Canola oil is not bad for cholesterol. It actively lowers it. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that canola oil reduces LDL (“bad”) cholesterol by about 6.4 mg/dl on average, and when it specifically replaces saturated fats like butter or beef tallow, the drop is much larger: roughly 16.5 mg/dl for LDL and 24.7 mg/dl for total cholesterol.
How Canola Oil Affects LDL and HDL
Canola oil’s cholesterol-lowering effect comes from its fat composition. It’s high in monounsaturated fat (the same type that makes olive oil heart-healthy) and contains a meaningful amount of omega-3 fatty acids in the form of alpha-linolenic acid. It’s also low in saturated fat compared to butter, coconut oil, and most animal fats.
The key variable is what you’re replacing. If you swap butter or coconut oil for canola oil in your cooking, the LDL reduction is substantial. If you’re already using another unsaturated plant oil like olive oil, the difference is smaller but still measurable. A 2020 meta-analysis of nine trials found that canola oil lowered LDL cholesterol compared to olive oil, though neither oil had an advantage for HDL (“good”) cholesterol or blood pressure.
One thing canola oil doesn’t do is raise HDL. That’s not a drawback specific to canola, though. Most cooking oils have a neutral effect on HDL. The primary benefit is the LDL reduction, which is the number most closely tied to heart disease risk.
Why Canola Oil Has a Better Omega Ratio Than Most Seed Oils
One concern people raise about seed oils is their high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-6 fats, when consumed in large excess over omega-3s, can promote inflammation. Canola oil performs well here. Its omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is roughly 5.6 to 1, which is far lower than corn oil (52 to 1) or even olive oil (about 13 to 1).
Lab research comparing these oils found that canola oil and fish oil suppressed the inflammatory cell behavior linked to plaque buildup in arteries, while corn oil and coconut oil triggered significant increases in inflammatory markers. This doesn’t mean canola oil is anti-inflammatory the way fish oil is, but it sits at the favorable end of the spectrum for plant-based cooking oils.
The Processing Question
Most canola oil on grocery shelves is refined using a chemical solvent called hexane, then heated to temperatures above 200°C (up to 235°C) during deodorization. This processing does create small amounts of trans fats. Commercial canola oil samples contain roughly 1.9 to 3.6% trans fatty acids by weight of total fat, formed when the omega-3 and omega-6 fats in the oil are altered by heat.
That sounds alarming if you’ve heard that trans fats raise LDL cholesterol, and they do. But context matters. A tablespoon of canola oil contains about 14 grams of fat. At 2 to 3% trans fat content, that’s roughly 0.3 to 0.4 grams of trans fat per tablespoon. For comparison, a single tablespoon of partially hydrogenated margarine (now largely banned) could contain 3 grams or more. The trace amounts in refined canola oil are small enough that clinical trials still show a net LDL-lowering effect.
Residual hexane from processing is also minimal. Refined vegetable oils contain approximately 0.8 parts per million of residual hexane, a level considered negligible by food safety standards.
If you want to avoid processing altogether, cold-pressed canola oil exists but is harder to find and more expensive. For most people, the refined version still delivers a clear cholesterol benefit.
What Happens When You Cook With It
Canola oil is reasonably stable at cooking temperatures, with a smoke point that varies by refinement but generally falls around 200 to 230°C (400 to 450°F) for refined versions. That’s suitable for sautéing, baking, and most home frying.
Prolonged high-heat use does degrade the oil. In one study, canola oil used to fry food at 185°C (365°F) for seven hours a day over seven consecutive days saw its trans fat content rise from 2.4% to 3.3%. For typical home cooking, where oil isn’t reused for days on end, this isn’t a realistic concern. If you’re deep-frying repeatedly with the same batch of oil, replacing it regularly matters more than which oil you choose.
Where It Stands Among Cooking Oils
The American Heart Association’s 2026 dietary guidance lists canola oil alongside soybean and olive oils as heart-healthy nontropical plant oils. The recommendation is to use these in place of animal fats and tropical oils like coconut and palm oil as part of an overall healthy dietary pattern.
Olive oil, particularly extra virgin, often gets more attention because of its polyphenol content and the strength of Mediterranean diet research behind it. But for cholesterol specifically, canola oil performs at least as well. It’s also more neutral in flavor and less expensive, which makes it practical for everyday cooking where olive oil’s taste might not be ideal.
The oils that genuinely raise cholesterol are those high in saturated fat: coconut oil, palm oil, butter, and lard. Replacing any of these with canola oil will lower your LDL. Switching between canola and other unsaturated oils like olive, soybean, or avocado oil makes less of a difference, since they all shift your fat intake in the same favorable direction.