I've been doing this for 8 years to control symptoms of probable chronic fatigue that came around after a severe bout of mono 22 years ago. I know the Zone and my body quite well and generally enjoy superb health when I'm following the diet closely. Recently noticed very weird things going on... like acute outbreaks of herpes simplex, severe dryness in my eyes, and daytime fatigue, despite 100% Zone eating for about 2 weeks along w/ daily swimming. I should be feeling fantastic. Checked changes in food, and realized I'd been using a lot of canoloa oil in all my food prep. Did some interenet checking and, wouldn't you know it, found a lot of intriguing stuff, including strong correlations to blindness in animals and humans, along with other stuff about the toxicity of the rape seed plant that is very scary. I strongly suspect that this is the culprit, because 8 years of doing the Zone will definitely keep a soul in touch w/ his body. I'm throwing that stuff out and going back to olive oil. Would appreciate any other's exp. w/ canola oil, which is apparantly a mega money earner and recipient of hardcore US agri business propaganda. While I'm not an alarmist, I have a feeling that there is something very wrong here. I have great faith in this elevated community of Zoners... look forward to your feedback

What source of canola oil were you using and will you let us know how you're doing in a couple weeks? Charlie

With some more scrutiny I’m seeing some of these anti-canola diatribes being labeled as hoaxes. Allegations by John Thomas at http://www.whale.to/m/canola.html appear hysterical and misleading and typical of the rabid holistic hordes of unsubstantiated finger pointers. I think there might be something to it, akin to “where’s there’s smoke there’s fire.” There are claims that rape seed is poisonous, animals and insects won’t eat it, it’s used in industry (as are a zillion other plants), has some connection to mustard gas, is responsible for the initial mad cow scare in Europe (not the current bovine spongiform encephalopothy issue) that was tied to scrappie in the cattle. Also, the EU has tried to ban GMO rapeseed on account of its genetic engineering, not on its alleged toxicity. There have been some strong rebuttals from the industry as well. Frankly, I’m leery of both of the extreme sides, but the stuff is cheap as hell (three times less than the olive oil I usually buy) and big industry is behind it and it’s starting to show up as an additive in many food products. I’m one of those who is highly sensitive to glycemic loads—eating half an apple will put me to sleep, but if I stick w/ nearly all veggies and Zone it up right, I’ll only need four hours of sleep a day. Hate having to be so damn anal about following the diet to an extreme, but it seems for me I’m either thriving in the Zone or mired in misery. That’s why I was particularly upset at these new and sudden symptoms that I couldn’t explain. Had been using Costco olive oil for years (around $13.00 for a gallon or so). Three weeks ago switched to Costco Canola oil (about 4 or 5 bucks) and was wok frying green beans and salmon and such in it. Initially loved it, w/ its high burning temp. After 2 weeks my eyes started hurting and tearing, but they still felt dry to me, and it was kind of severe. Wasn’t allergies (have not taken an antihistamine in years, due—I’m sure—to decreased inflammation from being in the Zone). My mouth was feeling weird and the cold sores, well, they just sucked. There was also the profound fatigue that would come around in the late afternoon. Overall, I was flummoxed and very frustrated, because I’ve been gearing up for a big event w/ 100% Zone compliance, yoga and swimming and the Zone has never let me down. Only change was using the Canola oil. I went back to olive oil a few days ago and those symptoms are gone. Could be my frustration and anxiety latching onto someone else’s hysteria. I’ll wait and see. Meanwhile, if anyone else has had a similar response to canola oil, would appreciate hearing from you.

Canola oil, like most vegetable oils can inhibit the delta 6 desaturase enzyme essential for the production of good eicosanoids. This could result in many of the symptoms you mention including supression of the immune system, fatigue etc. So olive oil is best. Just another tip. Taking vitamin C to bowel tolerance is often quite effective at ridding yourself of cold sores if you take it at the early onset of symptoms. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavanagh

Thanks for the tip. My degree of sensitivity re. the diet is a bummer. I have to be really careful to make it work; when it works it's quite profound, and when I cut corners I can suffer. Nevertheless, am very pleased to have done the Zone for so long. I'm surprised no one else has reacted so badly to canola oil. Since going back to olive oil I've had none of the problems w/ eyesight and fatigue. I did read articles about cattle going blind when fed that stuff over a long period of time, and I don't think those notions came about on their own, even if there does seem to be some rather over-zealous fruit cakes making these assertions. What type of vitamin C is currently thought to be most easily absorbed?

Vitmain C absorption. As far as I know the basic types of vitamin C are all absorbed pretty much the same (ascorbic acid, calcium ascorbate, sodium ascorbate). Bioflavinoids can improve the functioning of vitamin C. In my experiece (and the experience of many others) powdered vitamin C with bioflavinoids mixed in water seems to work the best. It's interesting to note that bioflavinoids like quercetin (found in citrus) could inhibit the release of arachadonic acid from the cell membranes. This would slow down the production of bad eicosanoids. Kindest regards, Andrew Cavaangh

Joseph, You wrote: [i:feb045ff43]After 2 weeks my eyes started hurting and tearing, but they still felt dry to me,[/i:feb045ff43] My optomitrist tells me that dry eyes are an indication of dehydration. Perhaps your situation has changed (eg weather warmng up) where you need to have more water. For me I find that if I take the powdered forms of protein ( soy protein isolate in particular) I need to drink heaps more....and come to think, of it my eyes have been "itchy" dry and annoying lately, too. Must watch my water intake. Just a thought, cheers Top ps I personally dont use canola oil