Health benefits of olive oil vs. canola oil? (cross-posted in the Lounge)

[brentspeak]

(Please let me know if there's another "personal interest" group that this question would be better directed towards)

Is canola oil as "heart healthy" as olive oil? The nutritional information on my canola oil bottle is very similar to that on my extra-virgin olive oil:

Extra-virgin olive oil (Stop & Shop brand):

(Per serving size of 15 mL)

Total fat: 14g
Saturated fat: 2g
trans fat: 0g
Polyunsaturated fat: 2g
monounsaturated fat: 10g

100% canola oil (Stop & Shop brand):

(per serving size of 14g)

Total fat: 14g
Saturated fat: 1g
trans fat: 0g
polyunsat fat: 4g
monounsat fat: 9g

[NMDemDist2]

1. i think canola is better for frying as it will take more heat before it smokes

olive oil's smoke point is a bit lower.

so either should be fine for your diet, just depends on what you are going to use it for.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. I differentiate frying and sauteeing

I saute with the same olive oil I use on salad or for any other purpose.

I (deep) fry very, very little. I use generic vegetable oil for it and never bother with reusing it.

Oh ...... I use peanut oil too ..... for anything in a wok. Nothing natural stands up to high heat like peanut oil.

[NMDemDist2]

6. right! but I very occasionally deep fry in the wok

hubby is begging me to learn tempura and with the learning curve I've been on and the good results I've been getting recently I'm game!

oh, and chicken fried steaks, I use oil for them all the time.

but I picked up an anodized grill pan when the local grocery store was doing a 'save stamps and get cookware' deal last year. it has really cut down on my use of oil on meats

:hi:

[Warpy]

2. Some people with chronic heartburn can't tolerate canola oil

so it's a good idea to ask dinner guests if they have a problem with it.

I tend to use safflower or peanut oils, depending on what I'm doing. I use olive oil in anything I want to taste the oil in, which means about 60% of what I cook.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. I'm one who doesn't do well with Canola

I discovered this after buying a few products at Costco recently.

I never had the problem before.

[hippywife]

3. I concur with

AZ and Warpy. I tend to use canola if I'm doing something fried and olive oil if I want the added flavor and that's usually something eaten fresh rather than cooked, except for spaghetti sauce and bread.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Well, some people object ot Canola because it's...

a low-acid, and often genetically modified, version of rapeseed oil, which has some nasties in it.

The nasties, euricic acid and glucosinulates, have been reduced to almost nothing in Canola, which is one reason it's called Canola and not rapeseed, but that hasn't stopped a few food nazis from jumping all over it. There is still a small precentage of these left, though, and while it's under 1% some people might be sensitive. Medical studies seem to offer no clear results for all this.

As far as the saturated, unsaturated thing goes, I usually go for for the olive oil unless taste or smoking is a problem. Olive oil has been around for a few thousand years, so why not go with the one proven through the ages?

[NashVegas]

8. The Trouble With Olive Oil

Is it tastes so good - you find more and more excuses for ingesting it.

:hi:

[calico1]

10. It's great for dipping bread.

Especially if it's the crusty type bread like a nice ciabatta. Mmmmmmm...

[hippywife]

9. Oddly enough, I just read this yesterday

and thought I would post it here along with your question. I thought it contained some interesting information:

http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/archives/2008/2008-Apr-10/flash-in-the-pan-fields-more-oftenbizarre-questions-from-readers/1/@@index