New study links canola oil to cognitive problems in mice

Is this oil actually Alzheimer’s in a bottle?

This past summer, I told you about an extremely important study out of Temple University that found a way to slash your odds of coming down with Alzheimer’s disease.

Now, those same researchers have gone in the other direction and discovered something that may increase your chances of developing this devastating memory-robber.

It’s a commonly used food ingredient that big-name groups such as the American Heart Association actually recommend you use in everything from cooking to salad dressings!

Yet it turns out that very few studies have actually been conducted to see if canola oil is, in fact, good for us.

And according Dr. Domenico Pratico, director of the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine, that’s true “especially in terms of the brain.”

But by completely cutting this oil out of your diet immediately, you could very well be giving yourself and your family the very best Christmas present of all.

A ‘red flag’
Dr. Pratico called his new study a “red flag” for canola oil, adding that “we need to be careful before we say that it is healthy.”

What? You mean to tell me that all kinds of experts are going on record recommending canola oil as being good for us when there’s nothing to back that up?

Do they just grab these health claims out of the air?

Or perhaps, as in the case of the AHA, the U.S. Canola Association helps in this decision-making. (In fact, the AHA lists that particular trade association as one of the handful of organizations on its “Industry Nutrition Advisory Panel.”)

Whatever the driving force is behind all of this bad advice, these Temple researchers found quite enough to make you never, ever want to eat anything that contains canola oil again!

To design a study to see how canola oil might affect the brain, Dr. Pratico and his team used mice who were bred to develop Alzheimer’s disease. They divided the mice into two groups, both fed a typical mouse-chow diet, but one group had the equivalent of two tablespoons of canola oil added to it per day.

Despite the fact that both diets were adjusted to have the same number of calories, the first thing the scientists noticed is that the canola oil group had gained “significantly” more weight.

Next, they found that the mice fed the canola oil had a much harder time performing “working memory” tests — being able to recall different types of mazes. In fact, they were practically 50 percent worse at the tests than the other group who only ate the mouse chow.

Then came the real moment of truth: The researchers looked at their brains.

Not only did the canola oil mice have lower levels of a compound that the researchers called a protective brain “buffer,” but they had “increased formation” of amyloid plaques (a classic sign of Alzheimer’s).

Along with those disastrous findings, the mice had fewer “contacts between neurons.” And keeping those connections strong is key to being able to form new memories — in both mice and men.

Of course, the particular oil used in this study was made from conventional genetically modified canola, which is routinely sprayed with Roundup.

Would using an organic version make a difference? We just don’t know right now.

Until we do, however, it appears that avoiding canola oil entirely — organic versions included — is probably the safest approach to take. After all, being able to hold onto your precious memories is the best gift of all!

And if you’re wondering what these researchers discovered last summer that may help prevent Alzheimer’s, it was none other than good old extra-virgin olive oil!

That earlier study found the exact opposite effect when they fed mice the same amount of extra-virgin olive oil daily. They had healthier brain cells and fewer amyloid plaques. And these mice were also ones bred to come down with Alzheimer’s.

The Temple scientists are planning a lot more research, not only on canola, but corn oil and animal fats as well.

But really, we know enough right now to say “No” to all forms of canola and “Yes” to extra-virgin olive and organic coconut oils, both of which are healthy fats… good for your brain… and go perfectly in any kind of dish you may be cooking up!

“Alzheimer’s symptoms worsened by canola oil – and it could cause onset of dementia, scientists warn” Melissa Matthews, December 7, 2017, Newsweek, newsweek.com