y2k health alert for y2k preps a must read subject canola oil

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SIGHTINGS

The Health Effects Of Canola Oil - None Dare Call It Rape By Don Harkins for the SPOTLIGHT From the Idaho Observer 5-99 http://proliberty.com/observer/19990502.htm 12-13-99

The cheapest cooking oil on the market today is called canola. It is used to fry potatoes in fast food restaurants and is found on the list of ingredients for mayonnaise sold in health food stores. Canola is taking the place of peanut oil in peanut butter and is being blended with olive oil for domestic kitchen use. Canola is a name that recently appeared in the marketplace and is apparently derived from Canadian-oil. Canola oil is actually produced from the rape seed plant. Rape (Brassica napus), a member of the mustard family, is listed in the Encyclopedia Britannica as a poisonous plant with toxic effects which include pulmonary emphysema, respiratory distress, anemia, constipation, irritability and blindness in cattle. According to John Thomas, author of Young Again: How to Reverse the Aging Process, The name canola disguised the introduction of rape oil to America. Rape oil was widely used in animal feeds in Great Britain between 1986 and 1991 at which time its use was discontinued, Thomas wrote. Most people remember the mad cow disease epidemic and that cows, pigs and sheep went blind, behaved insanely, attacked other animals and people and had to be destroyed. Reports at the time blamed the erratic behavior of livestock on a viral disease called scrapie (in sheep and pigs) and mad cow disease in cattle. However, when rape oil was removed from animal feed, 'scrapie' disappeared, Thomas explained. According to Dr. Len Horowitz, author of Emerging Viruses, AIDS and Ebola: Nature, Accident or Intentional, What is scrapie in sheep, mad cow disease in cattle, wasting disease in wild game animals, whirling disease in fish is Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in people. English experts told people not to panic if they had been cooking with rape oil when mad cow disease was at its peak in Great Britain, said Thomas. The 'experts' added that the effects of rape oil ingestion takes at least 10 years to manifest. With grain prices down and grass seed growers faced with increasing opposition to their seasonal field burning, beautiful yellow rape fields are contrasting deep green panoramas of what has traditionally been field after field of grasses and grains in the northwest United States. Rape, the most toxic of all food-oil plants that has no natural insectoid predators, is a weed that can grow vigorously in most climates and terrains throughout North America. Rape toxicity The toxic properties of the rape plant are cyanide-containing compounds called isothiocyanates. Thomas explains that cyanide inhibits the production of ATP in our bodies. ATP is the energy molecule that powers the body and keeps us healthy and young. According to Thomas, ...glaucoma is the result of insufficient blood flow due to agglutination (clumping together) of the red blood cells and waste buildup on the cells and intercellular fluids. Thomas believes that ingestion of rape over time may cause glaucoma. Thomas also believes that ingestion of rape over several years causes other vision irregularities such as retinitis. Thomas explains how the clumped red blood cells cannot squeeze through the tiny capillaries in the posterior of the eye and, therefore, cannot deliver oxygen to the mitochondria (the rod-shaped bodies in a cell that facilitate the metabolism of fats, sugars and proteins). Rape oil, as metabolized in the body, produces the latex-like substance that causes the agglutination of red blood cells, explained Thomas. In this respect, glaucoma has much in common with hair loss, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and hearing problems. Rape and the central nervous system Rape is an acetlycholinesterase inhibitor. Acetylcholine is critical to the transmission of signals from nerves to muscles. When the normal function of aceytlcholinesterase is compromised, nerve fibers are not able to send the signals properly and muscles will not respond as expected. In the last 20 years we have seen a dramatic increase in muscular disorders such as multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy. Soy and (rape) oils are players in the outbreak of these disease conditions. So are the organophosphates--insecticides such as malthion-- used in food production in the name of efficiency, commented Thomas. There are many people throughout the country who are convinced that rape oil is poisonous to the human body and that the body digests rape in such a fashion that congests the blood and restricts the flow of lymph fluid which can cause a myriad of physical and psychological disorders. Moreover, using processed foods containing canola oil, soy oil and chemical additives confuses the body and weakens the immune system, continued Thomas. Thomas recommends that anybody who desires to enjoy optimal health must take personal responsibility for what they put into their bodies. 'Health care' industry is an oxymoron, concluded Thomas; it protects its own health and its own economic interests. Learn to protect your health and economic interests by learning how to take care of yourself. Then act on that knowledge. Young Again: How to Reverse the Aging Process is published by Promotion Publishing, San Diego, CA. _____ The Idaho Observer P.O. Box 1353 Rathdrum, Idaho 83858-1353 Phone: 208-687-9441 Email:

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-- y2k aware mike (y2k aware mike @ conservation . com), December 15, 1999

Answers

Throw out your canola oil if you have any in the house. Oil is very important to maintain ones health. Choose olive oil in dark glass containers, safflower oil,hemp oil,grape-seed oil, flaxseed oil and corn oil are better oils. Good oil is essential make sure you dont forget to stock it.

-- y2k aware mike (y2k aware mike @ conservation . com), December 15, 1999.

Okay....going downstairs to see what kind of oil I've stocked. Hope it's not Canola....

-- Psychotic (y2k@doom&gloom.com), December 15, 1999.

DIVERSITY

There is no single food. Every food or ingestible substance on the planet has a toxicity level including oxygen and water. If you need grains, have several kinds. If you need water, have several sources. If you need oils, never stock only one kind. If you need light, have more than one way to produce it. If you need to cook, have more than one way, one fuel may run out, or the chimney may stop drawing, or whatever. If you store beans, store more than 1 kind. If you plant a garden, grow a variety of things.

-- this-n-that (this@that.com), December 15, 1999.


At 83, my father (still in England) is more interested than ever in matters of health and the environment, as are the majority of Brits and Europeans (compared to Americans). We talk about twice a week, often discussing genetically modified food and the modern-day farming methods Dad sees in the fields adjacent to his house. Dad prefers grape- (not rape-) seed oil; he detests corn and olive oils. Yes, we talk about oils too, since Mother died and he has to do his own cooking. And we've talked about "Mad Cow" disease a lot. In all these conversations, the subject of toxic rapeseed oil has never come up, although rapeseed is grown near Dad's house. This is not to say the article is a lie; it is to say the average person in England has no knowledge of it. I would suggest holding on to your canola oil until more information becomes available. (I personally prefer olive oil for all cooking and that's what I have stored, except for some peanut oil for Chinese food.)

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), December 15, 1999.

Don't throw out that canola oil!!! Use it in your fiberglass wicked oil lamps. I posted a thread about using vegetable oil in oil lamps and it works. Also, you can use it to start a fire with.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), December 15, 1999.


Don't throw out that canola oil!!! Use it in your fiberglass wicked oil lamps. I posted a thread about using vegetable oil in oil lamps and it works. Also, you can use it to start a fire with.

P.S. I posted the thread on the Prep Forum

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), December 15, 1999.


Rape is a close relative of broccoli. I agree that we all could probably be better educated consumers, but hesitate to toss all the canola oil from the cupboard based on a reaction to this article.

Canola oil has been a popular choice for heart patients because it is low in saturated fats. It has a lower smoke point than olive or peanut oils {note to Paul Davis - might not be the best choice for that engine, hon}. Balance in all things, eh?

-- flora (***@__._), December 15, 1999.


I wanted to add that because it has a lower smoke point, you don't want to use canola oil to fry foods, I don't use it even if sauteing or pan frying. {We're all cutting back on those fried foods anyway, right?}.

How 'bout some spinach scare stories now, those pesky oxylates {sp?} & all.

Side of quack grass, anyone?

-- flora (***@__._), December 15, 1999.


Good post, thanks, also I agree with the idea of rotating what you eat. I have lots of beans, but have chosen a variety of kinds so they have different chemical compositions and won't build up substances and cause allergies... Always take a pause in eating certain foods habitually...

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), December 15, 1999.

Consider our millions of years of evolution eating the "caveman" or "neanerthal" diet, and the only few thousand years of agriculturally derived eating. We didn't eat wheat, oats, rape, soybeans, whatever (or oils from them) for millions of years. We may/probably ate olives, grapes, dates, coconuts, pinenuts and other nuts, etc. (or oils from them) during all those millions of years. AND PLENTY OF ANIMAL FAT. Consider that when deciding what types of oil to eat and store. Like bardou says, you can always use what you don't want to eat, as lamp oil.

There, I've offended both the religious cranks (mentioning evolution) and the vegetarian wackos (mentioning eating meat products).

-- A (A@AisA.com), December 15, 1999.



The average life expectancy today is around 76 years. The average life expectancy of cavemen was less than 20 years.

-- Sam Mcgee (weissacre@gwtc.net), December 15, 1999.

McGee -- You are quoting tired old statistics having no relevance to living people. The main "increase" in life-expectancy has come at both ends: Infant mortality and geezer mortality (old farts being kept alive by all kinds of drugs and operations). Disease, not diet, also plays a major part. You will note that re childhood mortality, anyone making it into adulthood had fairly good life expectancies.

You will hear things like in 1800 the life expectancy was, say, 45. Well, look at this: Geo Washington 67 (killed by a doctor bleeding him)
John Adams 91
Thomas Jefferson 83
James Madison 85
Need I go on?

"There are lies, damn lies, and statistics."

-- A (A@AisA.com), December 15, 1999.


And then there's A....

A major contributing factor to disease is malnutrition. A major contributing factor to infant mortality is malnutrition, both of the child and of the mother. A major contributing factor to longevity is good nutrition.

-- Sam Mcgee (weissacre@gwtc.net), December 16, 1999.


Almost forgot--last time I checked, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison were not neanderthals. Thomas Jefferson was in fact a passionate gardener who liked his veggies very much.

-- Sam Mcgee (weissacre@gwtc.net), December 16, 1999.

McGee -- sorry I don't have an almanac list birth/death dates for Zog and Oola.

I don't know if you are obtuse, probably a "veggie" zealot, or what -- the point is, the AVERAGE is worth sh*t. The MAXIMUM life span has not increased much in RECORDED history, except lately due to major operations and emergency rooms.

Once someone makes it past childhood, doesn't get TB, or cut down in a tribal or national war, their expectancy was similar to our unaided expectancy.

If you can make the point that the "caveman" had a crappy diet and did not manage to survive for millions of years on it, and our grain-based one is vastly superior, then you've got something. Otherwise shut up. The point is, we KNOW that what they ate works. New stuff, like Canola oil, probably doesn't. If you put a "caveman" into the easy, relatively disease-free modern society, he would have a life span similar to us, eating the same foods.

-- A (A@AisA.com), December 16, 1999.



Sorry--I am neither obtuse nor a veggie zealot.

Averages are valid because few live to reach "maximum" possible age. Looking at just the maximum possible age is misleading. My neighbor's grandmother is 102 and still going strong. She is the oldest person in a town of about 3000. Does that mean that everyone in that town is likely to live to 102? Of course not. Does it mean that all of her children will live to 102? Again, no. She has already buried two children aged 68 and 70.

If you have a box of 10 hand grenades and you know that 8 of them have a 10 second fuse and 2 have a 20 second fuse, will you count to 10 or 20? After all, the maximum is 20...

If the caveman's diet was so wonderful, why did he start eating grains and vegetables in the first place? Because his government told him to? Why did he keep eating grains and vegetables? Because an industry lobbying group brainwashed him into believing a varied diet was better?

With the development of agriculture, people also began breeding and keeping herds of animals. Why didn't they feed all their grains to their livestock and eat just the animals? Because their families and tribes were getting larger and they needed the evil non-meat products to keep everyone fed. Why did their groups grow larger? Because of higher reproductive rates (more people lived into reproductive age) and because of lower infant mortality rates. The larger the group became, the more varied the diet had to become (to keep everyone fed). Eventually everyone was eating a variety of foods. If this was bad, why did the population continue to grow? Why did longevity increase and mortality decrease?

You have your opinion--this is mine: I believe the Adkins diet and the caveman diet are both gimmics to sell books to people who want to lose weight fast but aren't willing to give up their greasy pork chops and fried eggs. In time these diets will be replaced by other new diets-- perhaps another "cabbage soup" or "fish" or "grapefruit" diet. Perhaps the next diet craze will invove eating nothing but boiled eggplant--who knows?

-- Sam Mcgee (weissacre@gwtc.net), December 16, 1999.


I have seen this allegation about canola oil before, but I have never seen any good documentation. My limited research on about.com has yielded this info:

There are two varieties of rape seed. One is toxic, and was originally grown to be used as axle grease. The other was specially bred to reduce the toxic element, erucic acid.

quote:

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is an interesting plant that has been bred as two varieties, yielding either a High Erucic Acid Rape oil (HEAR) or a Low Erucic Acid Rape oil (LEAR). HEAR oil contains as much as fifty percent of the unpalatable monounsaturated fatty acid, erucic acid (cis-13-docosenoic acid), and is used as an industrial lubricant. LEAR oil has less than two percent erucic acid, and enjoys commercial success under the name of canola oil: a vegetable oil with less saturated fat than corn oil or soybean oil. (Rapeseed growers know to keep their high erucic acid producing plants far apart from the low erucic acid producers, as cross-pollination by insects leads to hybrids too low in erucic acid for industry and too high in erucic acid for cuisine.)

(end quote)

A nutritionist, Dr. Mary Enig, supports the idea that traditional fats are healthier than modern vegetable oils. There is a variety of information on her web site, http://www.enig.com/trans.html. She thinks that partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are a major dietary mistake. She supports, not a caveman diet, but a diet closer to that of 1890, when heart disease was virtually unknown.

-- kermit (
colourmegreen@hotmail.com), December 16, 1999.


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