Apart from reducing blood sugar levels, canola oil can also aid in the cutting down fat, says Ritika Samaddar

More and more people, both young and old, are increasingly taking steps to improve their health. Closely monitored meal plans, extensive fitness regimes and losing weight to cut risk of lifestyle diseases are some of the measures people are adopting to maintain health and well-being. Eating right to stay healthy is now almost a universal mantra.

At the very center of this effort is the quality of food consumed. A variety of fruit and vegetables, healthy cooking methods and oils, as well as a balanced diet, all contribute to nutrition.

For a healthy cooking oil, you can opt for canola oil. It is considered by experts on the basis of scientific evidence to be one of the healthiest cooking oils in the world.

Here are some facts and health benefits of this oil:

• Canola oil is extracted from the seeds of the canola plant. It has good nutritional value, a light texture and a neutral taste. Canola oil’s mild flavour does not overwhelm the taste of other ingredients and can be used for both sautéing and baking. Its high heat tolerance (smoke point of 242 degree celsius) and light texture makes it great for frying as well. In fact, the oil can be used with almost any culinary application and cuisine, including Indian.  
• With its healthy and versatile profile,it  is the third most used vegetable oil in the world.
• It can help those on a cholesterol-reducing diet. It include less than 10 per cent saturated fat from total daily calories, minimal trans fat and no more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day.          
• Canola oil is rich in two polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 and omega-6. These fats are considered essential because the body cannot make them on its own. In fact, of all common cooking oils, canola oil has the most plant-based omega-3 fat (11 per cent). It contains omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids at 2:1 making it as one of the healthiest cooking oils.
• Compared to all other vegetable oils, canola oil has the least saturated fat (seven per cent) — less than a third that of rice bran oil (25 per cent) and half that of sunflower (12 per cent), olive (15 per cent), soybean (15 per cent) and groundnut (19 per cent) oils. Canola oil is also free of trans fat and like all vegetables oils, has zero cholesterol.
• According to scientific studies, 1.5 tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil a day may be enough to help keep the cardiologist away when used in place of saturated fat. That’s for just a few rupees a day.    
• Canola oil is rich in fat-soluble vitamins E and K. Vitamin E is an antioxidant and vitamin K promotes healthy blood-clotting.
• It can help control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes when included in a low-glycemic index diet (one that minimises changes in blood sugar levels), according to published research, because of high MUFA content.        
• This oil can lower abdominal fat when used in place of other selected oil blends in a heart-healthy diet for weight maintenance. Research showed that those who consumed canola oil on a daily basis for four weeks lowered their belly fat by 1.6 percent.

(The author is is regional head of dietetics at Max Healthcare)