Did you know that fat is an essential nutrient? While for many years, people avoided eating all manner of fat, scientific research is showing that consuming the right kinds and amounts can help you to reap the benefits for good health.
Although different types of oil have the same number of calories per tablespoon, canola oil provides more healthy fats than any other common cooking and salad oil. Canola oil is known for its heart health benefits as not only does it contain the least amount of saturated fat of all vegetable oils but it also contains alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3-fatty acid.
In comparison to other fat sources canola oil is:
- Low in saturated fat: 7% of total fatty acids, lower than any other common cooking or salad oil.
- A source of omega-6 polyunsaturated fat: 19% of total fatty acids.
- High in plant-based omega-3 polyunsaturated fat: 9% of total fatty acids, the most of any common culinary oil.
- Rich in monounsaturated fat: 62% of total fatty acids.
- Trans fat-free.
Dietary fats fall into two groups – saturated and unsaturated with the current recommendations being that we eat less saturated fat. These are solid at room temperature while unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature.
Source: Canadian Food Focus, CanolaInfo, and Canola Eat Well