We’ve big fans of healthy fats.  We recently talked a lot about the health benefits of canola oil, have talked about healthy omega-3 and touched on coconut oil and saturated fat in the past.

But with all the talk of fat, comes a question that I got just last night while giving a talk …

… can you eat TOO much healthy fat?

Great question.  And how do you define "too much?"

All fats are certainly not created equal.  That’s an undisputed fact.  Sometimes, though, when people hear x is good, they go overboard and think more is better.  For example, while olive oil is fantastic for you … drizzling it on top of every food you eat is not.  I’ve seen this done, though. 

Fat, regardless of the type, still has calories.  In fact, it weighs in at over double that of carbohydrates or protein, providing 9 calories/gram (carbs and protein both provide 4 calories/gram).  While carbs are often demonized and people think solely cutting carbs is the answer to their weight loss needs.  They’re wrong.

You can’t simply add olive oil to all your foods, include avocado, nuts, salmon, whole eggs and other sources of healthy fat with reckless abandon.  Again, fat contains calories.  And while we don’t believe all calories are created equally … that doesn’t mean they’re unimportant.  At the end of the day total calories still matter.  If you’re eating more than you’re burning through exercise and just general "living" you will not lose fat.  This doesn’t mean we’re advocating a low fat diet.  It’s the right types of fat and the right quantities.

Mohr Results Bottom Line: We suggest aiming for around 25-35% of calories from healthy fats.  Again, the sources of this fat are key — wild salmon, fish oil, egg yolks, olive and canola oils, avocado, nuts and nut butters are all great sources.

Just remember these are all very easy to over eat and we often suggest measuring the amount of oil used.  It’s tough to estimate the amount of oil when poured into a pan — just when you think you’re adding 1 TBS, you suddenly have 2 or 3.  And, at the end of the day, you still need to keep a handle on total calories.

The last few weeks we’ve posted some articles about a sometimes controversial dietary fat — canola oil  And we got some feedback both through the blog, on Facebook and twitter — with some concerns about our canola oil recommendation.  We wanted to answer a few of those concerns to put the myths to rest.
 
There’s certainly a lot of confusion about dietary fat.  Not long ago fat free was all the rage.  Now people are adding coconut oil to everything, embracing bacon, and suggesting whole milk is the best option. 

And the other day during a talk, someone in the audience asked specifically about canola oil after I gave the message of swapping solid fats with liquid ones. 

“I thought canola oil is bad” she said.  “It’s poisonous, has a toxin and is too refined.”
 
Canola oil certainly has gotten a bad wrap in many circles.  But for no good reason.

Here’s the truth to it.  Canola oil is a healthy oil — it has the lowest saturated fat of any edible oil and is a good source of monounsaturated fat.  And there are certainly lots of data showing monounsaturated fat is healthy.
 
But that doesn’t answer the rumors of canola oil being “poisonous.” 

Here’s the problem — though the internet is a great tool, a little bit of misinformation can spread too quickly.
 
I had the great opportunity last year to head up to Saskatoon Canada to actually tour the canola fields, where the majority of the world’s canola oil is grown.  Here is a picture of a canola plant that I took when I was in Canada.  Yes, canola oil comes from the crushed seeds of canola plants prior to being on your shelf.
 
In fact, I also had the chance to not just see the canola fields, but feel the canola seeds, crush them to extract the oil, and see where some of our food really comes from.  Very cool — it’s cool actually seeing where our food comes from.  It’s why we love farmers markets so much; you have the chance to actually talk to the farmers growing your food.  And I did just that in Canada, where we had the chance to talk with some of the canola farmers.
 
So here’s a quick snapshot of how oils are processed.  In the processing of all refined vegetable oils, after manual extraction from pressing, a chemical is used to extract more of the oil from seeds.  It allows a significant more amount of oil to be extracted, which is very good news for the farmers who, fortunately for us, are providing us with food.
 
As the oil continues to be extracted from the seeds and processed for us to eat, however, there are no detectable traces of this at all.  We’re not eating it.
 
OK, so right now I know you’re thinking — that’s gross, why should my food be treated with chemicals?

Here’s an even lesser known fact – refined (pommace) olive oil uses the same exact chemical to get more oil from the olives. 

So in one case you’re pressing seeds from the canola plant to get oil and in the other you’re pressing olives to get the oil. 
 
Interesting, right?
 
The other concern that’s often raised about canola oil is that it is genetically modified (GM).  And, that can be true — speaking with one of the farmers, this fact alone has saved his farm because he has a more disease-resistant crop.
 
Canola was developed by traditional plant breeding in the 1960s. Modern crop biotechnology ("genetic modification") wasn’t even invented at that time. Unwanted traits (erucic acid and glucosinolates) in rapeseed were bred out to produce canola, a unique plant species.

Today, some varieties of canola are genetically modified to be tolerant to select herbicides. Using these herbicides has improved crop production and quality so when talking with the farmers, it’s literally saved their livelihood.  And, luckily for us, farmers are around so we have the abundance of food and produce that we all love.  
 
The genetically modified portion of the canola plant isn’t actually where the oil comes from, but if you’re still not loving that … buy organic canola oil.  Organic canola oil is not genetically modified.  Simple solution. 
 
At the end of the day, canola oil is a healthy oil.  Like I said, they do make organic canola oil that is not genetically modified.  Outside of some of the health benefits of canola oil, here are some practical tips too:

It’s virtually flavor free, so can work with any food where you don’t want a ton of added flavors.
 
It’s less expensive than olive oil.
 
It has the lowest amount of saturated fat among any edible oil available.
 
Here’s an easy recipe I found on the CanolaInfo.org website to try.

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Sweet Potato Fries with Cajun Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

Cajun Dipping Sauce

• 3/4 cup fat-free sour cream 175 mL
• 1 Tbsp Louisiana hot sauce 15 mL
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced

Instructions:

Yield: 6 servings. Serving size: ½ cup (125 mL) fries, 2 Tbsp (30 mL) sauce.