Hi I have Dr. Sears first book, The Zone and have kept it with me all these years and achieved great weight loss. I just happened to come across some info with Dr. Sear saying to avoid vegetable oils ie canola. This news made me very worried. This is not mentioned in that first book. I remember he recommends using olive oil. But I use canola these days coz i can cook stuff at hotter temperatures. Can someone please give a complete list of what oil is ok to use under Dr. Sears recommendations or point me to some online list ? Thanks !

You can probably google up a good list. I use peanut oil for cooking.

Dr Sears suggests olive oil, (not extra virgin) but refined for cooking.

groundnut (peanut) oil or avocado oil I believe is recommended for cooking. I also use refined olive oil

The reason to avoid vegetable oils is because they are omega6's which can increase AA(arachidonic acid). Many chronic disease conditions (heart disease, cancer,diabetes, arthritis)are a consequence of elevated levels of bad eicosanoids derived from AA.

Canola oil was an accepted oil to use in the Zone diet according to past publications by Dr. Sears. His Top 100 Zone foods gives canola 2 smiley faces out of 3 for acceptable zone fats, having a higher ratio of monounsaturated fats as compared to other vegetable oils. Also, I seem to remember a few years ago there was a zone brand of canola offered on the website similar to the olive oil and toasted sesame oil currently offered.

Has Dr. Sears revised his stance on canola, and if he has, what is his reasoning seeing that canola has a relatively similar monounsaturated fat makeup as peanut oil?

I don't know if Sears has revised his thinking, but I would personally steer clear of canola oil. Just me, but it is not a natural oil (doesn't come from the canola plant--lol).

Dr. Sears advocates olive oil. Refined for cooking, and extra virgin raw.

Do NOT use Extra Virgin Olive Oil to cook with.
Only refined.
EVOO has a low smoke point and becomes toxic at high temps.
.
But, personally, we use only Coconut Oil for cooking.
and EVOO for non-cooking.
.
Coconut Oil while considered a sat fat is a Medium Chain fat,
and has proven healthful; BUT NOT recommended by Dr. Sears.