Canola oil vs soybean oil: nutrition compared

— not reported by USDA for this food.

— not reported by USDA for this food.

For everyday health, canola has a modest edge on paper, though no trial put the two head to head. In the USDA records here canola oil carries 6.61 g of saturated fat per 3.5 oz (100 g) and soybean oil 15.25 g, about 0.9 g against 2.1 g in a 14 g tablespoon. Across 42 controlled trials canola lowered LDL cholesterol by about 9 mg/dL (0.23 mmol/L) against other edible oils, and an umbrella review rated that kind of LDL drop from unsaturated oils such as canola as high certainty.

Both may carry a qualified US heart claim at about 1.5 tablespoons a day, only when the oil replaces saturated fat without adding calories. FDA calls the canola evidence limited and not conclusive, and the soybean evidence supportive but not conclusive, resting on four trials of 15 to 36 people each.

US rules cap erucic acid in canola at 2% of its fatty acids. The warfarin warning tied to soybean oil is on an intravenous drip label, and nothing we hold tested oil eaten in food. We hold no evidence on soybean oil for people with a soy allergy, so ask an allergist. Repeated frying of either oil alone is untested here.

Either works for everyday cooking. If saturated fat is what you are cutting, canola is the slightly better pick.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level B Across 42 controlled trials, canola oil lowered total cholesterol by 10 mg/dL (0.27 mmol/l) and LDL cholesterol by 8.9 mg/dL (0.23 mmol/l) compared with other edible oils, and by 19 mg/dL (0.49 mmol/l) LDL when it replaced saturated fats. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2020
2. Level A A 2021 umbrella review of 108 systematic reviews graded the LDL drop from unsaturated oils such as rapeseed or canola oil as high-certainty evidence, at least 7.7 to 15 mg/dL (0.20 to 0.40 mmol/L). Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2021
3. Level E One tablespoon of canola oil is 14 g in USDA survey data and carries about 2.4 mg vitamin E, recalculated from 17.3 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g). USDA FoodData Central survey foods (FNDDS) 2024-10-31, fdc_id 2710188
4. Level E US dietary surveys count a tablespoon of soybean oil as 14 g and a cup as 224 g. USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 82108000 (Soybean oil, FDC 2710191)
5. Level E The FDA allows canola oil labels to say only that limited and not conclusive evidence suggests about 1.5 tablespoons (19 g) a day may reduce heart disease risk, and only if it replaces saturated fat without adding calories. FDA, Qualified Health Claims: Letter of Enforcement Discretion, Unsaturated Fatty Acids from Canola Oil and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease, 2006
6. Level E FDA allows a qualified US label claim that about 1.5 tablespoons (20.5 g) of soybean oil a day may reduce coronary heart disease risk only if it replaces saturated fat without adding calories. FDA, Qualified Health Claim: Soybean Oil and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease, letter of enforcement discretion, Docket FDA-2016-Q-0995, 2017
7. Level E FDA based the soybean oil heart claim on only four small randomized trials of 15 to 36 people each. FDA, Qualified Health Claim: Soybean Oil and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease, letter of enforcement discretion, Docket FDA-2016-Q-0995, 2017
8. Level E US federal rules define canola oil as low erucic acid rapeseed oil whose erucic acid is no more than 2 percent of its fatty acids. 21 CFR 184.1555, Rapeseed oil, eCFR
9. Level E The FDA-approved Intralipid label warns that its soybean oil contains vitamin K1, which may counteract warfarin. Intralipid (i.v. fat emulsion), FDA-approved label (DailyMed), effective 2025-11-05
10. Level B In 20 obese adults fed breakfasts made with oils heated through 20 frying cycles, a sunflower and canola blend with added antioxidants reduced postprandial oxidative stress compared with heated sunflower oil alone. Food Chem, 2013

Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

Read more about these foods

• Canola oil: the LDL effect is real and small
• Soybean oil: the best evidence is about a hospital drip, not your frying pan

What the studies say

• Is canola oil good or bad for cholesterol? Good: in trials it lowers LDL a little

Rankings and guides

• Protein: what it does and how much you need
• Fiber: what it does and how much you need
• Which foods are highest in protein?

• Canola oil: USDA FoodData Central, Oil, canola, FDC ID 748278 · all forms of canola oil
• Soybean oil: USDA FoodData Central, Oil, vegetable, soybean, refined, FDC ID 172370 · all forms of soybean oil

Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ; the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.