Overview
Canola oil is most commonly used for preventing heart disease and for lowering cholesterol levels.
How does it work ?
Uses & Effectiveness ?
Possibly Effective for
- Heart disease. There is some evidence that using canola oil in place of dietary fats with higher amounts of saturated fat might reduce the risk of heart disease. The suggested amount of canola oil is about 20 grams (1.5 tbsp) per day in place of other fats and oils.
- High cholesterol. Replacing other dietary fats with canola oil seems to slightly lower levels of cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad") cholesterol in people with high cholesterol and those at risk for heart disease. Some types of canola oil are modified to contain high amounts of oleic acid or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These types of canola oil might have a greater effect on LDL cholesterol than regular canola oil.
Possibly Ineffective for
- Obesity. Although not all research agrees, most research shows that taking canola oil doesn't greatly reduce body weight. It also doesn't seem to reduce fat.
Insufficient Evidence for
- Diabetes. Early research shows that including canola oil as part of a low glycemic load diet helps to control blood sugar better than a whole-grain diet in people with diabetes who are already taking antidiabetes drugs. Other early research shows that taking canola oil reduces levels of LDL cholesterol in middle-aged women with diabetes. But it does not work as well as rice bran oil.
- Inherited tendency towards high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolemia). Early research shows that using canola oil as the only source of fat as part of a low-fat diet helps to reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad") cholesterol in children with inherited high cholesterol. But using sunflower oil as the only source of dietary fat seems to work just as well.
- High blood pressure. Early research shows that using canola oil that contains docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) helps lower blood pressure in people with large waists and risk factors for heart disease. But it seems that it is the DHA in the canola oil is what causes this improvement. Using canola oil without DHA does not seem to lower blood pressure.
- A grouping of symptoms that increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke (metabolic syndrome). Early research shows that using canola oil instead of butter helps lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad") cholesterol in men with metabolic syndrome. But using canola oil doesn't seem to lower blood pressure, triglycerides, or blood sugar. It also doesn't seem to increase levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good") cholesterol.
- Build up of fat in the liver in people who drink little or no alcohol (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD). Early research shows that cooking with canola oil may help reduce the severity of NAFLD compared to cooking with soybean/safflower oil.
- Other conditions.
Side Effects
Special Precautions and Warnings
Children: Canola oil is LIKELY SAFE when used in food amounts. There isn't enough reliable information to know if canola oil is safe to use as a medicine.
Interactions ?
We currently have no information for CANOLA OIL overview.
Dosing
ADULTS
BY MOUTH:
- For heart disease: For reducing the risk of heart disease, using about 20 grams (1.5 tbsp) of canola oil per day in place of other fats and oils with higher amounts of saturated fat might help.
- For high cholesterol: Replacing other edible fats and oils with canola oil daily for 4 weeks has been used. In some cases, a diet is prepared to provide up to 60 grams of canola oil per 3000 kcal of energy. In other cases, a diet is prepared to provide canola oil as 70% of total fat. Cheese providing 11 grams of canola oil in place of milk fat daily for 4 weeks has also been used.
Atefi M, Pishdad GR, Faghih S. The effects of canola and olive oils on insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress in women with type 2 diabetes: a randomized and controlled trial. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2018;17(2):85-91. View abstract.
Baril-Gravel L, Labonté ME, Couture P, et al. Docosahexaenoic acid-enriched canola oil increases adiponectin concentrations: a randomized crossover controlled intervention trial. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2015;25(1):52-9. View abstract.
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FDA completes review of qualified health claim petition for oleic acid and the risk of coronary heart disease. November 2018. Available at: www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm624758.htm. Accessed January 25, 2019.
Francois CA, Connor SL, Wander RC, Connor WE. Acute effects of dietary fatty acids on the fatty acids of human milk. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;67(2):301-8. View abstract.
Ghobadi S, Hassanzadeh-Rostami Z, Mohammadian F, Zare M, Faghih S. Effects of canola oil consumption on lipid profile: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. J Am Coll Nutr. 2019;38(2):185-196. View abstract.
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Gillingham LG, Robinson KS, Jones PJ. Effect of high-oleic canola and flaxseed oils on energy expenditure and body composition in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Metabolism. 2012;61(11):1598-605. View abstract.
Gillingham, L. G., Gustafson, J. A., Han, S. Y., Jassal, D. S., and Jones, P. J. High-oleic rapeseed (canola) and flaxseed oils modulate serum lipids and inflammatory biomarkers in hypercholesterolaemic subjects. Br J Nutr 2011;105(3):417-427. View abstract.
Gladine C, Combe N, Vaysse C, et al. Optimized rapeseed oil enriched with healthy micronutrients: a relevant nutritional approach to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Results of the Optim'Oils randomized intervention trial. J Nutr Biochem. 2013;24(3):544-9. View abstract.
https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/. Accessed January 25, 2019.
Iggman D, Gustafsson IB, Berglund L, Vessby B, Marckmann P, Risérus U. Replacing dairy fat with rapeseed oil causes rapid improvement of hyperlipidaemia: a randomized controlled study. J Intern Med. 2011;270(4):356-64. View abstract.
Jenkins DJ, Kendall CW, Vuksan V, et al. Effect of lowering the glycemic load with canola oil on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors: a randomized controlled trial. Diabetes Care. 2014;37(7):1806-14. View abstract.
Jones PJ, MacKay DS, Senanayake VK, et al. High-oleic canola oil consumption enriches LDL particle cholesteryl oleate content and reduces LDL proteoglycan binding in humans. Atherosclerosis. 2015;238(2):231-8. View abstract.
Jones PJ, Senanayake VK, Pu S, Jenkins DJ, Connelly PW, Lamarche B, Couture P, Charest A, Baril-Gravel L, West SG, Liu X, Fleming JA, McCrea CE, Kris-Etherton PM. DHA-enriched high-oleic acid canola oil improves lipid profile and lowers predicted cardiovascular disease risk in the canola oil multicenter randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Jul;100(1):88-97. View abstract.
Karvonen HM, Tapola NS, Uusitupa MI, Sarkkinen ES. The effect of vegetable oil-based cheese on serum total and lipoprotein lipids. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2002;56(11):1094-101. View abstract.
Kratz M, von Eckardstein A, Fobker M, et al. The impact of dietary fat composition on serum leptin concentrations in healthy nonobese men and women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002;87(11):5008-14. View abstract.
Kruse M, von Loeffelholz C, Hoffmann D, et al. Dietary rapeseed/canola-oil supplementation reduces serum lipids and liver enzymes and alters postprandial inflammatory responses in adipose tissue compared to olive-oil supplementation in obese men. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015;59(3):507-19. View abstract.
Libuda L, Mesch CM, Stimming M, et al. Fatty acid supply with complementary foods and LC-PUFA status in healthy infants: results of a randomised controlled trial. Eur J Nutr. 2016;55(4):1633-44. View abstract.
Lin L, Allemekinders H, Dansby A, et al. Evidence of health benefits of canola oil. Nutr Rev. 2013;71(6):370-85. View abstract.
Liu X, Kris-Etherton PM, West SG, et al. Effects of canola and high-oleic-acid canola oils on abdominal fat mass in individuals with central obesity. Obesity. 2016;24(11):2261-2268. View abstract.
Negele L, Schneider B, Ristl R, et al. Effect of a low-fat diet enriched either with rapeseed oil or sunflower oil on plasma lipoproteins in children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia. Results of a pilot study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2015;69(3):337-43. View abstract.
Nielsen NS, Pedersen A, Sandström B, Marckmann P, Høy CE. Different effects of diets rich in olive oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower-seed oil on postprandial lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and on lipoprotein oxidation susceptibility. Br J Nutr. 2002;87(5):489-99. View abstract.
Nigam P, Bhatt S, Misra A, et al. Effect of a 6-month intervention with cooking oils containing a high concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids (olive and canola oils) compared with control oil in male Asian Indians with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2014;16(4):255-61. View abstract.
Palomäki A, Pohjantähti-Maaroos H, Wallenius M, et al. Effects of dietary cold-pressed turnip rapeseed oil and butter on serum lipids, oxidized LDL and arterial elasticity in men with metabolic syndrome. Lipids Health Dis. 2010;9:137. View abstract.
Qualified Health Claims - Qualified Health Claims: Letter of Enforcement Discretion - Unsaturated Fatty Acids from Canola Oil and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease (Docket No. 2006Q-0091). 2006. Available at: https://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20171114183734/https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm072958.htm. Accessed 25 March 2019.
Raeisi-Dehkordi H, Amiri M, Humphries KH, Salehi-Abargouei A. The effect of canola oil on body weight and composition: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. Adv Nutr. 2019;10(3):419-432. View abstract.
Rzehak P, Koletzko S, Koletzko B, et al.Growth of infants fed formula rich in canola oil (low erucic acid rapeseed oil). Clin Nutr. 2011;30(3):339-45. View abstract.
Salar A, Faghih S, Pishdad GR. Rice bran oil and canola oil improve blood lipids compared to sunflower oil in women with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, single-blind, controlled trial. J Clin Lipidol. 2016;10(2):299-305. View abstract.
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