Q. Is there any truth in the scare story I heard on the Internet about Canola oil?

A. No! The rumor is certainly to do with a half-truth. Canola oil comes from a variety of rapeseed. Rapeseed got a bad name, probably unjustly, because its oil used to contain erucic acid. This is a monounsaturated fat which was thought to be toxic. This has never been proved. Indeed, studies on populations in China showed no ill effects.

However Canola oil has been specially hybridized to eliminate erucic acid.

Canola oil is non-toxic and has a good essential fatty acid profile. Use it in preference to any other kind of oil.

See also my longer article Canola Baloney

Moral? You have to sort through a lot of Internet garbage to find the gems.