(canola oil i think is what americans might know it as. or something similar)

Yes, with the 'can' in canola being the first 3 letters of Canada. They though up the name as they reckoned the name rapeseed was problematic from a marketing point of view. I've heard that like all oils that require extensive processing canola/rapeseed oil is not good for you as it contains the wrong sort of fatty acids as a result of that processing. Olive oil, lard, butter, coconut and ghee are all far healthier.

Also almost any seed oils, even cold processed, are emitting toxic components when overheated - and who can avoid overheating in a pan? I think there was a HN discussion recently about a higher incidence of lung cancer related to hot oil cooking...

Do you mean reaching/exceeding the smoke point? Or just generally "heating up oil"?

Yes I meant above the smoke point. There are pans (Tefal?) which get red when the they get too hot, but as it depends a lot on the type of the oil and anyway the pan bottom is covered by the very food you're overheating... not helping. I understand there are better vegetal options (coconut, refined avocado) but still animal fat looks to be the safest. Or just pay good attention when frying.