Drug & supplement interaction

Canola Oil + Orlistat

Orlistat brand names: Xenical, Alli.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated June 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Canola Oil and Orlistat in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first.

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Interaction report

Canola Oil and Orlistat

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Orlistat and Canola Oil in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

Worth understanding: our licensed dataset holds no drug-interaction record for Canola Oil at all — not against Orlistat, and not against any other medication we track. This verdict therefore rests on the absence of any recorded data, not on research that looked at this combination and found nothing. We cannot rule an interaction out.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Canola Oil safety at a glance

Canola Oil overall Generally safe Canola oil is widely consumed as food and is generally considered safe in normal dietary amounts.
Pregnancy Likely Safe When used orally in amounts commonly found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of using canola oil in medicinal amou... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Safe When used orally in amounts commonly found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of using canola oil in medicinal amou... Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Orlistat and Canola Oil? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

What Orlistat’s Own FDA Label Lists

This is not an interaction — none of it involves Canola Oil. These are the most notable effects listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Orlistat’s own FDA label, for the medication by itself. Knowing the drug’s own list makes it easier to work out the likely cause if something new turns up while you take both. 10 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Bleeding in the gut Worth acting on
  • Low blood sugar Worth acting on
  • Pancreatitis Worth acting on
  • Wheezing Worth acting on
  • Low mood Worth acting on
  • A severe allergic reaction Worth acting on
  • Hives Worth acting on
  • Liver problems Worth acting on
  • Bleeding or bruising Worth acting on
  • A higher chance of infection Worth acting on

Showing the 10 most notable of 28 label-listed effects — ranked by how unusual each one is across medicines generally, with serious effects weighted up.

From the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Orlistat. Read the label on DailyMed › Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 25,755 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Orlistat that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Canola Oil’s licensed record lists no adverse effects our clinical vocabulary could match, so there is no Canola Oil side to compare — that is a limit of the record, not a statement that Canola Oil has no side effects.

Special populations

Canola Oil in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Safe

When used orally in amounts commonly found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of using canola oil in medicinal amounts during pregnancy or lactation. Consuming canola oil, a source of alpha-linolenic acid, increases levels of this fatty acid in breast milk. While alpha-linolenic acid is likely safe during pregnancy and lactation when used in amounts typically found in food, it is unknown if it is safe in amounts exceeding those typically found in foods; avoid using.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

Overlapping uses

What Orlistat Is Prescribed For, and What Canola Oil Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Orlistat is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Canola Oil is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Orlistat is prescribed for: Xenical and prescription-strength orlistat are approved to help obese adults lose weight and keep it off when used with a reduced-calorie diet. They are intended for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher if other risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol or fat levels in the blood) are present. Alli is the over-the-counter version, approved for weight loss in overweight adults 18 and older when used with a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet and exercise program.

Canola Oil has been studied for:

  • Diabetes studied, not established Canola Oil has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Canola Oil for diabetes

    Preliminary clinical research in patients with type 2 diabetes shows that eating a canola oil-enriched bread supplement as part of a low glycemic load diet as an adjunct to oral hypoglycemic agents for 3 months reduces HbA1c by 0.47% compared with a reduction of 0.31% following intake of a wheat fiber bread as part of a whole-grain diet.

    3 sources cited
    1. 98569. Jenkins DJ, Kendall CW, Vuksan V, et al. Effect of lowering the glycemic load with canola oil on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors: a randomized controlled trial. Diabetes Care. 2014;37(7):1806-14. PubMed
    2. 98584. Salar A, Faghih S, Pishdad GR. Rice bran oil and canola oil improve blood lipids compared to sunflower oil in women with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, single-blind, controlled trial. J Clin Lipidol. 2016;10(2):299-305. PubMed
    3. 101766. Atefi M, Pishdad GR, Faghih S. The effects of canola and olive oils on insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress in women with type 2 diabetes: a randomized and controlled trial. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2018;17(2):85-91. PubMed

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Orlistat on your own; if you are taking Canola Oil for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Orlistat

This page covers Canola Oil only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Orlistat page lists 18 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate), Fish Oil (moderate) and Glucomannan (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 8 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Orlistat page

“People who take Orlistat (Xenical, Alli) for weight loss often browse the very supplement aisle where fiber products and fish oil sit, and both show up on this page, so it deserves genuine attention before you mix anything in. Nearly all 18 ingredients on file can change how oral medications absorb from the gut, and the single major-ra…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Orlistat interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Canola Oil as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 33 real supplement products containing Canola Oil, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Canola Oil. Even though Canola Oil itself has no known interaction with Orlistat, another ingredient on your label might. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Canola Oil and Orlistat Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Canola Oil
Steady interest

#949 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Orlistat
Top 10%

#255 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Canola Oil reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Canola Oil and Orlistat records this page draws on were last updated June 22, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Supplement

About Canola Oil

What is Canola Oil?

  • Heart health and cholesterol support
  • Cooking and food preparation
  • Source of unsaturated fats and omega-3 (ALA)
  • Skin moisturizing (topical, traditional)

Canola oil is a common cooking oil pressed from the seeds of the canola plant, a type of rapeseed bred to be low in erucic acid. It is low in saturated fat and contains heart-friendly unsaturated fats, and replacing saturated fats with it may support healthy cholesterol. For most people it is safe as a food, but it is not a proven treatment for any disease.

Brassica napus · Brassicaceae · Seeds (oil pressed from the seeds) · Cooking oil, salad dressings, margarine, capsules (less common), and an ingredient in many processed foods

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Canola Oil is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Canola Oil record says about it on its own.

Canola Oil: dosing

There is no official medicinal dose for canola oil. As a food, it is simply used in cooking, baking, and salad dressings in normal recipe amounts. More is not better, since extra oil mainly adds calories.

From our Canola Oil monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Canola Oil monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Orlistat

What Is Orlistat Used For?

Brand names: Xenical, Alli

Xenical and prescription-strength orlistat are approved to help obese adults lose weight and keep it off when used with a reduced-calorie diet. They are intended for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher if other risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol or fat levels in the blood) are present.

Alli is the over-the-counter version, approved for weight loss in overweight adults 18 and older when used with a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet and exercise program.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Orlistat

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (25,755 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Rectal discharge 2,434 reports
Gastrointestinal disorder 2,186 reports
Constipation 1,991 reports
Diarrhea 1,960 reports
Weight increased 1,944 reports
See full Orlistat drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Canola Oil

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Canola Oil — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
0Moderate
0Minor
2,829No known interaction
2,829 No interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Canola Oil against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,829 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Canola Oil list.

See the full Canola Oil interactions page
See every supplement checked against Orlistat, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Canola Oil References

The 16 references that drive our Canola Oil monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. Crawford M, Galli C, Visioli F, et al. Role of Plant-Derived Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition. Ann Nutr Metab 2000;44:263-5. PubMed
  2. Connor WE. Alpha-linolenic acid in health and disease. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;69:827-8. PubMed
  3. Gibson RA, Makrides M. n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid requirements of term infants. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71:251S-5S. PubMed
  4. Jones PJ, Senanayake VK, Pu S, Jenkins DJ, Connelly PW, Lamarche B, Couture P, Charest A, Baril-Gravel L, West SG, Liu X, Fleming JA, McCrea CE, Kris-Etherton PM. DHA-enriched high-oleic acid canola oil improves lipid profile and lowers predicted cardiova
  5. https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/. Accessed January 25, 2019.
  6. FDA completes review of qualified health claim petition for oleic acid and the risk of coronary heart disease. November 2018. Available at: www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm624758.htm. Accessed January 25, 2019.
  7. Liu X, Kris-Etherton PM, West SG, et al. Effects of canola and high-oleic-acid canola oils on abdominal fat mass in individuals with central obesity. Obesity. 2016;24(11):2261-2268. PubMed
  8. Kruse M, von Loeffelholz C, Hoffmann D, et al. Dietary rapeseed/canola-oil supplementation reduces serum lipids and liver enzymes and alters postprandial inflammatory responses in adipose tissue compared to olive-oil supplementation in obese men. Mol Nutr PubMed
  9. Jenkins DJ, Kendall CW, Vuksan V, et al. Effect of lowering the glycemic load with canola oil on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors: a randomized controlled trial. Diabetes Care. 2014;37(7):1806-14. PubMed
  10. Nigam P, Bhatt S, Misra A, et al. Effect of a 6-month intervention with cooking oils containing a high concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids (olive and canola oils) compared with control oil in male Asian Indians with nonalcoholic fatty liver disea
  11. Palomäki A, Pohjantähti-Maaroos H, Wallenius M, et al. Effects of dietary cold-pressed turnip rapeseed oil and butter on serum lipids, oxidized LDL and arterial elasticity in men with metabolic syndrome. Lipids Health Dis. 2010;9:137. PubMed
  12. Francois CA, Connor SL, Wander RC, Connor WE. Acute effects of dietary fatty acids on the fatty acids of human milk. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;67(2):301-8. PubMed
  13. Salar A, Faghih S, Pishdad GR. Rice bran oil and canola oil improve blood lipids compared to sunflower oil in women with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, single-blind, controlled trial. J Clin Lipidol. 2016;10(2):299-305. PubMed
  14. Negele L, Schneider B, Ristl R, et al. Effect of a low-fat diet enriched either with rapeseed oil or sunflower oil on plasma lipoproteins in children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia. Results of a pilot study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2015;69(3 PubMed
  15. Atefi M, Pishdad GR, Faghih S. The effects of canola and olive oils on insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress in women with type 2 diabetes: a randomized and controlled trial. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2018;17(2):85-91. PubMed

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Canola Oil and Orlistat Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Canola Oil with Orlistat?
We do not list a known interaction between Canola Oil and Orlistat. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
Are Canola Oil and Orlistat used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Canola Oil in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Orlistat is being adjusted to a target.
Does Orlistat interact with any supplements?
Yes. Orlistat has documented interactions with 18 supplements in our database — Canola Oil is not one of them. The Orlistat interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Where next

Keep Exploring

Canola Oil monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Orlistat drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Orlistat supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Orlistat, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 16 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Orlistat and Canola Oil?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.