Criticizing canola oil is not based on scientific evidence but rather on ideology. Canada’s most successful crop deserves to be respected with evidence-based arguments, rather than being subjected to a witch hunt driven by nutritional myths.
As the canola harvest in Canada comes to an end, the combines working across the Prairies symbolize more than just the conclusion of another agricultural season; they represent a national success story that has quietly supported Canada’s food economy for fifty years. However, as farmers gather their golden harvest, a wave of misinformation continues to surround one of its primary products: canola oil.
Once celebrated as a Canadian innovation that transformed global diets, canola oil has recently become a target of nutritional hysteria. Critics have grouped it with other so-called “seed oils,” labeling it as inflammatory, toxic, and responsible for various modern health issues. Some advocacy groups in the U.S., such as “Make America Healthy Again,” have even gone so far as to classify it as a dietary danger and demand warning labels on foods that contain it.
From both economic and scientific viewpoints, these claims fall apart under examination. Canola oil is one of the most researched and well-understood edible oils globally. Decades of clinical research provide consistent evidence of its health benefits, especially when it replaces saturated fats in the diet.
A systematic review published in 2020 in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases found that canola oil consumption significantly reduces total and LDL cholesterol compared to diets high in saturated fats. A subsequent feeding trial published in The Journal of Nutrition in 2022 demonstrated that both conventional and high-oleic canola oils lowered total cholesterol, LDL, and apoB within six weeks—results comparable to those of olive oil, which is often regarded as the gold standard for heart health.
Further studies have supported these conclusions. An eight-week randomized trial involving women with type 2 diabetes, published in Nutrition & Metabolism in 2019, showed that replacing sunflower oil with canola oil led to a reduction in C-reactive protein, a key marker for improved health outcomes.