honnutrition
Queensland Australia
Bio: Qualified Nutritionist, Health Writer, Nutritional Journalist. Nerdy with a touch of class.
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Food as Medicine, Nutrition, Diet, Science, Wellness
nutritionsciencewellness 
Hi – I read your article in today’s Toowoomba Chronicle with interest. And I agree with much of what you said in the article and in your on-line blog, especially about the Paleo diet. I applaud you for taking a stand against this fad diet, which, I believe, is unhealthy and environmentally irresponsible. But I have to question why you would label canola oil a ‘bad fat’.Unfortunately scientific evidence seems to be ignored these days and many people who are not qualified to do so are handing out poor or misleading nutritional advice. I see you are a qualified nutritionist so this obviously doesn’t apply to you so I’m sure you’d be interested to read this article, which is a literature review of many peer-reviewed studies on whether canola oil is healthy or not: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746113/
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Hi James, great to hear from you! I read the study you attached, thank you. And while it is possible that from the perspective this study is taking, small amounts of raw canola oil being included in the diet may slightly benefit health, other factors, I believe , outweigh this small benefit. One factor is the form we usually consume canola oil in is via processed foods, or heated so as it becomes a trans fat. I still feel it’s a valid point to avoid it where possible. Another factor is how much our diet is currently misbalanced in ratio’s of Omega 6: Omega 3 fats. Scientists I’ve interviewed about this have stated it’s around 20-25:1. As you sound an educated person, I’m sure you’re aware how all that Omega 6 leads to more pro-inflammatory biochemistry, canola oil adding to this. And with low grade chronic inflammation now being recognised as underlying virtually every single chronic disease from obesity to Alzheimer’s, lessening all factors which contribute to inflammation, such as omega 6 containing fats, should be viewed as beneficial. What are your thought’s on this? Kindest regards- Honor
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