Although canola blooms yellow, it has black seeds. One of the he althiest oils in the world is pressed from them. Unfortunately, we do not appreciate rapeseed oil too much. It's a pity, because it reduces the content of bad cholesterol and helps maintain youth.

It takes up to 3 kg of this plant to produce a liter ofoil .Rapeseed oildoesn't have the reputation it deserves for… historical reasons. Once cultivatedrapeseedcontained erucic acid, which was harmful to he alth, but for 20 years now only beech-free varieties have been grown in Poland. In addition, the improved oil is not a genetically modified variety! By the way, the composition of fats in rapeseed oil has changed in favor: the amount of oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids valuable for he alth has increased.

Rapeseed oil - a source of unsaturated fatty acids

We need vegetable fat, which is oil, because of the presence of essential fatty acids - linoleic (omega-6) and linolenic (omega-3). The body needs them for the good work of the heart and the functioning of the circulatory system, the work of the kidneys, and the condition of the skin. But it cannot make them. Therefore, we must take care to provide them with food. Oils are among the best sources of these substances. But the proportion between them is equally important. The most desirable is two parts omega-6 to one part omega-3. It is not easy to keep this ratio, because our food contains an excess of omega-6 fatty acids in relation to omega-3. But the 2: 1 ratio of acids is found in rapeseed oil. In the popular soybean oil it is 7: 1, in the famous olive oil - 10: 1, and in the eagerly bought sunflower oil - up to 126: 1. In terms of this ratio, rapeseed oil is superior to all others, with the exception of flaxseed oil, which has more omega-3 than omega-6.

Important

Hot or cold?

We offer cold and hot pressed oils in shops. The latter are additionally refined, i.e. purified, during the production process. This is an important difference, because cold-pressed oils should be used only cold (for salads, sauces, etc.), while hot-pressed oils can be used for frying, cooking, baking, but also cold, for salads. This principle should be applied to all oils, including olive oil and rapeseed oil.

Rapeseed oil contains valuable oleic acid

Rapeseed oil has one more advantage: oleic acid. It lowers the bad cholesterol (LDL) content and improves the good (HDL) to bad cholesterol ratio. As much as 62 percent. rapeseed oil is the monounsaturated oleic acid. In this case, olive oil is better, as it contains 75 percent. this acid. Linseed oil has 23 percent, soybean oil - 37 percent, sunflower oil - 18 percent.

Rapeseed oil has the lowest saturated fatty acid content of all fats

In every fat, apart from good fat, there are also saturated fats, which increase the concentration of bad cholesterol. In this respect, rapeseed oil is the best because it has the fewest (7%). Most of these fats are found in coconut oil, palm oil and peanut oil. Oil (14%) and soybean oil (14.7%) have more saturated fatty acids.

Vitamins in rapeseed oil

The refined rapeseed oil contains phytosterols (plant sterols) that help to maintain good cholesterol levels and polyphenols that have antioxidant properties, hence anti-cancer and help maintain youth. It is also rich in a set of fat-soluble vitamins:

  • Vitamin E (19 mg / 100 g) scavenging free radicals; it has more than olive oil and soybean oil (but sunflower oil is the record holder); the presence of this anti-oxidation vitamin keeps rapeseed oil fresh for a long time;
  • Vitamin K (150 µg / 100 g) necessary for blood clotting (olive oil, sunflower oil and linseed oil have less of it, and the record belongs to grape seed oil);
  • Provitamin A (550 µg / 100 g), in this respect slightly better than rapeseed oil, is soybean, but olive oil has 15 times less.

Rapeseed oil is suitable for frying and salad dressings

Rapeseed oil can be used cold - for salad dressings instead of more expensive olive oil and for mayonnaise. It is also used for sweet pastries. Due to the large amount of monounsaturated acids, which have a high smoke point, it is suitable for frying, but for a short time. When we fry a sea fish on it, we get omega-3 fatty acids simultaneously from the two best sources - oil and fish. Food prepared with this oil absorbs slightly less oil (about 10%).

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