Canola Oil: What It Is, USDA Nutrition, Erucic Acid and the Evidence

Canola oil is a neutral-tasting cooking oil pressed from the seeds of canola, a plant bred from rapeseed to contain very little erucic acid. In USDA data, a tablespoon has about 124 calories and 1 gram of saturated fat, the lowest of the common cooking oils, with most of its fat monounsaturated and a useful share of plant omega-3. FDA allows a qualified heart health claim for canola oil when it replaces saturated fat, and trials show it lowers LDL cholesterol compared with several other fats. Below: what is canola oil, how the erucic acid story began, the USDA numbers, and how canola compares with olive oil and generic vegetable oil.

Peptide Labs does not sell canola oil. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

What is canola oil?

Canola is a variety of Brassica plants, the same family as mustard and cabbage, grown widely in Canada, the northern United States, Europe and Australia. The Canola Council of Canada, an industry group, says canola was developed from rapeseed during the 1960s and 1970s through traditional plant breeding, long before genetic engineering existed. Breeders selected plants lower in two unwanted components of rapeseed: erucic acid in the oil and bitter compounds called glucosinolates in the meal. Today both genetically modified and non-GM canola varieties are grown; products labeled organic or Non-GMO Project Verified come from non-GM seed.

US law draws a clear line between canola and old-style rapeseed oil. FDA’s food regulation (21 CFR 184.1555) describes “low erucic acid rapeseed oil, also known as canola oil” as a fully refined, bleached and deodorized oil from certain Brassica napus or Brassica campestris varieties, with erucic acid no more than 2% of its fatty acids. USDA’s nutrient entry for canola oil lists erucic acid as zero.

Erucic acid: why rapeseed oil had a bad reputation

Erucic acid is a long-chain monounsaturated fat that is plentiful in traditional rapeseed and mustard seed oils. A 2023 review in the journal Molecules (Galanty and colleagues) explains that it was regarded for decades as a substance to avoid because studies in rats suggested heart toxicity. The same review notes that heart effects have not been confirmed in humans and that the animal experiments had many limitations. Either way, canola was bred specifically to remove most of it, so the erucic acid concern belongs to the old rapeseed oil, not to the canola oil on US shelves.

Canola oil nutrition: USDA values per tablespoon

All cooking oils are pure fat, so calories barely differ. What changes is the type of fat. The table compares canola with other common fats using USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) values per tablespoon, with FDC IDs and percent Daily Values.

By share of fat, USDA data put canola at about 7% saturated, 63% monounsaturated and 28% polyunsaturated. Its polyunsaturated part is roughly two parts omega-6 linoleic acid to one part omega-3 ALA, which is unusual among cooking oils. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements lists canola oil with flaxseed and soybean oil as ALA sources, while noting the body converts very little ALA into the EPA and DHA found in fish; see our omega-3 guide and flaxseed guide for more. A tablespoon also supplies 16% of the Daily Value for vitamin E and about 8% for vitamin K.

What the FDA qualified health claim says

In October 2006, FDA issued a letter of enforcement discretion allowing a qualified health claim for unsaturated fatty acids from canola oil and reduced risk of coronary heart disease. “Qualified” means FDA judged the evidence limited and not conclusive, and the claim must say so. It also carries two conditions: canola oil has to replace a similar amount of saturated fat, and it should not raise the total calories eaten in a day. In 2018, FDA allowed a separate qualified claim for oils high in oleic acid, which named high-oleic canola alongside olive and high-oleic sunflower oil.

Later research is broadly consistent with that cautious wording. A 2020 meta-analysis of 42 controlled trials (Amiri and colleagues) found that canola oil lowered total and LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B compared with other edible oils, with the largest difference when it replaced saturated fats. A 2019 meta-analysis of 27 randomized trials with 1,359 participants (Ghobadi and colleagues) found lower total and LDL cholesterol but no change in HDL or triglycerides. These are blood-marker studies; none tracked heart attacks or deaths.

Is canola oil bad? The processing and omega-6 questions

Most online criticism of canola oil falls into three buckets:

• Hexane extraction: the Canola Council says pressing alone removes about 80% of the oil and that hexane, an approved solvent, can be used to extract the rest, then is recovered and does not stay in the oil. Expeller-pressed and cold-pressed canola oils skip the solvent step if you prefer them.
• Refining: regular canola oil is refined, “bleached” with clay filters and deodorized, which removes color, flavor and some minor compounds. That is why it tastes neutral.
• Omega-6 and seed oils: canola is often grouped with seed oils, yet its linoleic acid share (about 19% of its fat) is far lower than soybean, corn or traditional sunflower oil. Our seed oils guide walks through the American Heart Association advisory and the trials behind the omega-6 debate.

A fair summary: canola oil is a refined oil with a favorable fat profile on paper and supportive, but marker-based, trial evidence. Like any polyunsaturated oil, it is more prone to oxidation than saturated fats, so store it away from heat and light and discard oil that smells rancid.

Canola oil vs olive oil

Both oils are mostly monounsaturated. Canola has about half the saturated fat of olive oil and much more ALA, and a 2023 meta-analysis of 13 trials (Pourrajab and colleagues) found canola lowered LDL cholesterol slightly more than olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil, on the other hand, is unrefined and keeps polyphenols that refined canola lacks, and it has a much longer research record in Mediterranean-diet studies. The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines name olive oil when they suggest oils with essential fatty acids. Many kitchens use both: olive oil for flavor, canola where a neutral taste matters. Our olive oil guide and avocado oil guide cover those oils.

Canola oil vs vegetable oil

“Vegetable oil” is not one oil. A bottle with that name may contain soybean oil, canola oil or a blend, and the ingredient list tells you which. If it is soybean oil, USDA data show about twice the saturated fat of canola, more omega-6 linoleic acid and less ALA per tablespoon. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines list canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean and sunflower oils as commonly consumed oils and suggest cooking with them in place of fats high in saturated fat, such as butter, shortening, lard or coconut oil (see our coconut oil guide). For another neutral oil with several types, see our sibling guide to sunflower oil.

Who should pay attention

• People taking warfarin: MedlinePlus advises keeping vitamin K intake consistent and notes that certain vegetable oils contain vitamin K. Canola is moderate, but talk to your doctor before changing your diet.
• Anyone counting calories: at about 120 calories per tablespoon, every oil adds up quickly.
• People who want to avoid GM foods: choose oil labeled organic or verified non-GMO.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a food allergy. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Sunflower Oil: High-Oleic vs Linoleic Types, USDA Nutrition and Health, Seed Oils: What They Are, a USDA Fat Chart and What Research Shows, Olive Oil Benefits: Research, Nutrition and Types of Olive Oil.