Description
What is Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)?
CLA is an Omega-6 fatty acid found naturally in meat and dairy, especially from grass-fed varieties.
It comes from the Linoleic Acid (LA) that’s in the grass and grains eaten by animals, such as cows and sheep.
CLA supplements are usually made from LA from safflower oil or sunflower oil. It’s altered using chemicals, enzymes or ‘friendly’ bacteria during the manufacturing process to convert it into CLA.
Summary
- CLA is an Omega-6 fatty acid that comes from the Linoleic Acid in grass and grain eaten by animals
- The supplement form of CLA derives from safflower or sunflower oil
Can CLA help you lose weight?
Sadly, there’s no magic formula for losing weight, but there are certain supplements that can potentially give your weight loss efforts a helping hand.
How does CLA work to burn fat?
CLA is thought to trigger a series of chemical reactions that stimulate fat-burning in the body. It’s believed to:
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Speed up metabolism
By increasing the amount and rate that the body burns calories and fat.
As a result, the body increases the amount of calories it burns off and uses its energy stores more efficiently.1
Handpicked content: What is metabolism & can you speed it up?
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Increase insulin resistance
Studies have found that having higher levels of CLA in your blood can lead to lower levels of leptin, a hormone believed to regulate fat levels.
High leptin levels may play a role in obesity, one of the biggest risk factors for adult-onset diabetes.
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Help the body ‘mobilize’ stored fat
By helping break down muscles and reduce fluids.
One particular study tested the impact of a 4.5g CLA supplement on fat loss in overweight but otherwise healthy people for a year.
The group that took the CLA supplement lost close to 9% more body fat than the placebo group.
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Kill white (‘bad’) fat cells
CLA’s ability to reduce body fat mass and increase lean muscle mass is yet to be fully understood.
It’s thought to be able to trigger fat cell death, shrink fat cells and potentially speed up metabolism to promote weight loss (as mentioned in point 1).
CLA for weight loss
One study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2004 found that a group of overweight men and women, who took CLA for a year, lost on average, 9% of their body fat without changing their diet or lifestyle.5
As for the ‘fat burning’ qualities that are widely linked to CLA, animal research has shown that CLA burns fat by increasing the levels of enzymes (lipase) and proteins that are responsible for breaking down fat. Unfortunately, this is yet to be widely proven in humans.6
A randomised control trial was carried out into the impact of 3.2g of CLA on the metabolism of overweight, but otherwise healthy adults.
It revealed those who took the supplement burned fat stores more efficiently and used less protein for energy compared to the placebo group.7
Meanwhile, a separate study explored the impact of 3.76g of CLA on fat burning and energy expenditure for several months.
It concluded that CLA increased the rate of energy expenditure, specifically by increasing the rate at which fat was burnt.8
However, combining CLA with a healthy lifestyle could see even greater results. In 2001, Norwegian scientists followed 20 healthy adults, who exercised for 90 minutes three times a week, for 12 weeks.
Those who took CLA every day lost more body fat than those who only exercised.9 CLA could even aid weight loss while you catch some ZZZs.
Research by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found CLA enhanced fat burning during sleep.10
CLA for weight loss around legs & hips
We’ve been taught that we can’t spot-reduce fat – reduce fat in specific areas – but a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2007 observed that taking CLA appeared to shift fat stored around the legs and hips.11
Another study carried out on 60 men and women in Barcelona found that CLA was shown to target ‘trunk fat’ – in other words, fat around the middle.12
CLA increases lean muscle and lean muscle burns more calories than fat at rest, so increasing your lean muscle mass could help you lose weight.
