A number of studies have demonstrated that CLA reduces your fat mass, while increasing lean body mass. And whilst there are plenty of thermogenics, stimulants and thyroid stimulators of wide merit, few supplements on the market today have been endorsed by as much research as CLA. We look at the facts and studies surrounding this latest fat loss supplement, to see if it's worthy of a place on your supplement shelf.
So what is this conjugated linoleic acid? Broadly it is a naturally occurring fatty acid and while it can be obtained through your diet by eating beef, cheese and certain dairy products, it's only present in these foods in very low doses. So it would be pretty hard to get the recommended 4.2 grams per day as suggested by A. Smedman et al (2001) These experts, in a study conducted at Uppsala University in Sweden, discovered that supplementing 4.2 grams of CLA per day, in 53 normal healthy individuals, led to a major decrease (3.8%) in body fat, compared with those individuals not taking CLA.
It is believed that CLA lowers your body fat in 3 ways; first, in a study conducted in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Pas Vasco, it was discovered that CLA can interfere with a substance in your body called lipoprotein lipase. This is partly responsible for helping store fat in your body. Second, the same study also concluded that CLA can help your body use its current fat for energy. Therefore studies show CLA not only inhibits the storing of fat, but it also enhances your fat burning.
Thirdly, and perhaps most important for bodybuilders, CLA has been show to increase muscle mass which in turn can increase your metabolism and the amount of calories you burn at rest. This of course has the added benefit of not actually making you lose weight, but rather changing (and improving) your body composition. Mostly recently a 1 year human study showed a 9% reduction in body fat and 2% increase in muscle mass (Gaullier, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 79(6): 1118-1125 (2004.) Whilst the previously mentioned study at Uppsala University in Sweden also showed a slight net increase in body weight, but a net decrease in body fat.
So in conclusion, it seems CLA won't actually make you lose weight as such, but rather change and improve your body composition hence why it is the preferred fat loss supplement of many bodybuilders. Regarding how much you should take, in studies where a notable amount of fat was lost dosage varied from 1.4 grams to 6.5 grams, therefore it might be advisable to take at least 2grams per day (with a meal.) Lasltly, and worth noting, Myprotein.com's CLA soft gels are currently the strongest on the market, containing 1 gram of CLA per soft gel.
So what is this conjugated linoleic acid? Broadly it is a naturally occurring fatty acid and while it can be obtained through your diet by eating beef, cheese and certain dairy products, it's only present in these foods in very low doses. So it would be pretty hard to get the recommended 4.2 grams per day as suggested by A. Smedman et al (2001) These experts, in a study conducted at Uppsala University in Sweden, discovered that supplementing 4.2 grams of CLA per day, in 53 normal healthy individuals, led to a major decrease (3.8%) in body fat, compared with those individuals not taking CLA.
It is believed that CLA lowers your body fat in 3 ways; first, in a study conducted in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Pas Vasco, it was discovered that CLA can interfere with a substance in your body called lipoprotein lipase. This is partly responsible for helping store fat in your body. Second, the same study also concluded that CLA can help your body use its current fat for energy. Therefore studies show CLA not only inhibits the storing of fat, but it also enhances your fat burning.
Thirdly, and perhaps most important for bodybuilders, CLA has been show to increase muscle mass which in turn can increase your metabolism and the amount of calories you burn at rest. This of course has the added benefit of not actually making you lose weight, but rather changing (and improving) your body composition. Mostly recently a 1 year human study showed a 9% reduction in body fat and 2% increase in muscle mass (Gaullier, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 79(6): 1118-1125 (2004.) Whilst the previously mentioned study at Uppsala University in Sweden also showed a slight net increase in body weight, but a net decrease in body fat.
So in conclusion, it seems CLA won't actually make you lose weight as such, but rather change and improve your body composition hence why it is the preferred fat loss supplement of many bodybuilders. Regarding how much you should take, in studies where a notable amount of fat was lost dosage varied from 1.4 grams to 6.5 grams, therefore it might be advisable to take at least 2grams per day (with a meal.) Lasltly, and worth noting, Myprotein.com's CLA soft gels are currently the strongest on the market, containing 1 gram of CLA per soft gel.
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