals. (Rapeseed oil smoke causes lung cancer)” Amal Kumar Maj. The Wall Street Journal June 7, 1995 pB6(W) pB6(E) col 1 (11 col in).”
Take from FATS THAT HEAL AND FATS THAT KILL by Udo Erasmus. “Canola oil is a health hazard to use as a cooking oil or salad oil. It is not the healthy oil we thought it was, it is not fit for human consumption, do not eat canola oil, it can hurt you. Polyunsaturated or not, this is a bad oil, do not use for cooking oil or salad oil, it is not fit for human consumption. It is not a healthy oil at all.”
We hope these brief quotes from articles available on the Web will interest you in doing a much more through investigation of your own, into the detrimental health effects of consuming Canola Oil.
HEALTH FREEDOM RESOURCES’ RECOMMENDATIONS:
Use pure organic, virgin, unprocessed Olive Oil for all your cooking needs…. Do not fry in or cook with oils at high temperatures. When you heat oils above 100 degrees Centigrade (water boiling point) they begin to break down into toxic byproducts. This is true of any oil, some more than others. Any oil you change the color or smell of by hating is now contaminated. If you want oil with your food, cook the food without oil first, then add the oil afterward. Avoid margarine and other hydrogenated fats. Studies have shown these actually INCREASE cardiovascular disease. And don’t forget, the best diet consist MAINLY of fresh, RAW fruits and vegetables, some grains, nuts and seeds.