There's an online trend going on, fueled by self proclaimed nutrition experts saying that "rapeseed is inflammatory". 👀 Let's check the facts:
1) There are four main types of fats:
- polyunsaturated (the best guys): extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed avocado oil, cold pressed rapeseed oil etc.
- monounsaturated (the good guys): refined olive oil, refined rapeseed oil, etc.
- saturated (the bad guys), there are exceptions, but as a rule of thumb, avoid them: lard, palm oil, etc.
- trans-saturated (terrible): forbidden in the UK.
2) Our body needs Omega 3s and Omega 6s to function. They come from oils.
3) Omega 3s and 6s regulate each other, and you should have a ratio of at least 1:1 of them, or even better: more Omega 3s than 6s. So if you have too much Omega 6s, and not enough Omega 3s, your body may start to defend itself through an inflammation process.
4) UNREFINED rapeseed oil, has a lot of Omega 3s and Omega 6s, just like olive oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil, etc. Now once REFINED, the amount of omega 3s is reduced, the oil loses its polyunsaturated properties, and some of it will turn to transfat (I know!), as the refining process includes heating past the smoking point. Let's just make it clear that this happens to all oils: rapeseed oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, etc.
5) So if you eat a lot of refined oil, of any kind, you might end up with a bad ratio between "the omegas" and lots of transfat in your body, so inflammation may occur.
🤔So wait, the culprit is not the rapeseed, it's the refining process?
💚Yes!
🤔So if you buy refined olive oil (anything that is not extra-virgin), will it have inflammatory effects?
💚Yes!
🤔And does that mean that if I buy cold pressed rapeseed oil (they are usually yellow) it's really healthy?
💚Yes!
🤔So why aren't all food products made with cold pressed extra virgin oils?
💚Have you tried baking a cake with extra virgin olive oil? It tastes "a bit olivy"... Again, if taste wasn't a factor, we could all live off kombuchas and sauerkrauts 😂
And this is why here at Fitbakes we only use the best British
sourced rapeseed oil in our cakes. It's local, better for the environment, it's a monounsaturated fat (the good guys), and it gives you the best nutrition and taste balance.
So now that you know the full story, next time you hear some alarmist say "rapeseed is inflammatory", tell them to leave the poor rapeseed alone, and toast with a piece of cake! 🍰
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7258276/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18408140/
https://www.gbhealthwatch.com/Science-Omega3-Omega6.php