Over 225 delegates from Canada, China and Mexico were in Puerto Vallarta on Monday, March 22, 2004 listening to industry, researchers and growers, and learning about the importance of canola in today’s world.

The 37th Canola Council of Canada convention in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from March 21 to 23, 2004, features speakers from around the globe discussing the opportunities and challenges for canola.

Highlights of Monday’s presentations included an overview of the health benefits of canola in today’s diet. Indeed, Dr. R. Curtis Ellison, from the Boston University School of Medicine, said that a Mediterranean-type diet with the use of olive oil, canola oil, and especially a canola oil-based margarine, seems to be the preferable dietary approach to advise for the prevention of heart disease, as well as for the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases.

In her presentation, Dr. Theresa Nicklas, professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, said canola contains the lowest level of saturated fat of any oil, has a high level of monounsaturated fatty acid, is a rich source of vitamin E, is cholesterol free, and contains no trans fat.

“These speakers and others Monday reaffirmed not only the health benefits of canola but also explored how canola’s health appeal is increasing. High oleic canola and conventional canola, speakers said, offer food manufacturers and consumers more health benefit options than ever before. It was a clear message to delegates that canola has tremendous opportunity to further expand its market share,” says Barb Isman, President of the Canola Council.

The importance of canola to international customers was demonstrated by the presence at the convention of large delegations from Mexico and China.

The Canadian canola industry serves domestic and international markets with raw and domestically processed products. With a solid infrastructure built upon private sector investment in research and development, canola offers Canadian farmers an important option in diversifying their cropping choices, speakers noted.
 

Top U.S. experts say canola a key to improving health


A prominent U.S. researcher says that consumption of the omega-3 fatty acids found in canola oil can significantly improve health.

Dr. R. Curtis Ellison, from the Boston University School of Medicine, said Monday at the 37th Canola Council of Canada convention, that a Mediterranean-type diet with the use of olive oil, canola oil, and especially a canola oil-based margarine, seems to be the preferable dietary approach to advise for the prevention of heart disease, as well as for the prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases.

“Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 essential fatty acid, has many health benefits, and research data now indicate that canola oil should be considered as a key component of the ‘Healthy Diet of 2004’,” says Ellison.

In his presentation to the over 225 convention delegates attending the Canola Council of Canada’s annual convention in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Ellison noted that before WWII, coronary heart disease (CHD) was uncommon. However, in the 1950s and ‘60s, CHD became epidemic, killing two million people per year in the U.S.

In various studies conducted over the past several years, Ellison contends that while the initial approach for the dietary prevention of CHD focused on decreasing saturated and total fats, such attempts had very little success. But one study in particular, the Seven Countries Study, has proved that the type of fat, not all fat, was an important factor in preventing CHD.

“Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, especially the omega-3 series of polyunsaturated fats, proved to provide the most protection against coronary heart disease,” noted Ellison.

A subsequent study, entitled the Lyon Diet Heart Study, compared a Mediterranean-type diet, consisting of increased fruits and vegetables, more fat (mainly from olive oil), and a high intake of ALA, with a typical low-fat, low-cholesterol diet.

“The single most important aspect of the diet was probably the use of a canola oil-based margarine,” said Ellison. “And the results were astounding. The risk of subsequent heart problems or death among the subjects in the Lyon study on the Mediterranean-type diet was about 75 per cent lower than among subjects on the low-fat, low-cholesterol diet.”

Dr. Theresa Nicklas, professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, added that canola is nutritionally superior from a health perspective.

Speaking at the conference, Nicklas said that canola contains the lowest level of saturated fat of any oil, has a high level of monounsaturated fatty acid, is a rich source of vitamin E, is cholesterol free, and contains no trans fat.

“Canola, and canola oil in particular, has great potential to human health,” said Nicklas. “It offers the best blend of fatty acids, and is just right for human health.”

Nicklas says the decreased emphasis on the role of total fat in the prevention of chronic disease is an important message that needs to be relayed to consumers.

“It’s the type of fat, not the total amount of fat, that is important in maintaining a healthy diet,” noted Nicklas. “It’s been proven that a higher intake of n-3 fatty acids from fish and plant sources, such as canola, lowers the risk of coronary heart disease.”

Although high intake of dietary fats may be a risk factor associated with the onset of coronary heart disease, Nicklas stressed that certain fats are essential for good nutrition and health, and are an important part of the daily diet.

“Canola is a good plant source of omega-3 fatty acids,” she said. “Canola oil contains alpha-linolenic acid, an essential omega-3 fatty acid that reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

“Fats, for their part, provide essential fatty acids, act as insulators to maintain body temperature, improve the palatability of food, promote digestion, provide the greatest energy per gram of any food source, and carry fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.”

The convention runs from March 21 to 23, 2003 and is attended by all sectors of the canola industry. This year large contingents of Mexican and Chinese industry representatives are also attending the convention.
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