Better Body Clinical Nutrition

BLOG

Canola Oil

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 11:56 AM

Have you been lied to about the health benefits of canola oil?
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Many people have asked me why, because all they hear in the mainstream media is that canola oil is "heart healthy" and a good source of monounsaturated fats similar to olive oil. 
Well, first of all, you need to realize that much of what you hear in the mainstream media has been influenced by heavy handed marketing tactics by big food companies.  Canola oil is cheap for them to produce so they want to fool you into thinking it's a "health oil" so that people, restaurants, etc. will buy it up as their main oil of choice.
Yes, it's true that canola oil is high in monounsaturates, but let me explain why canola oil is anything but "healthy".
Canola oil is made from something called rapeseed. Rapeseed actually had to be bred over the years to reduce the percentage of a problematic component of rapeseed, which is erucic acid.
Important note on canola oil "urban legends":  There is a problem with most websites that DEFEND canola oil, saying that internet "urban legends" on the dangers of canola oil are unfounded.  The problem is that these websites that defend canola oil ONLY talk about the issue of erucic acid.  The issue of erucic acid IS an urban legend, because erucic acid has been bred out to very low levels over the years, so it is a non-issue.
However, these websites that defend canola oil are barking up the wrong tree because they don't address the issue of the processing of canola oil and oxidation of the polyunsaturated component of canola oil, which is what makes it unhealthy for human consumption.  THAT'S the real issue that they either don't understand (because they are not nutrition experts) or are simply ignoring.
Let's look at the REAL issues with canola oil:
Canola oil typically ranges between 55-65% monounsaturated fat and between 28-35% polyunsaturated fat, with just a small amount of saturated fat.
While we've been led to believe that high monounsaturated fat oils are good for us (which they are in the case of virgin olive oil or from unprocessed nuts or seeds), the fact is that canola oil has more detriments than it does benefits.
One of the biggest problems with highly processed and refined vegetable oils such as corn oil, soybean oil, and yes, even canola oil, is that the polyunsaturated component of the oil is highly unstable under heat, light, and pressure, and this heavily oxidizes the polyunsaturates which increases free radicals in your body.
The end result of all of this refining and processing are oils that are highly inflammatory in your body when you ingest them, potentially contributing to heart disease, weight gain, and other degenerative diseases.
The reason that extra virgin olive oil is good for you is that it is cold pressed without the use of heat and solvents to aid extraction. It also contains important antioxidants that help protect the stability of the oil.
Canola oil, on the other hand, is typically extracted and refined using high heat, pressure, and petroleum solvents such as hexane. Most canola oil undergoes a process of caustic refining, degumming, bleaching, and deoderization, all using high heat and questionable chemicals. 
Even worse, all of this high heat, high pressure processing with solvents actually forces some of the omega-3 content of canola oil to be transformed into trans fats.
According to Dr. Mary Enig, PhD, and Nutritional Biochemist, "Although the Canadian government lists the trans fat content of canola at a minimal 0.2 percent, research at the University of Florida at Gainesville, found trans fat levels as high as 4.6 percent in commercial liquid canola oil".
As you can see from the details above on how canola oil is processed, it is barely any healthier for you than other junk oils like soybean oil or corn oil.  The bottom line is that it is an inflammatory oil in your body and should be avoided as much as possible.
The only canola oil that might be reasonable is if you see that it is "cold pressed" and organic. Most canola oil is NOT cold pressed or organic, so you might as well choose oils that you know are healthier.
Your best bets are these truly healthy oils:
• extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) - for lower temperature cooking or used as a healthy salad dressing oil
• Udo's Choice Oil Blend - NEVER use this for cooking as it has a higher polyunsaturated fat content (therefore heat destroys the benefits of this oil, and increases it's inflammatory properties), but it is a cold processed blend of healthy oils that mixes well with olive oil for salad dressings.
• Virgin coconut oil - great for all temperatures of cooking due to its super high stability under heat.  A great source of healthy saturated fats in the form of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), one of which is Lauric Acid, which helps support the immune system and is lacking in most western diets.
• Organic grass-fed butter - I like to use a mix of grass-fed butter, coconut oil, and a small bit of olive oil for most of my cooking. Grass-fed butter is a great source of the healthy fat, CLA, which has even been shown in studies to have muscle building and fat burning properties.  Grass-fed butter also has a much healthier omega-6 to omega-3 ratio than standard butter at your grocery store.  Kerrygold Irish butter is my favorite grass-fed butter.
So don't be fooled by food labels claiming that they contain "healthy canola oil"... as you can see, this couldn't be further from the truth!  Choose some of the healthier options above and your body will thank 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It is very precise and scientific. However, if I were to analyze you using Nutrition Response Testing before it was explained to you, you might find it strange, or simply not believable – only because it is probably very different from anything you may have experienced before.


Quite frankly, if you want to get healthy and stay healthy, it is important that you understand what Nutrition Response Testing is, and what our recommendations are based on.


Otherwise, you are less likely to follow through and actually do what you need to do to get well. To put it simply, if you don't follow through, you won't get well. And if you are not going to get well, why do it in the first place?


The results we have been having with Nutrition Response Testing are often in the 90% and better range. The only reason we are here is to help you get well. That is why I want to make sure you get the correct understanding of what Nutrition Response Testing is right from the start.


Let's get started

In medical practice there are two key parts: the diagnosis (identifying and/or naming the “disease” or syndrome) and the treatment (drugs, surgery, etc.).


In Nutrition Response Testing we do not diagnose or treat disease - but we also have two parts: the analysis and the personalized health improvement program (using designed clinical nutrition).


Simply put, first we do an analysis, and then we design a natural health improvement program to help you handle what we find in our analysis of your body and condition.


First the Analysis

The analysis is done through testing the body's own neurological reflexes and acupuncture points. The neurological reflexes are derived from the part of the nervous system whose job is to regulate the functions of each and every organ. The acupuncture points are selected from the ancient Chinese system of acupuncture, which is thousands of years old.


Nutrition Response Testing is a study of how the different points on the surface of the body relate to the state of health and to the flow of energy in each and every organ and function of the body.


Interestingly, since the human anatomy has not changed significantly in thousands of years, the utilization of these reflexes and specific points have become extremely useful in our practice because they are so accurate!


Think about it

Each Nutrition Response Testing reflex represents a specific organ, tissue, or function, and indicates the effect that energy, or the lack of energy, is having on the body. By testing the Nutrition Response Testing reflexes, we have a system of monitoring your body at each visit that has proven to be extremely accurate clinically, and that helps us identify exactly what the body needs and how well we are meeting that need.


Doesn't this sound like something you would want for yourself in order to predict, with certainty, what is needed and wanted by the body to get you to the next stage of improved health?


How do we access the Nutrition Response Testing™ reflexes in order to get this information?


If I were to hook you up to an electro-cardiograph machine and take a reading, that would make perfect sense to you, right?


What is actually happening during this procedure? Electrical energy from the heart is running over the wires. This electrical energy makes the electrocardiograph record the energy pattern in the form of a graph or chart. I could then study this graph and tell you what it all means.


Here is what we do with Nutrition Response Testing. Instead of connecting electrodes to the specific points being tested, the Nutrition Response Testing doctor contacts these points with his/her own hand. With his other hand, he/she will test the muscle of your extended arm. If the reflex being contacted is active, the nervous system will respond by reducing energy to the extended arm, and the arm will weaken and drop. This drop signifies underlying stress or dysfunction, which can be affecting your health.


Call us at 512-961-1866 to schedule your visit, or to reserve a seat at one of our Free Health Seminars to find out more.