On Sat, 25 Nov 2006 10:38:33 -0800, Brenda Young
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I have read
>> several different articles (I'm sorry, I can't remember any
>> particular references, although I THINK one of them may have been
>> Dr. Mercola) that say canola is particularly dangerous to ingest,
>> being derived from the rapeseed, etc. Any thoughts on this??
>
Arrgh! ;) I should have known that canola would stir up unintended
controversy, as that is an issue of some dispute in Paleo and low-carb
circles. If you search the word 'canola' in these forums you will find
plenty of discussions on it.
The author Loren Cordain and Ken Stuart (who runs the Yahoo group
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/paleolife) have recommend canola oil
as part of a Paleo diet. Both have participated in the discussions here in
the past. You can find Cordain's arguments in favor of canola oil here:
http://thepaleodiet.com/faqs, and Ken said that people can email him at
<[log in to unmask]> if they want "a formal rebuttal to all the various urban
legends about canola oil."
Which cooking fats to use is one of those grey areas in the Paleo way of
eating. I'm guessing that Paleolithic peoples didn't add any cooking fats
to their foods as a regular practice (beyond the fat already in whatever
animals, nuts or seeds they roasted), and they likely didn't fry any
foods. There are some good arguments on both sides of the canola oil
debate. Here is a breakdown that I created some time ago to clarify for
myself where some prominent people fit in the overall cooking fats debate
(I don't have information on where these people stand on ALL the cooking
fats, so if someone has additional information that would be greatly
appreciated):
Cooking Fats
Loren Cordain, Ph.D.:
Permitted: canola oil (trans-fat free), mustard seed oil, walnut oil,
olive oil, avocado oil (he initially advocated flaxseed oil in cooking but
changed that to only recommending using it cold based on the
recommendations of others, for "reasons that are unclear")
Prohibited:
- coconut oil, coconut butter and animal fats (because they are high in
saturated fat)
- hydrogenated oils (due to trans fats)
- almond oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, soybean
oil, and any other oils that have high levels of omega 6 fatty acids,
saturated fats or lectins
- no frying of any oil under searing or high heat
Ray Audette
Permitted: olive oil, animal fat (preferably pasture-fed, including from
beef suet and uncured bacon), coconut oil and coconut butter
Prohibited: hydrogenated oils (due to trans fats)
Dr. Mercola
Permitted: coconut oil, animal fats
Prohibited: olive oil, canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil,
sunflower oil, trans fats
Dr. Mary Enig
Permitted: coconut oil (and other tropical oils) and coconut butter,
animal fat, olive oil (in moderation)
Prohibited: canola oil, hydrogenated oils
Todd Moody of the Paleofood forums has also refuted some of the criticisms
of canola, but errs on the side of caution, choosing not to use it
himself, because it does not have a long history of use and is therefore
somewhat of an unknown. I use some canola, but am neither a great advocate
of it or a major detractor. My views on it are similar to Todd's, but I
choose to take a calculated risk and use it at times.
A note on Mercola: while I find some of his articles quite informative, he
advocates some pretty questionable things, such as using magnets as part
of a treatment regimen for depression and other health issues. He has even
sold magnets in the past via his website and email newsletter (I don't
know whether he still is or not). I know a doctor who was a classmate of
his and agrees that some of Mercola's information is rather questionable
to say the least. I do appreciate the fact, however, that Mercola is
better informed about the dangers of grains than most healthcare
professionals and his Website was helpful for me when I was first learning
about the downsides of wheat and other grains.
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