Canola Oil vs Coconut oil - Nutrition and Health Impact Comparison

Calories

The edible oils are very high in calories. Canola and coconut oils provide more calories than most foods. Per 100g of coconut oil, there is 892, and in comparison, 100g of canola oil contains 884 calories. 

One serving of canola oil provides 124 calories, while one serving of coconut oil provides 121 calories.

Fats

More than 99% of the macronutrient content of coconut oil belongs to fat, whereas canola oil consists of almost 100% fats.

Nearly 63% of the fats in canola oil are monounsaturated fatty acids, 28% are polyunsaturated fatty acids, and only 7% are saturated fatty acids.

The predominant monounsaturated fatty acid in canola oil is omega-9 oleic acid. The polyunsaturated fatty acid is omega-6 linoleic or omega-3 α-linolenic acid.

On the other hand, coconut oil contains more than 82% saturated fatty acids. Next by portion are monounsaturated fatty acids and only then polyunsaturated fatty acids.

More than half of the saturated fatty acids are medium-chain triglycerides or MCT. The predominant MCT found in coconut oil is lauric acid.

The oils contain some levels of trans fats as well and are absent in cholesterol.

Cardiovascular Health

Section reviewed by cardiologist Astghik Grigoryan

Many canola and coconut oil studies show contradictory results, making it unclear whether these oils are good or bad for heart health.

Canola oil may have cardioprotective, antithrombotic, antiarrhythmic, and anti-inflammatory effects and promote cardiovascular health. Due to the high level of monounsaturated fatty acids, canola oil has a beneficial effect on the regulation of plasma lipids and lipoproteins, leading to the reduction of coronary heart disease risk (11, 12).

However, another study on rats has suggested that canola oil is pro-inflammatory and increases plasma lipid levels, risk factors for heart disease (13). Similar results were achieved when rats were given repeatedly heated oil, which induced inflammatory stress and even negatively affected the liver (14).

A study has demonstrated that overweight or obese people continuously consuming canola oil have higher scores of metabolic syndrome (including diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and high risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and atherosclerosis) than those who rarely or never use it. However, other studies suggest that canola oil reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome (15, 16, 17).

Although more often, we see that coconut oil is marketed as safe for the heart and even advertised as better than vegetable oils. However, that's not the case. Coconut oil is high in saturated fats, and it is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular diseases because it increases levels of LDL cholesterol. This, in turn, will increase risks of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular mortality (18, 19, 20, 21). 

Diabetes

A 3-month ongoing controlled trial has shown that canola oil-enriched low glycemic load diets improve glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes, particularly those with high systolic blood pressure (24).

Several studies suggest that canola oil, along with sesame and sesame-canola oils, may beneficially affect diabetes carrying different genotypes (25, 26).

Other studies speak in favor of canola oil and diabetes, suggesting improvements in fatty liver, lipid profile, measures of insulin resistance, and lower levels of fasting blood glucose (11, 27, 28, 29).

On the other hand, refined canola oil is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (30).

A case has been presented where a 66-year-old man with type 2 diabetes managed with insulin developed recurrent hypoglycemia due to coconut oil supplementation. However, this case was not a controlled experimental trial, and the primary source of data was the patient’s report. A review of the literature showed that coconut oil might positively affect blood sugar control, but more studies are required to confirm this (31).

In one study, animals were fed a high-calorie, fat, cholesterol, and fructose diet rich in coconut oil and developed obesity but had normal blood glucose levels and decreased markers of inflammation (32).

Cancer

Several animal studies suggest that canola oil may be chemoprotective against colon cancer (33, 34).

Canola oil can potentially suppress the growth of breast cancer cells as well. In a study, canola oil has shown synergistic effects on cancer cell growth suppression with some chemotherapeutic drugs (35, 36, 37).

Canola oil has some amounts of PAH or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which increase after heating the oil. PAH may potentially increase the risk of cancer (38, 39, 40).

A study has shown that virgin, processed, and fractionated coconut oils have anti-cancer properties against oral and liver cancers (41).

As mentioned before, coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which has been shown to have antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in breast and endometrial cancer cells (42).

Neurological Health

Studies have shown that coconut oil improves cognitive functions in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. MCT metabolism leads to ketone body production, which can potentially serve as an alternative energy source and compensate for the lack of glucose utilization in the brain and stop the progression of neural death occurring in Alzheimer’s disease. Coconut oil has significantly improved orientation and language-construction areas of the brain (43, 44, 45, 46).

On the other hand, chronic consumption of canola oil in mouse models had a negative effect on memory and synaptic integrity (normal functioning synaptic unit); however, the limitation is that rat neurophysiology is not similar (47).

Another study on rats and their offspring has shown that a maternal high-fat diet enriched with canola oil can lead to neurodevelopmental issues in the offspring (48).