Story Posted: November 08, 2007

Canola Council of Canada builds science behind healthy canola oil

The Canola Council of Canada has collaborated with canola industry partners to establish a major fund to support innovative research linking canola oil to improving the health of all Canadians.

(Media Release from the Canola Council of Canada)

The Canola Product Research Fund is backed by the Canola Council, the three prairie canola grower associations, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences Canada, Monsanto Canada and Pioneer Hi-Bred.

Council president JoAnne Buth says the new Fund "will focus on supporting leading edge research on the role of canola oil in reducing the risk of major health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease".

"We look on the Canola Product Research Fund as essential seed money to build the science behind what we already know about the healthy properties of canola oil," Buth says. "Over the next few months, we would hope to see even more financial support from both inside and outside the canola industry."

Buth explains that the funds committed so far will be allocated to three major projects involving clinical trials on human nutrition and canola oil.

Two studies will begin this fall, focusing on 1) the efficacy of canola oil in the management of high cholesterol and other heart disease risk factors and 2) the impact of canola oil on insulin resistance in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes. A third study approved for funding will examine the effect of canola oil on blood sugar control and heart disease risk factors in adults with type 2 diabetes.

As well as substantiating and reinforcing the heart-healthy position of canola oil, Buth expects the project results "may also provide new research data in the field of diabetes that can be used to further market canola oil".

The Canola Council is also partnering with Syngenta and with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to fund a research initiative at the University of Manitoba designed to investigate minor components in canola oil and meal with enhanced nutraceutical properties.

Canola Product Research Fund Background Information
In the first study, Dr. Peter Jones and colleagues at the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals at the University of Manitoba, will conduct a trial with people with borderline high cholesterol levels. A diet containing canola oil (70% of total fat) will be compared to a control diet comprised of largely saturated and omega-6 fatty acids.

The results are expected to demonstrate the positive effects of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the omega-3 fatty acid found in canola oil and oleic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid found at very high levels in canola oil) on several indicators of inflammation and blood vessel cell dysfunction characteristic of coronary heart disease.

The second study will look at the potential beneficial effects of a diet high in monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids from canola oil in overweight women at risk for type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Sheila Innis of the Faculty of Medicine Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, and research associates will reduce saturated and omega-6 fatty acid intake in the subjects and increase their consumption of monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids through a diet high in canola oil.

The study is expected to show that monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids have a positive health impact, especially on measures of inflammation believed to be a determinant for onset and progression in both diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The third study approved for funding will be undertaken by Dr. David Jenkins of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto once matching research funds are found. Jenkins will study the impact of canola oil on blood sugar control and heart disease risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The study is expected to show that subjects who consume canola oil will have better blood glucose control, blood lipid profiles, and reduced indicators of inflammation associated with heart disease and diabetes compared to subjects consuming diets low in ALA.

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