does sunflower seed oil cause cancer??

[layla'smommy]

I hope someone can put my mind at ease. I'm just begining the switch from Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed to Canidae. I was very excited that I finally made up my mind about what to feed my girl, until I told a friend of mine...I told her I was switching to Canidae, and she got a disaproving look on her face and told me that she had heard that sunflower seed oil (which is in Canidae) causes cancer in dogs!!! She said her aunt (a Golden Retriever breeder) had told her that. Is there any truth to this??? I searched this site, and didn't find any info on sunflower seed oil. I hope someone can help! Thanks!

Jenni & Layla

[Scrapper's Mom]

I know nothing about this topic, but the question intrigued me so I did an internet search for "Sunflower Oil and Cancer in Dogs." Below are two of the sites which make mention of what you are referring to:

http://www.gsdca.org/Noframes/solidgold2000.html

http://www.wysong.net/controversies/solid_gold.shtml

I don't know if this is just salesmanship by the dog food companies, or misinterpretation of particular facts. I hope one of the members like JulieM, Aimee or Alisha Mobley weighs in here and can help with more clear information.

[Tulsa-Dan]

I always thought that sunflower oil was lower in cholesterol and was better for you than other oils. I would assume this to be true for dogs as well. But I'm no expert on nutrition so, this is just my opinion.

Also, I think it may have more to do with the hydrogenation processing than the oils themselves. Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils are more prone to being rancid and are fully more fatty in content than unhydrogenated oils. Much the same as store-brand p-nut butter vs. that which is freshly ground from fresh peanuts, without adding hydrogenated oils as Jif and Peter Pan and so forth do.

MHO.

[JulieM]

According to the American Cancer Society, sunflower oil *reduces* the risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer. There is no information on the ACS website that sunflower oil increases the risk of any other kind of cancer.

www.cancer.org - search for "sunflower oil"