Guest guest Posted March 17, 2001 Report Share Posted March 17, 2001 Dear Herbalists, This is some research done by ShadoeRose on another list - I am posting it because many on this list are not aware of the liabilities of Canola Oil.............Love Penny Health Research Books and in part on Dr. Joseph Mercola's site Optimal Wellness Center Canola Oil - Is It Safe? Evidence Points To BIG Trouble! Compiled by Darleen Bradley From Hilary A. Thomas <standingrock 5-9-99 Canola Oil This article is made public here on the net as a public service announcement and does not necessarily reflect the views of this website owner. We encourage you to do further research and determine the validity of the following for yourself. Canola oil from the rape seed, referred to as the Canadian oil because Canada is mainly responsible for it being marketed in the USA The Canadian government and industry paid our Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). $50 million dollars to have canola oil placed on the (GRAS) List " Generally Recognized As Safe " .. Thus a new industry was created. Laws were enacted affecting international trade, commerce, and traditional diets. Studies with lab. animals were disastrous. Rats developed fatty degeneration of heart, kidney, adrenals, and thyroid gland. When canola oil was withdrawn from their diets, the deposits dissolved but scar tissue remained on all vital organs. No studies on humans were made before money was spent to promote Canola oil in the USA. Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a rare fatal degenerative disease caused by in a build up long-chain fatty acids (c22 to c28) which destroys the myelin (protective sheath )of the nerves. Canola oil is a very long chain fatty acid oil (c22). Those who will defend canola oil say that the Chinese and Indians have used it for centuries with no effect, however it was in an unrefined form.* My cholesterol level was 150. After a year using Canola oil I tested 260. I switched back to pure olive oil and it has taken 5 years to get it down to 160. Thus began this project to find answers since most Doctors will say that Canola oil is O.K. My sister spilled Canola oil on a piece of fabric, after 5 pre-treatings and harsh washings, the oil spot still showed. She stopped using Canola oil, wondering what it did to our insides if it could not be removed from cloth easily. Our father bred birds, always checking labels to insure there was no rape seed in their food. He said, " The birds will eat it, but they do not live very long. " A friend who worked for only 9 mo. as a quality control taster, at an apple-chip factory where Canola oil was used exclusively for frying, developed numerous health problems including loose teeth; gum disease, gum and nail beds turned gray; numb hands and feet with cramps, swollen arms and legs upon rising in the morning; extreme joint pain especially in hands; cloudy vision; constipation with stools like black marbles; hearing loss; skin tears from being bumped; lack of energy; hair loss; and heart pains. It has been five years since she has worked there and still has some joint pain, gum disease, and numbness. A fellow worker, about 30 yrs. old who ate very little product, had a routine check up and found that his blood vessels were like those of an 80 year old man. Two employees fed the waste product to baby calves and their hair fell out. After removing the fried apple chips from the diet their hair grew back in. Be sure to check products for ingredients. If it says, " This product may contain one or more of the following " .... and lists Canola oiL you can expect it to contain canola oil because it is the cheapest oil and the government subsidizes Canola oil to some industries involved in food processing, bakeries and schools. My daughter and her girls were telling jokes. Stephany hit her mom's arm with the back of a butter knife in a gesture, " Oh mom " not hard enough to hurt. My daughters arm split open like it was rotten. She called me to ask what could have caused it. I said, " I'll bet anything that you are using Canola oil " . Sure enough, there was a big gallon jug in the pantry. Rape seed oil is a penetrating oil, to be used in light industry, not for human consumption. It contains a toxic substance. (from encyclopedia ) Even after the processing to reduce the erucic acid content, it is still a penetrating oil. We have found that it turns rancid very fast. Also it leaves a residual rancid odor on clothing. 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). * taken 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. Canola is a coined word. It appeared out of nowhere and is not listed in any but the most recent reference sources. The flip side of the Canola coin reads " rape " ! You must admit that Canola sounds better than rape. The name Canola disguised the introduction of rape oil in America. Canola oil comes from the rape seed, which is part of the mustard family of plants. Rape is the Most Toxic of all-food plants. Like soy, rape is a weed. Insects will not eat it; it is deadly poisonous. The oil from the rape seed is a hundred times more toxic than soy oil! Canola is a semi-drying oil that is used as a lubricant, fuel, soap and synthetic rubber base and as a illuminant for the slick color pages that you see in the magazines. It is an industrial oil and does NOT belong in the body! Canola oil has some very interesting characteristics and effects on living systems. For example, it forms latex-like substances that agglutinate the red blood corpuscles, as does soy, but much more pronounced. Loss of vision is a known, characteristic side effect of rape oil which antagonizes the central and peripheral nervous system - again like soy oil, again worse. The deterioration takes years, however. Rape (Canola) oil causes emphysema, respiratory distress, anemia, constipation, irritability and blindness in animals and humans. Rape oil was widely used in animal feeds in England and Europe between 1986 and 1991 when it was thrown out. You may remember reading about the cows, pigs and sheep, that went blind, lost their minds, attacked people and had to be shot. A woman called from Chicago to tell that she had been in England when the " Mad Cow Disease " was at its peak. She said that she had seen a television news report that told people not to panic if they had been using rape oil in their diet and were over 65 years of age. The 'experts' added that the effects of rape oil ingestion takes at least 10 years to manifest, and in all likelihood, most of these people would be dead by then anyway. COMFORTING! In the reports the 'experts' blamed the erratic behavior on a viral disease called scrapie. However, when rape oil was removed from animal feed, 'scrapie' disappeared. No longer a European livestock problem; now it is ours. U.S. farmers grow rape seed, and manufacturers use its oil (Canola) in thousands of processed foods, with the blessings of government watchdog agencies, of course. Officially Canola oil is known as " Low Euricic Acid " .(a solid fatty acid, derived from oils of mustard seeds and rape seeds) rape industry experts love to tell how Canola was developed in Canada and that it is safe to use. They admit it was developed from the rape seed, but that through genetic engineering, i.e. irradiation, it is no longer rape seed, but " Canola " instead. " CAN-adian oil, " get it? They love to talk about canola's qualities, its unsaturated structure (Omega 3, 6 and 12), its wonderful digestibility and its fatty acid makeup. They turn us against naturally saturated oils and fats, while they come to the rescue with Canola oil. They even tell us now Asia has warmly embraced Canola due to its distinctive flavor. Isn't it wonderful how internationalist brokers " help " third world people? Its new name provided perfect cover for commercial interests wanting to make billions in the USA. The euphemism is still very much in use, but is no longer needed. Look at the ingredients list on peanut butter labels. The peanut oil has been removed and replaced with rape oil. Rape oil is also the source of the infamous chemical-warfare agent, mustard gas, which was banned after blistering the lungs and skin of hundred thousands of soldiers and civilians during W.W.I. Recent French reports indicate that it was again in use during the Gulf War. Canola oil contains large amounts of " isothicyanates " cyanide containing compounds. Cyanide inhibits mitochondrial production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy molecule that fuels the mitochondria. ATP energy powers the body and keeps us healthy and YOUNG! Many substances can bind metabolic enzymes and block their activity in the body. In biochemistry, these substances are called inhibitors. Toxic substances in Canola and soy oil encourage the formation of molecules with covalent bonds which are normally irreversible: they cannot be broken by the body when they have formed. There's more, but I think you get the idea. If you have further questions, you can go to: http://www.moonlighthealth.com/ erucic acid (î-r¡´sîk) noun... A fatty acid, CH3(CH2)7CH:CH(CH2)11CO2H, making up 40 to 50 percent of the total fatty acid in rapeseed, wallflower seed, and mustard seed.... rape oil - noun... The edible oil extracted from rapeseed, also used as a lubricant and in the manufacture of various products. Also called rapeseed oil....... Canola (ke-no´le) noun... A rapeseed oil that is very low in erucic acid content. The American Heritage® Dictionary - Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Canola Oil Update Although canola oil is not a favorite oil with me for a number of reasons (none of which were listed in the article), the statement suggesting that because it is used as an industrial oil it is therefore not edible is not valid. Flax oil is also used as an industrial oil for paint and linoleum, etc. But when it is prepared as a food it is edible. Most oils have been used at one time or another as industrial products. One of the most edible of oils, coconut oil, is used for many industrial products, especially for soaps and cosmetics. Olive oil apparently has been used to make soap for as long as it has been used as a food oil. Perhaps the most blatant error and comparison made by Mr. Lynn, though, is that regarding canola oil and mustard gas, which chemically has absolutely no relationship to mustard oil or any other mustard plant. Mustard gas is 2,2'-dichlorodiethyl sulfide and its preparation using ethylene and sulfur chloride is given in the Merck Index. It received its name because of the yellowish color of the gas and the sulfur odor. Canola and regular rapeseed oils are extracted from the seeds of several of the brassica plants - the same family of plants from which we get vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, kale, mustard greens, and several other vegetables. Of course, there is not much fat in these vegetables; but what fat there is in some of them, e.g., mustard greens, is as much as 29 percent erucic acid. Also, since glycosides (typical are stevioside and other flavonoids) are basically water soluble, I would not expect to find much of them in any oil. Those glucosinolates found in rapeseed meal after the oil has removed from the seeds are the same goiterogens that are found in the brassica vegetables. One problem with canola oil is that it has to be partially hydrogenated or refined before it is used commercially and consequently is a source of trans fatty acids; sometimes are very high levels. Another problem is that it is too unsaturated to be used exclusively in the diet; some of the undesirable effects caused by feeding canola can be rectified if the diet is made higher in saturated fatty acids. Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., Director Nutritional Sciences Division Enig Associates, Inc. marye FAX:(301)680-8100 COMMENT: What a great honor to have Dr. Enig respond to the article last week on canola oil. Dr. Enig is a professor of biochemistry at the University of Maryland who is one of the top biochemists in the country. She is the main scientist in this country who has brought the dangers of trans fat to the public attention. Her web site on trans fat is phenomenal. www.enig.com. Sally Fallont, the author of Nourishing Traditions, has agreed to provide this newsletter with a definitive update on soy which she is writting and should be availalbe in the next month. It will be about 10,000 words, so please keep posted as it should be excellent. •It is genetically engineered rapeseed. •Canada paid the FDA the sum of $50 million to have rape seed registered and recognized as " safe " . (Source: Young Again and others) •Rapeseed is a lubricating oil used by small industry. It has never been meant for human consumption. •It is derived from the mustard family and is considered a toxic and poisonous weed, which when processed, becomes rancid very quickly. •It has been shown to cause lung cancer (Wall Street Journal: 6/7/95) •It is very inexpensive to grow and harvest. Insects won't eat it. •Some typical and possible side effects include loss of vision, disruption of the central nervous system, respiratory illness, anemia, constipation, increased incidence of heart disease and cancer, low birth weights in infants and irritability. •Generally rapeseed has a cumulative effect, taking almost 10 years before symptoms begin to manifest. It has a tendency to inhibit proper metabolism of foods and prohibits normal enzyme function. Canola is a Trans Fatty Acid, which has shown to have a direct link to cancer. These Trans Fatty acids are labeled as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Avoid all of them! •According to John Thomas' book, Young Again, 12 years ago in England and Europe, rape seed was fed to cows, pigs and sheep who later went blind and began attacking people. There were no further attacks after the rape seed was eliminated from their diet. Source: David Dancu, N.D. from the Herbalist Review sent out by The Rocky Moutain Herbal Institute [3] Canola oil Because of the public scare over animal fats, sales of vegetable oils of all types increased. It was the established wisdom that those oils high in polyunsaturated fatty acids were especially beneficial (animal fats are high in saturated fatty acids). The obsession with polyunsaturated versus saturated fats led researchers and nutritionists to overlook some of the other features of vegetable oils that we now know are crucial to health, including: (1) susceptibility to rancidity; (2) ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids and its relevance in inflammatory diseases and immune system function; (3) possible presence of irritating or toxic compounds in particular plant oils. Unlike the case of trans-fatty acids, for which there is massive amount of research data, there is much less documented scientific research on canola oil consumption in humans, specifically. Some sources (unverified) claim that the Canadian government and industry paid the U.S. FDA $50 million dollars to have canola oil placed on the GRAS ( " Generally Recognized As Safe " ) list, which allowed the canola industry to avoid the lengthy and expensive approval process, including medical research on humans. However, experimental rats that were fed canola oil " developed fatty degeneration of the heart, kidney, adrenals, and thyroid gland. On withdrawing the canola oil from their diets, the deposits dissolved but scar tissue remained on all vital organs. " [ref. 3a] In the absence of direct research studies of canola oil and human health, many concerned nutritionists and biochemists have attempted to analyze the canola oil situation on the basis of current knowledge of the biochemistry of fats and oils. While hard-nosed canola industry spokespersons may claim such commentary to be speculative, in the absence of proof of safety, anyone concerned about their family's health should pay close attention to the various arguments and warnings. [refs. 3a - 3i; for canola industry position, see refs. 3j, 3k] The Canola Council of Canada has published a report [ref. 3k] that focuses heavily on the high polyunsaturated fatty acid content of canola oil and the presumed benefits of polyunsaturated oils on various blood parameters (platelet phospholipids, platelet aggregation, eicosanoid production, clotting time). In spite of the many scientific references listed at the end of the report, the author studiously avoids discussion of the toxic effects mentioned by many nutritionists and biochemists, and, instead, attempts to link many of the benefits of Mediterranean-type diets high in olive oil to diets high in canola oil, when in fact, no such evidence is presented, and canola oil has never been part of a traditional Mediterranean diet. Concerns about the risks of using canola (rapeseed) oil focus on several aspects: (1) the presence of long-chain fatty acids, including erucic acid, which are thought by some to cause CNS degeneration, heart disease, and cancer; (2) the high temperatures needed in the refining process to make canola oil palatable, which lead to formation of trans-fatty acids; (3) miscellaneous undesirable chemical constituents (thioglycosides and thiocyanates) whose effects are unclear, as their concentration in the refined product is probably very low. Although Chinese and Indian peoples have long used rapeseed oil in cooking, it was not refined and processed to the extent of modern commercial methods, and it was never considered to be a high quality oil for human consumption. Ayurvedic physicians have for thousands of years classified olive, almond, and sesame as the best oils for human health, and have considered safflower, soybean and rapeseed oils to be undesirable for human consumption except perhaps when no other oil sources were available. Recent epidemiological studies of high lung cancer rates in Chinese women suggest that wok cooking with rapeseed oil is responsible, rather than tobacco smoking, which was only a weak factor. Chinese rapeseed oil tended to produce the highest emissions of the potentially carcinogenic or mutagenic compounds 1,3-butadiene, benzene, acrolein, and formaldehyde, when compared with soybean oil and peanut oil. [ref. 3n] Canola oil contains a long-chain fatty acid called erucic acid, which is especially irritating to mucous membranes; canola oil consumption has been correlated with development of fibrotic lesions of the heart, CNS degenerative disorders, lung cancer, and prostate cancer, anemia, and constipation. [ref. 3a, 3b] Canola oil derives from the plants Brassica campestris and B. napus, which have been selectively bred to substantially reduce the erucic acid content. However, some health professionals feel that there is still too much present in current canola oil products for safe use. Some critics of canola oil focus on the fact that rapeseed oil was originally used as an industrial lubricant and known to be unfit for human consumption, although many vegetable oils have been used in industrial applications as well as in foods. The long-chain fatty acids found in canola have been found to destroy the sphingomyelin surrounding nerve cells in the brain, in some cases leading to a degenerative brain condition remarkably similar to mad-cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy); in advanced cases the brain tissue develops a Swiss-cheese-like appearance, full of holes. Illnesses and conditions that have been associated with canola oil consumption include loss of vision (retinal capillaries are very sensitive and easily damaged), and a wide range of neurological disorders. [ref. 3a] The high temperatures used in canola refining will damage many of the essential fatty acids, which are much more susceptible to damage by heat than saturated fats. (Heat may convert many of the unsaturated double bonds to the " trans " configuration.) While high-quality essential fatty acids are required for human health, in their damaged or rancid forms they become harmful. Additional problems with canola oil include the presence of minute, but potentially dangerous, amounts of thioglycosides, which have thyrotoxic effects. [ref. 3m] To reduce the concentration of these compounds requires processing with alkalinizing agents plus high temperatures; unfortunately, the high temperatures used in processing have other undesirable effects, the most serious of which is the conversion of unsaturated fats to the trans form. Rapeseed has been selectively bred and genetically engineered [ref. 3a] in an attempt to reduce the toxic components and processing methods were developed to further reduce the concentration of undesirable compounds. Prior to its entry into the " health " food market, it was known as rapeseed oil, but savvy marketing professionals knew that the health food market, heavily dominated by young, college-educated women, would not purchase a repulsive-sounding product called rapeseed oil. The name of the selectively bred variety was changed to canola (as in " Canadian oil " ; it has been heavily promoted by Canadian government and agricultural organizations) oil; the name rolls off the tongue with a mellifluous sound. [3.1] Recommendations The biochemistry of plants and natural food products is often complex; the total effect of a given food on human health is dependent upon many chemical constituents and their interaction with biochemical pathways of the body. To radically alter our diets based on scientific evidence regarding only a few aspects of this biochemistry is like cooking in the dark. Common symptom reactions to unhealthy oils and fats, or to an unhealthy balance of the types of fats in one's diet include joint pain and aggravation of arthritic conditions, a general tendency to have increased tissue irritability and inflammation, and, in the case of unhealthy fats such as hydrogenated oils and excessive amounts of fried foods, abdominal fullness and indigestion. While these conditions also may be due to other factors, quality of fats and oils is important. How one feels immediately to within several days after eating specific types of fat is often a useful indicator of whether one's fat consumption is healthy or unhealthy. Avoid canola oil; there is too much doubt about its safety. Recommended oils and fats, which are essential nutrients, include moderate amounts of meat in the form of clean sources (organically grown, etc.) of beef, lamb, and other red meats, poultry, fish (especially sardines and mackerel), plus olive, almond, or sesame oil; of all the vegetable oils, olive oil is probably the safest and best for health reasons. All of these have been in traditional use in various cultures for thousands of years. Individual differences in metabolism will dictate needs for more or less of these types of oils and fats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.