CLA Approved as Food by FDA
August 2008
On June 24, 2008 the FDA officially approved CLA as a food product, stating that CLA is regarded as safe for use in foods. CLA has been found to provide many health benefits; it plays a vital role in body fat reduction, is a potential anti-carcinogenic, aids in anti-aging and has been found to exhibit anti-diabetic effects.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is an Omega-6 fatty acid that is found in red meat and dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt. It is a naturally occurring ingredient that can safely be used for numerous health-promoting benefits.
Today’s dairy products contain only about one third of the CLA content found before 1960. This is due to the cattle-feeding practices. Cows are now artificially fattened instead of grass-fed. Grass fed cows were provided with almost 500% more CLA than the current practices!
Although CLA is a natural part of the human diet, found in dairy products and beef, it occurs at levels too low to provide benefits. This is why the supplemental form of CLA is recommended to obtain all the health-promoting benefits CLA can provide.
CLA Not Just for Fat Loss but Improves Lean Muscle Mass too!
CLA has been found in several gold-standard scientific studies to reduce body fat and help improve the shape of the body. If that’s not appealing enough a recent study may help to convince you why you should be using CLA in your plan.
A scientific study published in the American College of Sports Medicine Journal; Medicine & Science in Sports Exercise examined the relationship between participants using CLA during resistance training1. This study used a large group of resistance-trained athletes. Subjects were divided into two study groups. One group supplemented with CLA and the other group was given a placebo for 7 weeks. Both groups performed a strength training program three times a week. At the completion of the study the CLA study group had a greater increase in lean muscle mass and had lost more fat overall!
This study further confirms the amazing power of this naturally occurring fatty acid. CLA has not only been found to be helpful in reducing body fat, and improving body composition but this study also shows it may be beneficial in increasing lean muscle mass as well!
ALLMAX Nutrition CLA is the ideal addition to your supplement plan to help improve your body composition and reduce body fat.
1 Pinkoski C, et al.The effects of conjugated linoleic acid supplementation during resistance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 38(2):339-48, 2006
CLA may be one of the most potent cancer-Fighting substances in our diet. Source: Mercola.com/Beef/cla.htm Dr. Joseph Mercola
In animal studies, as little as one half of one percent CLA in the diet has reduced tumor burden by more than 50 percent.
CLA has also been shown to reduce body fat in people who are overweight. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, published in the December 2000 issue of the Journal of Nutrition found that CLA reduces fat and preserves muscle tissue. According to the research project manager, an average reduction of six pounds of body fat was found in the group that took CLA, compared to a placebo group.
The study found that approximately 3.4 grams of CLA per day is the level needed to obtain the beneficial effects of CLA on body fat.
"It doesn't make a big fat cell get little. What it rather does is keep a little fat cell from getting big."
--Dr. Michael Pariza, who conducted research on CLA with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reported in August 2000 to the American Chemical Society
Pariza's research did not find weight loss in his group of 71 overweight people, but what he did find was that when the dieters stopped dieting, and gained back weight, those taking CLA "were more likely to gain muscle and not fat.'' In a separate study conducted at Purdue University in Indiana, CLA was found to improve insulin levels in about two-thirds of diabetic patients, and moderately reduced the blood glucose level and triglyceride levels.
CLA has been the subject of a variety of research in the past several years, and findings also suggest that some of the other benefits of CLA include the following:
Increases metabolic rate -- This would obviously be a positive benefit for thyroid patients, as hypothyroidism -- even when treated -- can reduce the metabolic rate in some people.
Decreases abdominal fat -- Adrenal imbalances and hormonal shifts that are common in thyroid patients frequently cause rapid accumulation of abdominal fat, so this benefit could be quite helpful.
Enhances muscle growth -- Muscle burns fat, which also contributes to increased metabolism, which is useful in weight loss and management.
Lowers cholesterol and triglycerides -- Since many thyroid patients have elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels, even with treatment, this benefit can have an impact on a thyroid patient's health.
Lowers insulin resistance -- Insulin resistance is a risk for some hypothyroid patients, and lowering it can also help prevent adult-onset diabetes and make it easier to control weight.
Reduces food-induced allergic reactions -- Since food allergies can be at play when weight loss becomes difficult, this can be of help to thyroid patients.
Enhances immune system -- Since most cases of thyroid disease are autoimmune in nature, enhancing the immune system's ability to function properly is a positive benefit.
If you're interested in taking CLA to help with weight loss, keep in mind that it's not magic, and you will need to start a program of diet and exercise in order to successfully lose weight and keep it off.
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid, which is found preferentially in dairy products and meat. Preliminary studies indicate that CLA is a powerful anti-cancer in the rat breast tumor model with an effective range of 0.1-1% in the diet.
Fat Mass Reduction
Results from in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated clearly a reduction of body fat mass.
Lean Body Mass Increase
Effects of CLA on lean body mass have been observed in both animal and human studies. In mice, rats, pigs and chicken, CLA has been shown to increase lean body mass. Consistent data have been reported for humans. The effects of CLA on lean body mass in humans were investigated in obese/overweight subjects. The results are expressed in g/d of the t-10, c-12 CLA isomer, the isomer active in lipid metabolism by Terpstra (Figure 2). Blankson et al. (12) reported an increase (1.8%) in lean body mass in subjects who consumed 6.8 g/day CLA for 12 weeks. It should be noted that the only group in this study that had a significant increase in lean body mass was the group that had intensified their training. The data of this group showed that CLA especially produces deposition of lean body mass, rather than fat body mass in subjects who are in an anabolic state. Kamphuis et al. (13) investigated the effects of 13 weeks CLA supplementation in overweight subjects after weight loss on weight regain, body composition, resting metabolic rate, and substrate oxidation and blood plasma parameters. The regain of fat free mass was favourable affected by CLA and consequently the resting metabolic rate was increased.
Figure 2 – The effect of CLA on body composition in humans. Net effect of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on body weight and body fat as observed in various human studies. Weeks represent the number of weeks on CLA and BMI (kg/m2) the body mass index of the subjects at the beginning of the study. Asterisks indicates that the changes in the CLA group was significantly different from the changes in the control group (*P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01). The dose of CLA is expressed in g/d of the trans-10, cis-12 CLA isomer, the isomer active in lipid metabolism. In the study of Mougios et al, 0.35 grams of the trans-10, cis-12 CLA isomer was administered during the first 4 weeks of the study and 0.70 grams during the second 4 weeks of the study. West et al. (8) found an increased metabolic rate in mice after feeding them CLA. This is in line with what has been demonstrated by Kamphuis et al. in humans. The regain of fat free mass was favourably affected by CLA and consequently the resting metabolic rate was increased. Furthermore, they have demonstrated that appetite (hunger, satiety and fullness) was favourably affected by CLA.
The Perfect Fat Burning Partner
CLA has proven itself a potent defensive protector against the accumulation of fat into fat cells, thereby helping to prevent weight gain and help with lean mass.
Because it works through a completely separate set of fat burning mechanisms, the ALLMAX supplement RAPIDCUTS Hardcore, or for those who require less extreme fat burning power, Razor8, provide the perfect complimentary allies to ALLMAX CLA95. This unique combination will provide a full spectrum of fat burning tools in your weight-management arsenal.
Weight-Loss Winner
Over 200 studies have shown that conjugated linoleic acid may play a very important role not only against cancer, but also in helping fight diabetes, obesity and hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Particularly exciting is research showing that CLA supplementation can help promote weight loss.
University of Wisconsin researchers recruited 80 obese people and had half of them take 3,000 mg of CLA daily while the other half took a placebo. They were all put on a diet program and encouraged to exercise. Weight loss was about the same for both groups, averaging five pounds. So why take it? Those taking conjugated linoleic acid reported less fatigue, dizziness and nausea than those on the placebo. But the real advantage was that while people taking the placebo put weight back on mainly as fat, people taking CLA who put weight back on did so primarily as lean muscle. In other words, conjugated linoleic acid promoted an increase in lean muscle mass and a decrease in the percentage of body fat. Similar results were found in a study conducted at the Lund University in Sweden.
Researchers believe that it promotes and maintains weight loss by helping block fat cells in the body from filling up with fat. It does this by interfering with a fat-storing enzyme known as lipoprotein lipase. It also increases the sensitivity of cells to the hormone insulin and is believed to help burn fat by revving up muscle metabolism and helping increase lean muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body uses to function, thereby speeding up the fat-burning process.
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid, which is found preferentially in dairy products and meat. Preliminary studies indicate that CLA is a powerful anticancer in the rat breast tumor model with an effective range of 0.1-1% in the diet.
Conjugated linoleic acid is unique because it is present in food from animal sources, and its anticancer efficacy is expressed at concentrations close to human consumption levels.
Conjugated linoleic acid and atherosclerosis in rabbits Lee K.N.; Kritchevsky D.; Pariza M.W. Food Research Institute, Dept. Food Microbiology/Toxicology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1925 Willow Drive, Madison, WI 53706 USA Atherosclerosis (Ireland), 1994, 108/1 (19-25)
Symposium: Dairy Product Components and Weight Regulation
The Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) Isomer, t10c12-CLA, Is Inversely Associated with Changes in Body Weight and Serum Leptin in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus1,2
Martha A. Belury3, Annie Mahon* and Sebastiano Banni†
Department of Human Nutrition, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, * Department of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN and Department of Experimental Biology, University of Cagliari, Italy
3To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: belury.1@osu.edu
Isomers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) are found in beef, lamb and dairy products. Diets containing CLA reduce adipose mass in various depots of experimental animals. In addition, CLA delays the onset of diabetes in the ZDF rat model for obesity-linked type 2 diabetes mellitus. We hypothesize that there would be an inverse association of CLA with body weight and serum leptin in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this double-blind study, subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomized into one of two groups receiving either a supplement containing mixed CLA isomers (CLA-mix; 8.0 g daily, 76% pure CLA; n = 12) or a supplement containing safflower oil (placebo; 8.0 g daily safflower oil, n = 9) for 8 wk. The isomers of CLA in the CLA-mix supplement were primarily c9t11-CLA (37%) and t10c12-CLA (39%) in free fatty acid form. Plasma levels of CLA were inversely associated with body weight (P < 0.05) and serum leptin levels (P < 0.05). When levels of plasma t10c12-CLA isomer were correlated with changes in body weight or serum leptin, t10c12-CLA, but not c9t11-CLA, was inversely associated with body weights (P < 0.05) and serum leptin (P < 0.02). These findings strongly suggest that the t10c12-CLA isomer may be the bioactive isomer of CLA to influence the body weight changes observed in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Future studies are needed to determine a causal relationship, if any, of t10c12-CLA or c9t11-CLA to modulate body weight and composition in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, determining the ability of CLA isomers to influence glucose and lipid metabolism as well as markers of insulin sensitivity is imperative to understanding the role of CLA to aid in the management of type 2 diabetes and other related conditions of insulin resistance.
Reference
The conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomer,t10c12-CLA, is inversely associated with changes in body weight and serum leptin in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Journal of Nutrition, 133, 257S-260S
CLA Once Again Shown Beneficial in Clinical Research
A recent study which was published in the July 2007 issue of International Journal of Obesity1 set out to determine the effect CLA has on insulin resistance by using a gold standard measurement method. After six months the researchers found CLA did not affect glucose metabolism or insulin sensitivity. This study shows that CLA is safe for those to use as a weight loss supplement.
Additionally, the March 2007 issue of British Journal of Nutrition2 features a study conducted on CLA’s ability to reduce body fat in overweight and obese subjects specifically in the legs and abdominal region. Those who supplemented with CLA lost about 3.4% in body fat mass when compared to the placebo group. It’s also interesting to note the study group who experienced the greatest loss in body fat was mostly females. This study presents promising evidence that CLA may have the ability to reduce problem areas specifically in women such as the hips and thighs.
Both these studies were based on Clarinol CLA; ALLMAX Nutrition CLA95 contains 95% active CLA isomers which are derived from the safflower-derived Clarinol Brand of CLA exclusively. These studies further confirm that CLA is an effective weight loss product which can help increase lean muscle mass and reduce body fat without the harmful effect of stimulants.
1The effect of 6 months supplementation with conjugated linoleic acid on insulin resistance in overweight and obese.
Syvertsen C, et al. International Journal of Obesity 31, 1148 - 1154 (01 Jul 2007).
2 Six months supplementation with conjugated linoleic acid induces regional-specific fat mass decreases in overweight and obese.
