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Rapeseed Oil… good or bad?

Posted on by Linda Anousta


Do you use it?
Did you know it has been described to us as a ” good oil to use” and is in almost everything.
Did you know it is infammatory and can cause a lot of inflammed bowel isses? If you dont feel as good as you think you should……….
Read on………..

Functional Food
What Is Rapeseed Oil & Should You Be Cooking With It?
Sarah Garone, NDTR
By Sarah Garone, NDTR
mbg Contributor
Sarah Garone is a licensed nutritionist and freelance health and wellness writer in Mesa, AZ whose work has appeared in numerous publications.
Lauren Torrisi-Gorra, M.S., RD
Expert review by
Lauren Torrisi-Gorra, M.S., RD
Registered Dietitian
Lauren Torrisi-Gorra, MS, RD is a registered dietitian, chef, and writer with a love of science and passion for helping people create life-long healthy habits. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Studies from Fordham University, a Grand Diplôme in Culinary Arts from the French Culinary Institute, and master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics from New York University.

Last updated on March 31, 2023

What exactly is rapeseed oil?

Turns out, we do use rapeseed oil in the U.S.—it just goes by the name canola oil. Wait, what? Read on for the details on why rapeseed oil can go by different names, its nutritional pros and cons, and whether it’s a healthy choice for cooking oil.

Despite its limited name recognition in North America, rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. It’s extracted from the seeds of a plant called rape, which is botanically related to cruciferous veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. The plant grows primarily in Canada and western Europe and is identifiable by its bright yellow flowers.

Rapeseed oil comes in two distinct forms. Industrial rapeseed oil, which isn’t edible, is used for purposes like lubricating engines and making lipstick. It contains high amounts of erucic acid,a substance known to be toxic to humans.

Some professional chefs and home cooks are fans of culinary rapeseed oil for its neutral flavor and high smoke point of up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. But for some, the oil’s GMO status is problematic enough to keep it out of the kitchen (more on that below).
Summary
Extracted from the rape plant (a member of the cruciferous family), rapeseed oil is available in both industrial and culinary forms. In the US and Canada, the culinary form is known as canola oil. This oil is commonly used in restaurants, home kitchens, and to make processed foods.

Yes, “canola” is simply another term for culinary rapeseed oil. The primary difference between American canola oil and, say, French or German rapeseed oil is probably its growing location, not its nutrition or degree of processing.
The nutritional value of rapeseed oil.

That said, there’s some concern about the polyunsaturated fat ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s in rapeseed oil. “While it does include some omega-3, it’s much higher in omega-6 fatty acids. Having too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3 in the diet has been linked to inflammation in the body.

If you’re looking to purchase culinary rapeseed oil, you’ll find several distinct forms. Some terms to understand include:

Refined: Most rapeseed and canola oils are highly refined. Translation: they’ve undergone multiple chemical processes like bleaching and deodorizing. This makes them more palatable and increases their smoke point, but decreases their nutrient content.

Unrefined: Unrefined rapeseed or canola oils can be harder to track down, but seek them out if possible. This variety is significantly less processed than refined.

Cold-pressed: Cold-pressed rapeseed oil is extracted from the plant without using heat. This helps it retain nutrients that would otherwise be lost.

Vegetable oil-rapeseed oil blends: Many vegetable oils combine rapeseed or canola with sunflower, soybean, olive, or other oils.

Next up are rapeseed oil’s possible benefits for hair and skin. “The unsaturated fatty acids in rapeseed may help dry hair due to the moisturizing properties of the oil to scalp and hair and skin,” says naturopath and dietitian Jaime Schehr, N.D., R.D.

The softening potential of rapeseed oil likely has to do with the oil’s vitamin E content. Research shows that vitamin E’s antioxidant properties may help reduce inflammation in the skin6
as well as promote hair growth7when used as a scalp treatment or hair mask.

It has advantages for cooking.

Besides these health perks, rapeseed oil has plenty of advantages for cooking. Its high smoke point, versatility, neutral flavor, and affordability make it a go-to for many cooks.
The downsides of rapeseed oil

If you’ve done some culinary homework of your own, you may have heard of some of rapeseed oil’s downsides—and, unfortunately, there are several.
1.
It’s usually genetically modified.

Over 90% of canola crops in the U.S. are genetically modified. Genetic modification isn’t always bad news for health9—but when it changes the way plants respond to pesticides, it can quickly become problematic. (It’s also not great for the environment when plants are grown in a monoculture, which most rapeseed plants are10

“Rapeseed is a highly processed oil, with many of the plants genetically modified and more resistant to herbicides. When crops are resistant to herbicides, even more of those herbicides are needed, potentially causing more harm to the environment,” explains Schehr. “This also means we are ingesting those strong herbicides, and therefore this may not be the best choice for oil.”
2.
It may cause inflammation.

Omega-3s and omega-6s are generally considered friendly fats, but when their ratio gets out of whack, your health might pay the price.

“With an omega 3 to 6 ratio of 1:2, this oil does have a significant amount of omega-6, which most people get too much of in their diet and can lead to inflammation,” says Schehr. Some studies have linked an excess of omega-6 to omega-3 with an increased risk of obesity11
, for example. Plus, rapeseed oil is often used in highly processed foods, which research shows may be its own driver of inflammation12

.
Rapeseed’s potential for oxidation

Oxidation occurs when oils are exposed to light, heat, and oxygen, causing them to produce harmful or even toxic byproducts. This can also happen when certain oils are cooked at very high temperatures13
. Rapeseed oil has a reputation for a quick rate of oxidation—research found that it oxidized faster than peanut or corn oils14

.

As the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. “During prolonged or deep-frying, harmful compounds may form as [rapeseed] oil oxidizes. This happens sooner in oils with high PUFA content,” says Cording. Then again, this doesn’t mean that frying in rapeseed oil will make poison for dinner. “The refined rapeseed oils are actually thought to be less susceptible to this because the compounds that are more susceptible to oxidation (like free fatty acids) are removed during processing.”

Cording’s big-picture takeaway on the dangers (or lack thereof) of oxidized oil: “It really depends on how frequently someone is consuming foods cooked with rapeseed oil. No matter what oil you use, avoid reusing cooking oil and store your oil in a cool, dark, and dry place.”
So, is rapeseed oil bad for you?

Rapeseed oil may not be a dietary angel—but is it bad enough to oust it from your pantry entirely? “If someone’s occasionally eating something that happens to have rapeseed oil in it, I wouldn’t panic,” says Cording. Still, she recommends replacing rapeseed or canola oil with other, healthier options when you can.

“We have so much research on the benefits of olive oil, I would encourage making the swap to take advantage of those health benefits. For a more neutral flavor, avocado oil is also a great alternative that will work well in cooking,” Cording adds.

Note from Linda Love Anousta
I for one am checking everything I eat and avoiding Rapeseed at all times ( even though it is in Oatley Oat milk which i love in my tea and coffee but nope…. this Rapeseed oil is TOO inflammatory on the guts to risk consumming.
Bye Bye Rapeseed ( Canola oil)

Welcome to the Love Anousta Blog

Posted on by Linda Anousta

AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE FROM SMART HOLISTICS

Here in the UK few people can have missed the bright yellow fields each spring of rape in full flower. Or its pungent smell, which seems to mark the beginning of the Hayfever season, although this is a topic for another day. 

Rape is a member of the brassica family, which also includes many of the traditional winter greens – cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale and broccoli – as well as the mustards. Since the 1970’s it has become an increasingly popular crop both here in the UK and Europe as well as in America, Canada, Australia and India. It has many different uses with the most common being animal feed, biodiesel and vegetable oil. 

Rapeseed oil has traditionally been used in many countries, usually cold as a dressing and only in small amounts. There’s a very good reason for this which we’ll talk about in a moment. 

In recent years rapeseed oil has been marketed as a healthy vegetable oil and is often suggested as a good alternative to olive oil. The benefits you most often see referred to are: 

High levels of Vitamin E. 

Rich in omega oils 3, 6 and 9. 

Lower in saturated fat and higher in monounsaturated fat than olive oil. (However it doesn’t contain the polyphenols found in olive oil which are important antioxidants and so protect the body against damage caused by free radicals). 

A high smoke point which means it can be used to cook at high temperatures. 

Sometimes you will also see it being referred to as “cold pressed”, meaning that the oil is extracted without the use of heat or chemicals to help increase the amount of oil produced. 

While this all sounds great, mention is rarely made of the very toxic substance rapeseed oil also contains. Eruric acid. Not only does it irritate mucous membranes, but damages the myelin sheath around nerves and interferes with the use of Vitamin E by the body. This led to it being banned by the FDA in 1956 and the development of new strains of rape in the mid 1970’s with lower levels of eruric acid. 

And, as an aside, do you know why much of the rapeseed oil produced in North America is called Canola oil?  

Canola is a combination of “Can” from “Canada” and “ola” as in oil referring to rapeseed with lower levels of eruric acid originally bred in Canada. It’s also a clever piece of marketing, distancing the new rapeseed oil from the original one with its well known health problems. 

While it was thought that the new forms of rape with their lower levels of eruric acid would not have the same health problems, unfortunately, this has not been the case. In addition to the concerns already mentioned above, the new strains have been linked to the weakening of blood vessels and cardiovascular disease; as well as to the development of amyloid plaques in the brain and Alzheimers Disease. More generally they have also been linked to Cancer, Diabetes and Obesity. 

Added to this, much of the rape now grown worldwide is GMO – genetically modified – although not currently here in the UK, which raises many other issues. And we’ll leave that topic for another day (!). However, regardless of the strain grown, rape is another intensively produced crop reliant on the use of pesticides and weedkillers to maximise yields leading to concerns about its environmental impact as well as the quality of the end result. 

And, finally, the cheaper forms of rapeseed oil found on supermarket shelves won’t be cold pressed; but a highly refined oil produced in a factory that relies on heat and chemicals to maximise its yield. In this process harmful transfats are also created which have also been linked to many health problems particularly cardiovascular disease. 

Before we go there’s one other issue we’d like to flag up if you buy prepared foods. This is that rapeseed oil often doesn’t appear on the label of ingredients but is hidden under the more generic term of “vegetable oil”. As “vegetable oil” is used to cover a variety of different oils including peanut, sesame, sunflower and rapeseed this is an important one to be aware of, particularly for those with nut allergies. 

We appreciate that this different take on an oil that many thought of as “safe” and “healthy” is going to come as a surprise to many people. Like soy, it’s yet another example of how a half truth can be used to paint a rather misleading picture of a product and its health benefits. The reason we flag them up is to remind you of the need to always do a little research of you own rather than accepting the latest hype as true. Or put another way, caveat emptor, buyer beware. 

As always the choice is yours. 

Linda Anousta

Acne Rosacea… what misery is this?

Posted on by tab_seb

Over the years, i have been asked many ties to help people, men and women suffering with the  misery known as Acne Rosacea, a condition in which certain facial blood vessels enlarge, giving the cheeks and nose a flushed appearance. It is described as a chronic skin disease that causes persistent redness over the areas of the face and nose that normally blush: mainly the forehead, the chin, and the lower half of the nose. … Pimples that look like teenage acne can occur, but it is a very different beast compared to Acne Vulgaris which is teenage spotty acne you and i may well have experienced as teenagers.

Causes. Experts are not sure what causes rosacea. The following related factors are thought to contribute: Abnormalities in facial blood vessels: Skin specialists (dermatologists) suggest that abnormalities in the blood vessels of the face cause the flushing, persistent redness, and visible blood vessels.  It is also said that: These practices may help you reduce signs and symptoms or prevent flare-ups:

  1. Avoid triggers. Know what tends to cause flare-ups for you and avoid those triggers.
  3. rotect your face. Apply sunscreen daily…
  4. Treat your skin gently. Don’t rub or touch your face too much…
  5. Apply makeup

I disagree with a few things here but based on my evidence of treating this for over 20 years. I have seen dramatic results in a week and all signs of Acne rosacea gone within less than 6 weeks.

Sometime ago i read that Acne rosacea can be caused by bacteria around and in the nose that spreads out upon the face in the shape of “butterfly wings” and this can indeed spread to the chin and forehead in time.  I have only seen that written once but it does seem to ake some sense and I have seen that if you follow y protocol for treating Acne Rosacea, and treat the skin as though there is an infection in/on the skin… it does improve. i don’t mean using GP prescribed antibiotics either.

i agree that eating curry and drinking excessively may well cause the situation to get worse but following the protocol i offer, I have really seen very dramatic improvements , quickly!

Having worked in Harley street with a consultant dermatologist between 1988-1990, i saw many creams an lotions handed out at great expense that did nothing, prolonging the misery of the person affected. Applying sunscreen to the face may assist in times of sunny weather but it depends WHAT make of sunscreen you use. If it is petroleum based, you could be making your skin condition so much worse! Chose a natural sunscreen from a company like Neal’s Yard ( Lemongrass Moisturising Sun Lotion SPF 15,  30 or 50)  or put NATURAL SUNSCREEN in to your search engine and see what comes up. Remember that Coconut oil has a natural SPF of 4-5 and contains antioxidants that help protect the skin from harmful radiation from the sun so this may be enough in the Autumn/winter time.

Make up: Use mineral make up if you have to use something. Barefaced beauty  or other good quality ( don’t go for cheap) Mineral make up companies and your skin will thank you. It will be able to breathe for a start if it is not smothered under petroleum based liquid foundations and  blushers!

So in the next blog I shall give you a complete step by step process of what to do to see your Acne Rosacea dramatically improve and we all hope totally fade away. I have seen it happen hundreds of times so i hope that this works for you to. I will also have some pictures to show you the results.