Will Canola Oil Help Your Heart?

As you've searched for healthier ways to fix your food, you've heard about canola oil and its purported health benefits. Now, the oil has picked up the blessings of the federal government.

Expect to see more products made with canola oil now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given producers the green light to say on product labels the oil can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

The FDA okayed the "qualified health claim" Oct. 6 after reviewing studies that show canola oil's high levels of unsaturated fat, what nutritionists and other health experts call "good fat," as opposed to artery-clogging saturated and trans fats.

'Ample evidence'

The U.S. Canola Oil Association submitted its petition to the FDA for the health claim in January and hopes to promote the benefits of canola oil as an ingredient in healthy cooking, group leaders said.

"The type of fat consumed is as important as the amount," said John Haas, the association's president. "The claim may encourage food manufacturers and food service providers to substitute canola oil for other oils with less favorable nutritional profiles.

"There is ample scientific evidence to demonstrate these benefits from the unsaturated fats in canola oil. By using it in place of other common edible oils, consumers can increase their compliance with the latest dietary recommendations."

Health experts say canola oil is 93 percent unsaturated fat and is free of "bad" cholesterol and trans fat. It also contains the lowest amount of saturated fat - 7 percent - of any common cooking oil.

A staple of the healthful "Mediterranean diets," olive oil also has an FDA heart health claim.

Cutting saturated fat

Canola acerage in North Dakota, which produces 95 percent of the country's canola, or about 1.5 billion pounds, hit a record 1.3 million in 2001 and 2002.

And those totals could hit 2 million in two or three years, thanks to the FDA action and the push for using canola as an ingredient in biodiesel fuel, said Barry Coleman, executive director of the Northern Canola Growers Association.

Dr. Guy Johnson, a nutrition consultant and one of the experts behind the canola qualified claim, said recently you can cut nearly 10 percent of the saturated fat out of your healthy eating by switching from vegetable oils and margarine to canola oil.

Canola oil would help boost the monounsaturated fat and "alpha-linolenic acid" - a type of omega-3 fatty acid - by 28 percent and 73 percent respectively, Johnson said.

Source: U.S. Canola Association

Cheers,

Eve :-)