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Culture & Politics » talk.politics.china » The Great Con-ola
| The Great Con-ola [message #224492] |
Sa, 15 Juli 2006 22:02 |
|
By Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD
Canola oil is "widely recognized as the healthiest salad and cooking oil
available to consumers." It was developed through hybridization of rape
seed.
Rape seed oil is toxic because it contains significant amounts of a
poisonous substance called erucic acid.
Canola oil contains only trace amounts of erucic acid and its unique fatty
acid profile, rich in oleic acid and low in saturated fats, makes it
particularly beneficial for the prevention of heart disease. It also
contains significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, also shown to have
health benefits. This is what the food industry says about canola oil.
Canola oil is a poisonous substance, an industrial oil that does not belong
in the body. It contains "the infamous chemical warfare agent mustard gas,"
hemagglutinins and toxic cyanide-containing glycocides; it causes mad cow
disease, blindness, nervous disorders, clumping of blood cells and
depression of the immune system. This is what detractors say about canola
oil.
How is the consumer to sort out the conflicting claims about canola oil? Is
canola oil a dream come true or a deadly poison? And why has canola captured
so large a share of the oils used in processed foods?
Hidden History
Let's start with some history. The time period is the mid-1980s and the food
industry has a problem. In collusion with the American Heart Association,
numerous government agencies and departments of nutrition at major
universities, the industry had been promoting polyunsaturated oils as a
heart-healthy alternative to "artery-clogging" saturated fats.
Unfortunately, it had become increasingly clear that polyunsaturated oils,
particularly corn oil and soybean oil, cause numerous health problems,
including and especially cancer.1
The industry was in a bind. It could not continue using large amounts of
liquid polyunsaturated oils and make health claims about them in the face of
mounting evidence of their dangers. Nor could manufacturers return to using
traditional healthy saturates -- butter, lard, tallow, palm oil and coconut
oil -- without causing an uproar. Besides, these fats cost too much for the
cut-throat profit margins in the industry.
The solution was to embrace the use of monounsaturated oils, such as olive
oil. Studies had shown that olive oil has a "better" effect than
polyunsaturated oils on cholesterol levels and other blood parameters.
Besides, Ancel Keys and other promoters of the diet-heart idea had
popularized the notion that the Mediterranean diet -- rich in olive oil and
conjuring up images of a carefree existence on sun-drenched islands --
protected against heart disease and ensured a long and healthy life.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) sponsored the First
Colloquium on Monounsaturates in Philadelphia. The meeting was chaired by
Scott Grundy, a prolific writer and apologist for the notion that
cholesterol and animal fats cause heart disease. Representatives from the
edible oil industry, including Unilever, were in attendance.
The Second Colloquium on Monounsaturates took place in Bethesda, Maryland,
early in 1987. Dr. Grundy was joined by Claude Lenfant, head of the NHLBI,
and speakers included Fred Mattson, who had spent many years at Proctor and
Gamble, and the Dutch scientist Martign Katan, who would later publish
research on the problems with trans fatty acids. It was at this time that
articles extolling the virtues of olive oil began to appear in the popular
press.
Promotion of olive oil, which had a long history of use, seemed more
scientifically sound to the health-conscious consumer than the promotion of
corn and soy oil, which could only be extracted with modern stainless steel
presses. The problem for the industry was that there was not enough olive
oil in the world to meet its needs. And, like butter and other traditional
fats, olive oil was too expensive to use in most processed foods. The
industry needed a less expensive monounsaturated oil.
Rapeseed oil was a monounsaturated oil that had been used extensively in
many parts of the world, notably in China, Japan and India. It contains
almost 60 percent monounsaturated fatty acids (compared to about 70 percent
in olive oil). Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the mono-unsaturated fatty
acids in rapeseed oil are erucic acid, a 22-carbon monounsaturated fatty
acid that had been associated with Keshan's disease, characterized by
fibrotic lesions of the heart.
In the late 1970s, using a technique of genetic manipulation involving seed
splitting,2 Canadian plant breeders came up with a variety of rapeseed that
produced a monounsaturated oil low in 22-carbon erucic acid and high in
18-carbon oleic acid.
The new oil referred to as LEAR oil, for Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed, was slow
to catch on in the US. In 1986, Cargill announced the sale of LEAR oil seed
to US farmers and provided LEAR oil processing at its Riverside, North
Dakota plant but prices dropped and farmers took a hit.3
Marketing LEAR
Before LEAR oil could be promoted as a healthy alternative to
polyunsaturated oils, it needed a new name. Neither "rape" nor "lear" could
be expected to invoke a healthy image for the new "Cinderella" crop. In
1978, the industry settled on "canola," for "Canadian oil," since most of
the new rapeseed at that time was grown in Canada.
"Canola" also sounded like "can do" and "payola," both positive phrases in
marketing lingo. However, the new name did not come into widespread use
until the early 1990s.
An initial challenge for the Canola Council of Canada was the fact that
rapeseed was never given GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status by the
US Food and Drug Administration. A change in regulation would be necessary
before canola could be marketed in the US.4 Just how this was done has not
been revealed, but GRAS status was granted in 1985, for which, it is
rumored; the Canadian government spent $50 million to obtain.
Since canola was aimed at the growing numbers of health-conscious consumers,
rather than the junk food market, it required more subtle marketing
techniques than television advertising. The industry had managed to
manipulate the science to make a perfect match with canola oil -- very low
in saturated fat and rich in monounsaturates.
In addition, canola oil contains about 10 percent omega-3 fatty acids, the
most recent discovery of establishment nutritionists. Most Americans are
deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, which had been shown to be beneficial to
the heart and immune system. The challenge was to market this
dream-come-true fatty acid profile in a way that would appeal to educated
consumers.
Canola oil began to appear in the recipes of cutting edge health books, such
as those by Andrew Weil and Barry Sears. The technique was to extol the
virtues of the Mediterranean diet and olive oil in the text, and then call
for "olive oil or canola oil" in the recipes. One informant in the
publishing industry told us that since the mid 1990s, major publishers would
not accept cookbooks unless they included canola in the recipes.
In 1997, Harper Collins engaged Dr. Artemis Simopoulos to write a cookbook
featuring the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.5 Dr. Simopoulos was a
pediatrician who had served for nine years as chair of the Nutritional
Coordinating Committee of the National Institutes of Health before becoming
president of the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health.
She had published several papers on omega-3 fatty acids, calling attention
to their disappearance from the food supply due to the industrialization of
agriculture. Her most famous paper, published in 1992 in the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, compared omega-3 levels in supermarket eggs
from hens raised on corn with eggs from hens allowed to roam and eat a more
varied diet.6 The more natural eggs contained twenty times more omega-3 than
supermarket eggs.
Simopoulos's The Omega Plan came out in 1998 and was reissued as The Omega
Diet in 1999. The book discusses the virtues of monounsaturated and omega-3
fatty acids in the Mediterranean diet.7 Since unprocessed canola oil
contains not only lots of monoun-
saturated fatty acids, but also a significant amount of omega-3, it shows up
in most of the book's recipes. Simopoulos claims that the Mediterranean diet
is low in saturated fat and recommends lean meat and lowfat yogurt and milk
as part of her regime.
The canola industry's approach -- scientific conferences, promotion to
upscale consumers through books like The Omega Dietand articles in the
health section of newspapers and magazines -- was successful. By the late
1990s, canola use had soared, and not just in the US.
Today China, Japan, Europe, Mexico, Bangladesh and Pakistan all buy
significant amounts. Canola does well in arid environments such as Australia
and the Canadian plains, where it has become a major cash crop. It is the
oil of choice in gourmet and health food markets like Fresh Fields (Whole
Foods) markets, and shows up in many supermarket items as well.
It is a commonly used oil in sterol-containing margarines and spreads
recommended for cholesterol lowering. Use of hydrogenated canola oil for
frying is increasing, especially in restaurants.
Dangers Overstated
Reports on the dangers of rapeseed oil are rampant on the internet, mostly
stemming from an article, "Blindness, Mad Cow Disease and Canola Oil," by
John Thomas, which appeared in Perceptions magazine, March/April 1996. Some
of the claims are ludicrous. Although rape is a member of the brassica or
mustard family, it is not the source of mustard gas used in chemical
warfare.
Glycosides or glycosinolates (compounds that produce sugars on hydrolysis)
are found in most members of the brassica family, including broccoli, kale,
cabbage and mustard greens. They contain sulfur (not arsenic), which is what
gives mustard and cruciferous vegetables their pungent flavor.
These compounds are goitrogenic and must be neutralized by cooking or
fermentation. As rapeseed meal was high in glycosides, it could not be used
in large amounts for animal feeding. However, plant breeders have been able
to breed out the glycosides as well as the erucic acid from canola oil.8 The
result is a low-glycoside meal that can be used as an animal feed. In fact,
canola meal for animal feed is an important Canadian export.
Hemagglutinins, substances that promote blood clotting and depress growth,
are found in the protein portion of the seed, although traces may show up in
the oil. And canola oil was not the cause of the mad cow epidemic in
Britain9, although feeding of canola oil may make cattle more susceptible to
certain diseases.
Like all fats and oils, rapeseed oil has industrial uses. It can be used as
an insecticide, a lubricant, a fuel and in soap, synthetic rubber and ink.
Like flax oil and walnut oil, it can be used to make varnish. Traditional
fats like coconut oil, olive oil and tallow also have industrial uses, but
that does not make them dangerous for human consumption.
We have had reports of allergies to canola, and internet articles describe a
variety of symptoms -- tremors, shaking, palsy, lack of coordination,
slurred speech, memory problems, blurred vision, problems with urination,
numbness and tingling in the extremities, and heart arrhythmias -- that
cleared up on discontinuance of canola. None of this has been reported in
the medical journals, however.
Writing for the Washington Post, Professor Robert L Wolke
(www.professorscience.com) chastises the publishers of these reports as
spreading "hysterical urban legends about bizarre diseases."10 The industry
actually profits from such wild claims, because they are wrong and easily
dismissed.
Nevertheless, consumers do have reason to be cautious about the
establishment's favorite oil, now showing up in an increasing number of
products.
Continued Next Issue
------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------
----
The Great Con-ola was published in Nexus Magazine, Aug/September 2002 as
well as in Wise Traditions, the quarterly publication for the Weston A.
Price Foundation. To receive a free 12-page brochure containing Myths and
Truths about Nutrition and concise Dietary Guidelines, contact the
Foundation at (202) 333-HEAL or westonaprice [at] msn.com.
Sally Fallon is President of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of
Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct
Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, NewTrends Publishing, 2000 (877-707-1776,
newtrendspublishing.com)
Mary G. Enig, PhD, FACN, is Vice President of the Weston A. Price
Foundation, President of the Maryland Nutritionists Association and author
of Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of
Fats, Oils and Cholesterol, Bethesda Press, 2000 (301-680-8600,
bethesdapress.com)
------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------
----
References:
1. MG Enig and SW Fallon. The Oiling of America.
www.westonaprice.org/oiling.htm
2. RK Downey. Genetic Control of Fatty Acid Biosnythesis in Rapeseed.
Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society, 1964;41:475-478.
3. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, December
1986;63(12):1510.
4. Canola - a new oilseed from Canada. Journal of the American Oil
Chemists'Society, September 1981:723A-9A.
5. The amount of the advance was $350,000. Personal email communication,
Jo Robinson, co-author of The Omega Diet.
6. AP Simopoulos and N Salem, Jr. Egg yolk as a source of long-chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids in infant feeding. American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, 1992;55
7. AP Simopoulos and J Robinson. The Omega Plan. Harper Collins
Publishers, New York, NY, 1998.
8. Canola - a new oilseed fromCanada. Journal of the American Oil
Chemists'Society, September 1981:723A-9A.
9. M Purdey. Educating Rita. Wise Traditions, Spring 2002;3(1):11-18.
10. When we contacted Dr. Wolke to provide him with evidence of canola
dangers, he was dismissive.
------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------
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Return to Table of Contents #350
http://www.mercola.com/2002/aug/14/con_ola1.htm
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