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[tenista]

Jeez I've spent a lot on smallish bottles of oil.   But hands down canola oil (by Spectrum, organic) is the winner for having virtually no distinguishable taste.  This is followed by Omega-3 Perilla Oil (made by Health from the Sun), which has little taste but has a very slightly bitter aftertaste, ELOO (Star braind)--which I found perhaps slightly pleasant, and La Tourangelle grapeseed oil (which I had bought recently (pre SLD) because I heard it was healthy to cook with (which made me queasy, altho' that was my first day on the diet). 

Seth was right--Canola wins (in my opinion of course).

[ssriley]

I agree with the Canola Oil. I toss it to the back of the throat, chase it with a shot of water. Done.

And totally tasteless - like a shot of thick water followed by thin water

The sugar water route just seemed tedious to me.

[Rey]

I use Carapelli brand ELOO. No taste whatsoever. I float it on 1/2 a cup of water and is almost undetectable.

[Will]

I haven't changed up my variety yet so I can't comment on ELOO or Canola oil, but the Smart Balance oil I am using seems to have virtually no flavor to me.   It is a mix of Soy, Canola, and olive oils.  According to their website, "This precise blend of polyunsaturates and monounsaturates helps to balance the saturated fats you consume in meat, fish and dairy foods."  Great, as long as it helps me lose weight.

[DirkVA]

BUT you may want to Google two simple words together:

CANOLA
and
DANGER

[Will]

DirkVA - The fifth link in  Google and the first from an actual "news" source.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041222/news_lz1f22focus.html

December 22, 2004

QUESTION: I am concerned with information on the Web stating that canola oil is rape-seed oil and is not fit for human consumption even after manufacturers address the toxic substances found in the original seed oil. This information says the oil causes blindness and other ailments that could lead to severe health problems.
What are your feelings on this product? Could it be another trans-fatty acid that people should avoid? I value and would appreciate your opinion. Thanks

ANSWER: I want to state up front that the information on canola oil that you are referring to is misleading and wrong.

First, let's cover the facts. Canola oil comes from the seed of the rape plant, a member of the mustard family, a crop that is common in Canada.

The oil of common varieties of the rape plant, as well as mustard seed and other members of this family, have high concentrations of erucic (ee-ROOS-ik) acid, a substance that can have toxic effects when consumed in large amounts.

Because of the level of naturally occurring erucic acid, rapeseed oil originally was mainly used in industrial applications.

Plant breeders discovered that the level of erucic acid and other fatty acids in the oil could be changed by selective breeding. Using standard breeding techniques, they developed varieties of rapeseed in which the erucic acid was virtually eliminated. Taking its place was a high concentration of oleic acid, the monounsaturated fatty acid that is also found in olive oil and nut oils.

Given the growing body of research on the health advantages of using monounsaturated fats in a low-fat diet, the new hybrid rapeseed oil seemed a perfect product for food uses.

There was an image problem, however: Who would buy a product named rape oil or rapeseed oil? And the name low erucic acid rapeseed (LEAR) oil was thought to be too much of a mouthful.

This set the stage for the new name, canola, which stands for Canadian Oil Low Acid. The oil received GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985, and in 1988 the name "canola" was approved for use in this country.

Canola is a healthful oil and a good source of vitamin E when minimally processed. Canola oil does not contain any trans fats unless it is processed and partially hydrogenated. Check the nutrition label.

As with all cooking oils, keep the container closed, away from heat and out of the sunlight. Shelf life with a properly sealed and stored container is approximately one year, but discard any oil that develops an off smell or taste.

 Ed Blonz, Ph.D., is a nutritional scientist based in Northern California. General-interest questions about nutrition can be mailed to: Ed Blonz, Focus on Nutrition, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or sent via e-mail to UTFood@blonz.com.

[DirkVA]

Why does the fifth link, and that from -- of all things -- a news source, have any special primacy or scientific legitimacy that supercedes all the other info?

[Will]

Why does the fifth link, and that from -- of all things -- a news source, have any special primacy or scientific legitimacy that supercedes all the other info?

Well a couple of reasons.

1.  Google ranks links - mostly - based on the number of links to the page.  Just because a page has more links to it doesn't mean it is accurate.  Google "miserable failure" or "Santorum" for examples.

2. Although it is certainly possible the news article is crap, it is less likely to be so (especially after reading #4 below).  News outlets have customers that expect them to have a certain level of accuracy.  Their profitability depends on those customers continuing to purchase their product and advertisers willing to advertise in them.  These incentives make it more likely that they will fully research their articles.
 
3.  Did you look at the other links?  They sure seem like typical weird conspiracy craziness..

4.  Check out Snopes article about it:  http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp

[Aliebling]

Heheheh.  The dirty, dirty secret of Senator Santorum.

I love it when I run into other people who know about that site.

[mjohnson121]

I think the Canola vs. ELOO is an interesting debate. Suprising study results here http://www.webmd.com/content/article/13/1728_55672.htm indicate that ELOO is DANGEROUS compared to Canola (mainly because Canola has more omega 3 like fatty acids vs the omega 9 of ELOO). Strange.

-Mark

[chanchan]

Why does the fifth link, and that from -- of all things -- a news source, have any special primacy or scientific legitimacy that supercedes all the other info?

Well a couple of reasons.

1.  Google ranks links - mostly - based on the number of links to the page.  Just because a page has more links to it doesn't mean it is accurate.  Google "miserable failure" or "Santorum" for examples.

2. Although it is certainly possible the news article is crap, it is less likely to be so (especially after reading #4 below).  News outlets have customers that expect them to have a certain level of accuracy.  Their profitability depends on those customers continuing to purchase their product and advertisers willing to advertise in them.  These incentives make it more likely that they will fully research their articles.
 
3.  Did you look at the other links?  They sure seem like typical weird conspiracy craziness..

4.  Check out Snopes article about it:  http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp

Seriously. DirkVA you may want to check the "sources" for the info on those alarmist sites on the "dangers" of canola - not a peer-reviewed article among them, in fact, they mostly cite each other's claims in a lovely "circular citation" sort of fashion. I just looked on PubMed and cant find a single article about any dangers of canola oil. google alone will lead you to strange pseudoscientific places... check out what googling "chemtrails" bring up....

[Stephen M (Ethesis)]

DirkVA - The fifth link in  Google and the first from an actual "news" source.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041222/news_lz1f22focus.html

December 22, 2004

QUESTION: I am concerned with information on the Web stating that canola oil is rape-seed oil and is not fit for human consumption even after manufacturers address the toxic substances found in the original seed oil. This information says the oil causes blindness and other ailments that could lead to severe health problems.
What are your feelings on this product? Could it be another trans-fatty acid that people should avoid? I value and would appreciate your opinion. Thanks

ANSWER: I want to state up front that the information on canola oil that you are referring to is misleading and wrong.

First, let's cover the facts. Canola oil comes from the seed of the rape plant, a member of the mustard family, a crop that is common in Canada.

The oil of common varieties of the rape plant, as well as mustard seed and other members of this family, have high concentrations of erucic (ee-ROOS-ik) acid, a substance that can have toxic effects when consumed in large amounts.

Because of the level of naturally occurring erucic acid, rapeseed oil originally was mainly used in industrial applications.

Plant breeders discovered that the level of erucic acid and other fatty acids in the oil could be changed by selective breeding. Using standard breeding techniques, they developed varieties of rapeseed in which the erucic acid was virtually eliminated. Taking its place was a high concentration of oleic acid, the monounsaturated fatty acid that is also found in olive oil and nut oils.

Given the growing body of research on the health advantages of using monounsaturated fats in a low-fat diet, the new hybrid rapeseed oil seemed a perfect product for food uses.

There was an image problem, however: Who would buy a product named rape oil or rapeseed oil? And the name low erucic acid rapeseed (LEAR) oil was thought to be too much of a mouthful.

This set the stage for the new name, canola, which stands for Canadian Oil Low Acid. The oil received GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985, and in 1988 the name "canola" was approved for use in this country.

Canola is a healthful oil and a good source of vitamin E when minimally processed. Canola oil does not contain any trans fats unless it is processed and partially hydrogenated. Check the nutrition label.

As with all cooking oils, keep the container closed, away from heat and out of the sunlight. Shelf life with a properly sealed and stored container is approximately one year, but discard any oil that develops an off smell or taste.

 Ed Blonz, Ph.D., is a nutritional scientist based in Northern California. General-interest questions about nutrition can be mailed to: Ed Blonz, Focus on Nutrition, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or sent via e-mail to UTFood@blonz.com.

A couple of medical sites have the same material.

Bottom line:  most of the scare posts about Canola oil apply to the not fit for human consumption rapeseed oils that you can't buy in the United States, not what you can.