Is Canola Oil Safe?

As soon as more brands of canola oil became commercially available in the country, I made the decision to refrain from using vegetable oil in cooking our meals and use canola oil instead. Canola oil was said to have countless benefits. For one, it contains monounsaturated fatty acids, as what's found in olive oil, and omega-3 fatty acids just like the one found in flax oil. "Canola" is derived from "Canola oil" since the rapeseeds where the oils are extracted from were originally grown in Canada.

A few months ago, I read from a plurk thread that canola oil may be bad for the health. According to Wikipedia, there had been legal issues specifically regarding genetically modified canola which was first introduced in Canada in 1995. About.com says that these are all rumors and hoaxes. In fact, in October 2006, The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)has ruled canola oil as eligible to bear a health claim on its ability to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

I have read about olive and flax seed benefits. However, compared to olive oil and flax oil, canola oil is the cheaper alternative. Then again, our very own coconut and palm oils are the cheapest in the market. For the meantime, we are staying away from canola because I can't be sure whether the ones I buy in the market are genetically modified or not. I am now back to buying palm oil but we are avoiding fried foods as much as possible.

Are you using canola oil? What do you think about the canola oil controversy?

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