What is the key to a healthy and happy life? Of course, a stress-free, balanced lifestyle, but also, adding good ingredients to one’s diet. Good food that helps ease the system and flush out toxins from the body is also essential. And a lot of it can be derived from the various organic seeds and oils that are now available and accessible to us. One such miraculous food is canola seeds. Canola seeds benefits are many, each better than the other.
So, how does it exactly fit into our fast paced lives? That is exactly what we are going to discuss here. Here’s a quick guide on canola seeds benefits that you should know so that you can include this magical grain into your daily life.
What is the nutritional content in canola seeds?
About 15ml of canola seed oil provides 124 calories, 12% vitamin K of the RDI (reference daily intake) and 12% vitamin E of the RDI.
However, where canola seeds benefits do matter is in terms of their lower levels of saturated fats. This is also one of the reasons why canola seed oil is considered the healthiest. It has around 7% of saturated fat, 64% of monounsaturated fat and 28% of polyunsaturated fat. Polyunsaturated fat is rich with almost 21% of linoleic acid or the omega-6 fatty acid and even omega-3 acid which is critical for brain and heart health.
How is canola oil made?
Canola seed benefits are not exactly always found by way of canola seed consumption. It can also be consumed in the form of canola seed oil. Here’s how it is made.
1. Clean
The canola seeds are plucked, separated and then cleaned so as to remove dirt or grime from plant stalks or otherwise.
2. Condition
The cleaned seeds are heated to reach 35 degrees. Once conditioned, the flaking process begins wherein the cell wall of the seeds is ruptured with the help of roller mills.
3. Cook
Steam-heated cookers are used to cook seed flakes. It is done for around 15 minutes over a temperature of 80 to 100 degrees.
4. Press
These cooked seeds are then pressed using screw expellers to ensure that at least 60% of the oil is expelled from the flakes. The remaining 40% is extracted using other means.
5. Extract the solvent
Hexane is the chemical that is used to further extract 20% of the oil.
6. Desolventise
This is the process wherein the seeds are heated for the third time over a temperature range of 95-110 degrees with the help of steam exposure.
7. Process
Now that all the oil has been extracted, it is further refined and processed using various ways; phosphoric acid exposure, steam distillation or acid-activated clay filtration.
Benefits of canola seeds
As mentioned, canola seeds benefits are plenty. It not only helps the body heal better and be healthy but is also an excellent hair and skin care agent. It helps treat pesky acne and even prevents hair fall, at the same time treating serious conditions such as high cholesterol levels to ensure your heart health is fine. Let’s take a closer look at all the benefits canola seed has to provide.
Canola seeds are a great source of vitamin E which is a powerful antioxidant. Thus, it protects the skin from external pollutants and other free radicals that are the cause of acne. Regular consumption of canola seed oil or even application of the same is known to prevent acne. It also lightens the resultant blemishes. Canola seed oil also calms down irritated skin and soothes skin conditions such as eczema.
Inflammation is beneficial in preventing wounds from festering. However, it results in extreme warmth within the body, which may further lead to issues such as swelling, tenderness and even too much pain. Thus it is important to relieve the inflammation. Canola seeds are effective here and thus should be included in a healthy diet that targets the reduction of inflammation.
A healthy lifestyle always contributes towards relieving any kind of pressure on the heart. A healthy heart, thus, contributes towards a happy and healthy life. Canola seed oil is rich in plant sterols. Additionally, it contains considerably lower levels of saturated and trans fats, thus lowering the chances of having a stroke or any coronary disease whatsoever. Regular consumption of canola seeds or its oil ensures that the heart stays in good shape.
Canola seed oil is instrumental in lowering the levels of bad cholesterol in the body. This can be attributed to the unsaturated fats present in it which helps reduce the bad cholesterol and increase the good one.
Your mind and memory get affected the most with age. Canola seed oil can help here too. Regular consumption of it may help prevent the decline of mental health, thus delaying or entirely preventing the chance of having conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Dementia.
Your skin craves nourishment and moisture, and canola seed oil is more than capable of providing both. This oil has great moisturising properties, which makes it efficient in treating dry skin and ensuring your skin looks and remains supple in a healthy manner. It also seeps in deep rather than just being on the surface of the skin.
We do have a plethora of cooking oils at our disposal. But, nearly all of them add plenty of calories to our plate along with the taste. That’s where canola seed oil differs. The vitamin K and E present in canola seed oil are actually helpful in dissolving abdominal fats, thus making it one of the healthiest alternatives to your regular cooking oil.
Canola seed oil is also beneficial in reducing inflammation and the resultant pain that may bother your back. It boosts blood circulation and reduces any kind of soreness that inflammation often brings along with it. The omega-3 fatty acids further relieve the back ache.
Canola seed oil is also beneficial in making your hair better and more beautiful. The best way to do it is by mixing canola seed oil with some tea tree essential oil. This will not only control dandruff but also help control hair fall, if you suffer from it.
Canola seed oil helps strengthen hair shafts and also makes hair thicker. At the same time, it helps with blood circulation in the scalp, leading to better hair growth. If you want something that can help prevent hair fall and at the same time boost hair growth, canola seed oil is your best bet.
This is the best choice if you wish to go for an oil that helps prevent premature ageing. Canola seed oil is rich in vitamin E and K and both are known to treat skin imperfections, making it more elastic. It also tackles the early signs of ageing such as dryness and blemishes, along with fine lines.
Canola seed oil provides immense nourishment and moisture. This makes it a natural serum for dry and frizzy hair. You can either use it as natural hair oil or as a conditioner or even as a hair serum. The best way is to use it twice a week as normal hair oil for nourished hair that does not suffer due to flyaways.
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Written by Kadambari Srivastava on 31st Mar 2021
A finance professional by degree who jumped into the world of content creation 7 years ago, Kadambari is a pro at spinning words, whether it's beauty, business, entertainment, or anything else. Better separate your 'its' from 'it's' when she is around. When she isn't writing, she can be seen with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other, keeping up with her book challenge of the year.