Fat is an essential part of human dietary requirements, but to ensure long-term health some fats are better than others. Good fats include polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats – found in canola oil, fish, nuts and seeds and are beneficial to our health. They lower bad LDL cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Bad fats include trans and saturated fats. Trans fats drive up the amount of harmful LDL cholesterol and reduce the beneficial HDL cholesterol levels, while saturated fats increase total cholesterol which can cause blockages in arteries, including in the heart.
Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated oils are the two main types of unsaturated fats.
The Heart Foundation advises Australians to:
“Include these healthier fats in your diet to help reduce the risk of heart disease. These fats help the cholesterol balance in your blood by decreasing the bad (LDL) cholesterol and increase the good (HDL) cholesterol. Replacing saturated and trans fats with healthier ones helps to lower your risk of heart disease. Make sure you have these healthier sources of fat in your healthy balanced diet.” 1
Balancing the intake of Omega 3 and 6 is critical to our health. Canola Oil has the healthy balance of Omega 6:Omega 3 of 2:1. Currently, Western diets range from 15:1 – 17:1, meaning too many people are consuming excessive amounts of Omega 6 fatty acids and their ratio of Omega 6:Omega 3 is imbalanced.
The result promotes:
“the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, whereas increased levels of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (a low Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio) exert suppressive effects.” 2
The author also finds:
“A lower ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids is more desirable in reducing the risk of many of the chronic diseases of high prevalence in Western societies, as well as in the developing countries.” 3
Canola Oil is higher in Omega 3 fatty acid ALA than any other oil except flaxseed oil. ALA is particularly important as our bodies can’t produce it. ALA is closely linked to good heart health.
When it comes to saturated fat, Canola Oil has the lowest saturated fat level of any vegetable oil. auzure Canola contains approximately 7.1g of saturated fat per 100mL. Canola is lower in saturated fat than Olive Oil – which has approximately 14g of saturated fat per 100mL.
In 2006, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a qualified health claim for canola oil and products made using canola oil to carry a statement about canola’s ability to potentially reduce the risk of heart disease when used in place of saturated fat in the diet.
“Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about 1.5 tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in canola oil. To achieve this possible benefit, canola oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.” 4
A number of studies link canola oil to reducing harmful LDL cholesterol levels.
“Canola oil is a safe and healthy form of fat that will reduce blood LDL cholesterol levels and heart disease risk compared to carbohydrates or saturated fats such as found in beef tallow or butter. Indeed, in a randomized trial that showed one of the most striking reductions in risk of heart disease, canola oil was used as the primary form of fat” 5
auzure is virtually trans fat free at 0.7%. The Heart Foundation gives the following advice on how to achieve a healthy balanced diet low in saturated and trans fat:
“Use spreads and margarines made from canola, sunflower or olive oil. Cook with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated oils, such as canola, sunflower, soybean, olive, sesame and peanut oils….” 6
Results of the world’s most detailed population study spanning more than 30-years show that people who consumed more unsaturated fats – like plant based canola – lived longer than those who ate high amounts of saturated and trans fats. 7
Researchers at Harvard University studied the types of fats in the diets of 126,233 participants for up to 32 years.
They found that:
- Every 2% higher intake of trans fat was associated with a 16% higher chance of premature death
- Every 5% increase in saturated fat intake was associated with an 8% higher risk of overall mortality
- Intake of high levels of unsaturated fats was associated with 11 – 15% lower overall mortality compared with the same number of calories from carbohydrates
- People who replaced saturated fats with unsaturated fats – especially polyunsaturated fats – had significantly lower risk of death overall during the study period, as well as lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease and respiratory disease, compared with those who maintained high intakes of saturated fats.
“It suggests that replacing saturated fats like butter, lard and fat in red meat with unsaturated fats from plant-based foods—like olive oil, canola oil and soybean oil—can confer substantial health benefits and should continue to be a key message in dietary recommendations.” 8
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