Oil Facts

What are oils?

Oils come from plant sources by crushing, cracking or flaking the vegetable, fruit, seeds or nut in a press and then purifying the resulting oil. Canola, sunflower, cottonseed and sesame oils are obtained from seeds, walnut and macadamia oils are obtained from nuts, while olive oil comes from a fruit and soybean oil comes from beans.

Oils are important

Oils are essential for growth and development throughout all life stages. They give our bodies energy to work and exercise, as well as providing us with essential vitamins. They also keep us warm and protects our bones and joints.

Where do the seed oils in MeadowLea come from?

The canola oil in MeadowLea comes from canola seeds grown in Australia. MeadowLea is proud to be supporting Australian Farmers, as we select only Australian grown, Non-Genetically Modified canola seeds to make MeadowLea. In Australia canola is grown in the winter months, harvested in November / December and is the largest oil seed crop grown in Australia.

Sunflowers are native to South America and MeadowLea's sunflower seeds come from Argentina. Sunflowers are a summer crop and can grow as high as 2 metres.

The health benefits of canola and sunflower oils

Canola oil is a 'good' oil because it is high in monounsaturated fats and also contains significant amounts of beneficial Omega-3. Of all the commonly used oils in Australia, canola oil has the lowest amount of saturated fat.

Sunflower oil is also a 'good' oil because it is high in polyunsaturated fats and low in saturated fat.

In this chart, you can see the composition of some different oils. Remember, the less saturated fat an oil has, the better it is for you.