The truth about canola...

[Guest guest]

Here is the link for the real information on canola.

NOtice it is the article that was just posted that is

being discredited and labeled Urban Myth...I guess

anything that insane would have to be false:)

Anyway here is the link, I also just pasted the real

information on this email, leaving off the 'other'

article.

Warmly, Allison

 

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/canola.htm

Origins: What we have here is a bit of truth about a

product's family history worked into a hysterical

screed against the product itself. There is no earthly

reason to give any credence to this rumor -- Canola

oil is not the horrifying product this

widely-disseminated e-mail makes it out to be, nor has

the FDA turned loose on the American public a health

scourge worthy of being named one of the Four Horsemen

of the Apocalypse.

 

An appreciation of what this scare is based upon

begins with a better understanding of what canola oil

and how it came into being.

 

The rape plant (Brassica napus) is a member of the

mustard family, as claimed in the e-mail. However,

before associations between rape and mustard gas set

in too strongly, it should be noted turnip, cabbage,

watercress, horseradish, and radish are also members

of this family of plants.

 

Rapeseed oil has been used for cooking for centuries

in Europe, India, China, and Japan. As modern science

is finding out, its previous use wasn't necessarily a

guarantee of safety. Cooking at high temperatures with

unrefined rapeseed oil now appears to be related to an

increased risk of lung cancer because at high

temperatures cooking oil gives off chemicals capable

of causing mutations in cells. Unrefined rapeseed oil

is particularly notable for this, but other oils also

have this association. Those intent upon doing large

amounts of wok cooking with any sort of cooking oil

should therefore lower their frying temperature from

the 240°C to 280°C called for in Chinese cooking to

180°C.

 

Rapeseed oil naturally contains a high percentage

(30-60%) of erucic acid, a substance associated with

heart lesions in laboratory animals. For this reason

rapeseed oil was not used for consumption in the

United States prior to 1974, although it was used in

other countries. (Americans chose to use it as a

lubricant to maintain Allied naval and merchant ships

during World War II.)

 

In 1974, rapeseed varieties with a low erucic content

were introduced. Scientists had found a way to replace

almost all of rapeseed's erucic acid with oleic acid,

a type of monounsaturated fatty acid. (This change was

accomplished through the cross-breeding of plants, not

by the techniques commonly referred to as " genetic

engineering. " ) By 1978, all Canadian rapeseed produced

for food use contained less than 2% erucic acid. The

Canadian seed oil industry rechristened the product

" canola oil " (Canadian oil) in 1978 in an attempt to

distance the product from negative associations with

the word " rape. " Canola was introduced to American

consumers in 1986. By 1990, erucic acid levels in

canola oil ranged from 0.5% to 1.0%, in compliance

with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

standards.

 

This light, tasteless oil's popularity is due to the

structure of its fats. It is lower in saturated fat

(about 6%) than any other oil. Compare this to the

high saturated fat content of peanut oil (about 18%)

and palm oil (at an incredibly high 79%). It also

contains more cholesterol-balancing monounsaturated

fat than any oil except olive oil and has the

distinction of containing Omega-3 fatty acids, a

polyunsaturated fat reputed to not only lower both

cholesterol and triglycerides, but also to contribute

to brain growth and development.

 

In other words, it's a healthy oil. One shouldn't feel

afraid to use it because of some Internet scare

loosely based on half-truths and outright lies.

 

Barbara " oil color(ed) " Mikkelson

 

Additional information:

 

Truth and Myths about Canola (Canola Council

of Canada)

 

Canola Baloney (The Washington Post)

 

Last updated: 7 February 2001

 

 

 

 

The URL for this page is

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/canola.htm

Click here to e-mail this page to a friend

Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2003

by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson

This material may not be reproduced without permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.

http://mailplus.