marmalady said:
Goodweed - what'd you find on canola oil? I always thought it was one of the 'okay' oils?
The controversy cones from the fact that the same plant from which canola oil is derived (rapeseed) is used to make mustard gas, or so I'm told. Also, canola oil tends to stick around in the body as it is a very stable and pernacious oil. If you ever splatter cothing with the stuff, it is nearly impossible to get the stain out. That's not true with most cooking oils. They imulsify readily with products such as Dawn Dishwashing liquid, and other household cleaners. I have shirts that have had canola oil stains in them for years.
It is also suggested that the FDA was bribed to hurry the product through screening and be given a clean bill of health in spite of various testing that showed it to be harmful to the human body.
On the other side, canola oil does contain heathy Omega-3 fatty acids, and is high in polyunsaturates. It does hold up well when heated.
Again on the con-side, the precurser to canola oil is and industrial oil used for lubrication of machinery. That oil is not safe for human ocnsumption. Further processing turns it into canola oil.
But then again, witergreen oil is safe for human consumption, and is used where a high quality, light machine oil is needed. Various applications of Wintergreen oil were used by Lockheed Missiles and Space when I worked for them.
So, you really have to do a bit of research on this one and make up your own mind.
For me, I don't know which camp is correct, so I'll take the safe side and use Sunflower oil, which is not controversial, and get my Omega-3's from other sources such as fish and flax.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North