Healthy fat profile of canola oil versus other oils

The Chart below depicts 'bad' fats in orange and 'healthy' fats in dark green (mono-unsaturated). Fats that are 'essential' in human diets are in light green and beige. At 7 percent, the saturated fat level is lower than any other edible oil source. Note also that the essential fatty acid levels that are important to human health are very high in canola as well.

U. S. health professionals have run extensive studies on the positive impact of canola oil. In an exhaustive study of 9,000 Americans' diets (published in October, 2007 in Journal of the American Dietetic Association and co-authored by a professor of nutrition at Pennsylvania State University), scientists found that simply substituting canola oil for other edible oils drove saturated fat levels down. Levels of these "bad" fats fell by as much as 9.4 percent. "Good fats" (mono-unsaturated and alpha-linolenic acid) went up by 28 and 73 percent respectively. Nutritional researchers commented that the findings were "provocative" because they suggest that very simple recipe changes or reformulations in favor of canola oil have the potential to correct dietary fat intake problems in American diets. In the words of Jennifer A. Nettleton, Ph.D., cardiovascular disease epidemiologist at University of Texas Health Sciences Center:

"[S]ubstituting canola oil for other common oils has the potential to reduce the substantial burden of coronary heart disease in the United States"

This recent study is only the latest of dozens that led to the Food and Drug Administration granting canola oil a qualified health claim that indicates that:

"Canola oil...can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease".

Healthy hearts have now entered the realm of pop culture. We invite you to listen to Message from Your Heart, a song by Kina Grannis.