Canola is one of the most widely grown oil crops in the world today. However, canola oil has only been so healthy since the plants were modified through breeding so that toxins formerly contained in them are no longer found in the canola grown today.
Here’s what you should know about canola
In terms of human nutrition, canola is only interesting as an oil crop. In terms of human nutrition, canola is only interesting as an oil crop. It is true that the other components of rapeseed are also used, but then only in the form of biodiesel as fuel or else as cattle feed. The valuable rapeseed oil, however, due to its particularly healthy composition, has recently gained more and more importance and is in the process of replacing other popular oils on the popularity scale. Today, because it is so healthy, rapeseed oil is also added to many types of margarine, as the healthy ingredients thus ensure that margarine acquires a higher value for human health. The same is true for many other products that have a high oil content. Mayonnaise and salad creams today consist to a large percentage exclusively of rapeseed oil. Even French fries for the oven, potato chips and many other pre-fried foods now contain only rapeseed oil or a high proportion of rapeseed oil. Even butter is now frequently mixed with rapeseed oil, making it not only more spreadable but also healthier. It is therefore no wonder that more and more blooming rapeseed fields can be found in spring, and a blessing that breeding has succeeded in ridding rapeseed, which is grown for the food industry, of its toxins. In 2008, more than one million hectares of arable land in Germany were already used exclusively for rapeseed cultivation. Most of this was so-called 00-rapeseed, and some was still 0-rapeseed, i.e. varieties that are particularly beneficial to health. Incidentally, rapeseed is related to turnips, which are a subspecies of rapeseed.
Importance for health
Rapeseed oil is particularly rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and contains over 60% of them. For this reason, regular consumption of rapeseed oil ensures that the LDL cholesterol level in the blood is lowered. This is good for the heart and circulation. There is also no other oil that contains as few unhealthy saturated fatty acids as canola oil. The particularly high proportion of omega-3 fatty acids in rapeseed oil is also becoming increasingly important. Omega-3 fatty acids are not only important for the brain, but also for a well-functioning immune system. If you use rapeseed oil frequently, making sure that it is cold-pressed rapeseed oil because all essential fatty acids, which include omega-3 fatty acids, are destroyed by heat, you will prevent all cardiovascular diseases, overreactions of the immune system such as allergies and blood clotting disorders, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Of course, oil is not low in calories, but this is not a problem with rapeseed oil, because just 10 g of cold-pressed rapeseed oil (about a tablespoonful) is enough to meet a person’s need for omega-3 fatty acids. The vitamin E content in rapeseed oil additionally prevents arteriosclerosis.
Ingredients and nutritional values
It depends on whether extracted or cold-pressed canola oil is used. Due to the high heat during extraction, many of the healthy ingredients are lost in this canola oil, which is, however, particularly inexpensive. However, this oil is well suited for use when it is heated anyway, namely for frying, baking, boiling and steaming. The following ingredients refer to cold-pressed canola oil, which is best used to prepare salads and other dishes that are not heated. Cold-pressed canola oil consists of 51 to 70% as oleic acid, 15 to 30% as linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acid), and 5 to 14% as linolenic acid (omega-3 fatty acid). Of these fatty acids just mentioned, 6% are saturated fatty acids, 66% are monounsaturated fatty acids and 27% are polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, 100 g of rapeseed oil contains 30 mg of vitamin E and also the carotenoid lutein, which has an antioxidant effect and should also be mentioned. However, since it is an oil, 100 g of canola oil also contains 900 kcal.
Intolerances and allergies
As with all foods, canola oil can occasionally cause an allergic reaction.However, rapeseed oil is not one of the foods that causes a disproportionate number of intolerances or allergies and is therefore relatively safe to use in the kitchen. If, however, the suspicion arises that it is the rapeseed oil used that triggers an allergic reaction, a doctor specializing in allergies can easily find out by appropriate tests.
Non-prescription vitamins and supplements
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Shopping and kitchen tips
If you buy rapeseed oil, then you have in most supermarkets a fairly wide selection of different offers. Generally speaking, cold-pressed canola oil is always preferable to refined varieties among them, because refining largely destroys many of the valuable ingredients, especially the essential fatty acids. Since cold-pressed rapeseed oil is also heat-stable between 130 and 190 degrees, it is also suitable to some extent for hot cooking. Who would like to deep-fry or roast with it, can use however also the refined rapeseed oil which can be got ever more cheaply, because with these temperatures the good contents materials of cold pressed rapeseed oil are destroyed. Rapeseed oil can also be stored well in the refrigerator, unlike olive oil, which becomes solid at too much cold. When purchasing, it is advisable to pay attention to whether the purchased rapeseed oil has received a DLG seal with a good rating, because there are of course differences in quality, as with all foods. It does not always have to be the most expensive product that has the best quality. Also cheap discounters often offer good rapeseed oils. Dark glass such as green or brown protect the sensitive oil from exposure to light, because light can also attack the ingredients of an oil. Also highly recommended about canola oil is that it is tasteless and so therefore unlike some other good oils, it does not alter the taste of the food prepared with it.
Preparation tips
Those who take care of their health should use about a tablespoon of cold-pressed rapeseed oil in the kitchen every day. It can be taken thereby very well for the preparation of raw vegetable salads. If it is added to warm vegetables, the good contents materials remain to a large extent particularly if the rapeseed oil is given only at the end into the vegetable, if the hotplate was already switched off. In this way, the essential fatty acids and vitamins are not destroyed. Rapeseed oil is also suitable for marinating meat and for baking. If it is used for frying or stewing, it is advisable to always choose the cooking time as short as possible, then not all of the good ingredients will be destroyed.
