What Makes Canola Oil Potentially Healthy?

800x600 What makes canola oil potentially healthy? Canola oil is low in saturated fat and has a high extent of monounsaturated fat (MUFA). These factors contribute to its perceived benefit as a healthy and safe option while considering the choice of cooking oil.  What does this all mean for the consumer, and how do we sort out this and make sense?   The fat issue...First let us consider the issue of the low occurrence of unsaturated fat (or fatty acids) in canola oil. Foods mainly composed of unsaturated fat (made up mostly of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) are liquid at room temperature, such as olive oil, safflower oil, peanut oil and corn oil.   Fats consist of fatty acids combined with glycerol (a fatty acid bound three glycerol groups this is called a triglyceride).  A fatty acid contains a varying number of carbon and hydrogen atoms in a chain as its constituents.  When all the carbons in a fatty acid backbone are linked with the maximum number of hydrogen atoms possible, i.e., when the carbon chain is fully saturated with hydrogen moieties  in its back bone, then this fatty acid is said to be a saturated fat. When fewer than the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms are attached to each carbon in a fatty acid chain, this fatty acid is considered as an unsaturated fat. The total hydrogen atoms in an unsaturated fatty acid are fewer in number than those in a saturated fatty acid.   Foods mainly composed of unsaturated fat [primarily MUFA and PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid)], such as olive oil, safflower oil, peanut oil and corn oil, are in the form of a liquid at room temperature. In contrast, foods that are primarily derived from saturated fat are solid at room temperature.   Saturated fat is considered to elevate total blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, which could increase your risk of heart (cardiovascular) disorders. Very often you hear the term, artery (blood vessel) clogging, a property ascribed to saturated fats. Saturated fat may also have a propensity to increase ones risk of type 2 diabetes.   MUFAs are monounsaturated fatty acids, which are considered to be potentially beneficial fats (a healthy type of fat). If your diet includes unsaturated fats such as MUFAs (and polyunsaturated fats) instead of saturated fats and trans fats, you could derive certain health benefits. MUFAs constitute a very significant of the potentially heart-healthy Mediterranean diet. The consumption of MUFA fatty acids may help diminish ones risk of heart disease by modifying risk factors. For instance, MUFAs have been implicated in the lowering of your total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels while maintaining or increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. MUFAs may also help normalize blood clotting.  Some studies also document that MUFAs may also improve insulin levels in the body and aid blood sugar control, which can be especially beneficial for persons with type 2 diabetes. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}