In order to cook food evenly, cooking requires fat. Fats used in cooking (oil, butter and others) provide a good taste and texture as well as preventing food from sticking on our cookware.
Because of the effects of saturated animal fats on our heart, it is generally recommended to use plant-based oils instead .
Canola and vegetable oils are both popular choices, as they are inexpensive, neutral tasting, and allow for high temperature cooking. Which is better?
Canola Oil: Pros and cons
Canola is a variety of rapeseed. Rapeseed oil, which contains a large amount of erucic acids, was used only for industrial and non-food uses until relatively recently.
Scientists in Canada successfully improved the quality and yield of Rapeseed cultivars in 1976 by carefully breeding them so that their erucic acids levels were reduced. The new variety was registered as “Canola”, for “Canadian”, and “OLA”, (Oil, Low Acid).
Canola oil, like other plant-based oils has shown to be beneficial for cholesterol levels and cardiovascular health.
There doesn’t appear to be any significant differences in health outcomes when compared with other cooking oils such as olive oil or sunflower oil. Canola oil cannot be compared to other plant-derived oils in a way that is definitive.
Canola oil is not consumed by some people because it contains GMOs (genetically-modified organisms). GMOs are controversial and inconclusive, but some people do not want to consume them.
GMOs are often cited as a risk because they contain more pesticides. Farmers use insecticides or fungicides as pest control, but they can harm their crops. This is unless the plants have been genetically modified to be resistant to pesticides. The modification allows for easier growth, but the increased use of pesticides may be harmful to our health.
Vegetable oil – Pros & Cons
Vegetable oils are made by blending different oils. Usually, this is a mixture of soybean, canola, and sunflower oil.
This is a cheap and generic cooking oil that can be used for any type of cooking.
Since it’s a mix, it’s less likely that you will know exactly what plants it was made from, how they were processed and the ratio of fatty acid in it.
While this might pose a problem to people who are looking for a more precise way to control what they eat and want it to be healthier, vegetable oils can be as healthy or even more so than animal fats such as butter or lard.
Canola oil and vegetable oils both have their good and bad qualities, making it difficult to decide which is the best.
It may be best to keep a few different oils in your pantry and change up your routine from time to time. Oils like grapeseed, avocado, and peanut oils can have different flavors and work best at various temperatures. Variety can provide a wider range of nutrients while keeping your meals interesting.
