Is Canola Oil Gluten Free? Read Here!

Cooking oil can be an integral part of your cooking experience, necessary for all manner of recipes from fried chicken to vegetarian chickpea hummus. Olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, the modern consumer is spoilt for choice.

Is canola oil gluten free? Yes! However, beware as only pure canola oil is considered totally free from gluten. Impure or badly produced canola oils can contain traces of gluten protein, which can ruin your gluten free diet endeavours.

It is common gluten is cut out of diets for people looking to lose weight, as naturally gluten is found is some commonly weight gain related foods. Examples of gluten can be found in foods such as bread, cookies, and other baked foods. Although a gluten free diet is also the only real way to mitigate the awful effects of celiac disease.

Without a gluten free diet, celiacs will suffer as the gluten protein erodes the lining of their intestine, causing serious stomach aches and pain. Other gluten free diets may be employed to ease constipation and promote healthy bowel movements, as traces of gluten can affect everyone in different ways.

Don’t have Canola Oil? Find out other oil benefits like police oil. Is Olive Oil Gluten Free?

What is Canola Oil?

Canola is a healthy fat oil, derived from rapeseed. It has a distinctly mild flavour and a light yellow colour. Used as a cooking oil, canola has seen growing popularity since the 1970s. Even if you’re not on a gluten free diet, canola is a very healthy alternative oil.

Unlike vegetable oils and olive oil, canola oil is low in saturated fats. Instead, it is very high in monounsaturated fat, which is considered a healthy fat by most dieting professionals. Love it or hate it, fat is an essential part of a balanced diet, so it’s important to get the right fats into your meals.

Rapeseed plants used for canola are non-gluten ingredients. Most common cooking oils should be suitable for a gluten free diet, however complications during the manufactury process can lead to contact with gluten and other gluten rich ingredients. 

Just because the canola seed and the oil from canola seeds are gluten free friendly, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be wary. Gluten free oils, as well as gluten containing food, will somewhere have a label for gluten content. Gluten free diet friendly labels tend to be near the front, while allergen information for gluten can also be found among the ingredients list of a product.

Pure Versus Impure Canola Oil, What’s the Difference?

So if impure canola plants can ruin a gluten free diet, how can you tell the difference? Just like olive oil or coconut oil, your best bet to finding a hidden gluten protein content is on the back of your oil. Gluten hiding among the list of ingredients is usually placed in bold, much like allergens for sesame or nuts.

Search for ingredients with gluten, including rye, wheat, and barley. The inclusion of gluten during manufacturing processes can be both intentional to give a new texture to food, or unintentional as a touch with gluten in a factory also producing gluten containing food.

The food industry often has overlap in factory production and food preparation for supermarket shelves, so sources of gluten may be present in whatever factory is pressing the canola plants or bottling the oils from plant sources. This can contaminate non-gluten ingredients, and the external gluten containing ingredients will end up in the oil.

Glutinous additives for flavour or texture, as already stated, can also be present. If you have food intolerances, you should always check the ingredients of a product. For celiacs, this will be looking for gluten containing additives. 

What Makes Canola Oil Different From Other Cooking Oils?

Being a healthy fat, canola makes cooking non-fat food by frying a real option. Most people looking to lose weight might sacrifice their taste buds and cook food without oil, but not enjoying your food will ultimately lead to further weight gain down the line. 

Cooking food in oil can be healthy, as canola oil demonstrates. Provided you find a gluten free one, a gluten free diet with low calorie and healthy fat oils from canola plant protein can elevate your meals, while keeping them healthy and a part of your balanced diet. 

Of course, the presence of gluten or the possibility of gluten content in impure oils can complicate the health benefits of canola. Since gluten is generally considered unhealthy, hence why it is cut from most weight loss programmes, the scale of gluten content can be a factor.

Providing you are on a gluten free diet to lose weight rather than due to an intolerance, you may be able to get by using some mishandled canola oil. Still, where possible, you should buy pure canola for food preparation, so you can keep your favourite foods healthy as you can. 

We also made a comparison between Chia Seeds vs Fish Oil that you would want to know.

Are All Oils Gluten Free?

Gluten in vegetable oils is very common. Although you shouldn’t be finding coconut milk gluten, vegetable oil gluten, or corn gluten, it can happen. Especially in cheaper cooking oils, produced with less care than oils more friendly to a gluten free diet. Gluten comes in many forms, not just oil, so always be on the lookout.

Olive oil gluten, peanut butter gluten, quinoa gluten, sesame oil gluten, soybean oil gluten, glutinous food items are everywhere. When doing food preparation for your favorite foods, oil can be just too much for you gluten free diet. If you’re on a limited gluten diet too, it can be problematic.

Limiting gluten or doing a gluten free diet can mean cutting down on foods you love. Italian food, no matter the variety of cooking methods and preparation, typically contains a heavy gluten content. So, depending on your cooking purposes, consider your oils carefully. 

We made an article to know other oils if are gluten-free. Find out here Is Soybean Oil Gluten Free & Is Sesame Oil Gluten-Free.

Health Benefits of Canola Oil

Like many gluten free items, canola oil is healthy from an absence of gluten. Perfect for those suffering celiac disease, but also helping to prevent a significant weight gain in those looking to drop a few pounds here and there. 

Certified gluten free products can still be unhealthy. Depending on the food preparation, and the ingredients involved, that is. Fatty milks, other less healthy oils, sugars, all can contribute to you still gaining weight from a gluten free diet.

Monounsaturated fats in canola oil lead to less cholesterol than in regular cooking oil. Unlike popular oils derived from sunflower seeds and other plant varieties, canola can promote a healthy heart and cardiovascular system.

It’s also common for a restaurant fryer for gluten free diets to end badly. Frying gluten containing products such as battered fish, breaded chicken, and so on can lead to gluten contaminating your gluten free diet food. Be wary ordering chips in a restaurant, as even canola oil will be contacted by gluten. 

Read Next Article: Is Grapeseed Oil Keto