I have found the secret for slowing down the faucet. -Michael Pariza, Ph.D.

Short for conjugated linoleic acid, CLA is now recognized as the missing link in our ability to remain lean, reduce bodyfat and modulate healthy weight- and fat-loss efforts. It seems researchers have been looking in all the wrong places for a drug to fight the obesity epidemic we presently face.

There are not many products that research shows will not only reduce bodyfat but also regulate immune function, improve glucose levels, fight cancer, prevent atherosclerosis, limit food-allergy reactions, convert fat to lean muscle, block the formation of cancer-causing agents and shrink existing fat cells while preventing new ones from forming. CLA is incredible stuff, clearly warranting the superstar status the health care community is giving it. CLA is a dream supplement, good for a lean, muscular appearance and for protecting and preserving the health and well-being of the body’s internal structure.

Get Lean With Fat
It’s ironic that one of our most potent naturally occurring fat burners is itself a fat. Thanks to research led by Michael Pariza, director of the University of Wisconsin Food Research Institute, we now know that a reduction of CLA has turned us into fatties. Current dietary recommendations focus on eating less red meat, dairy products and animal fat. The problem is CLA naturally occurs predominately in meat and dairy products, as well as but to a much lesser degree, in sunflower and safflower oil. Grazing cows and sheep, which are genetically vegetarians, have internal microorganisms that make CLA. Human beings, however, must get it from food sources. Some health care professionals contend that there is a direct correlation between lower consumption of CLA’s most abundant sources and rising U.S. obesity. Deficiencies of CLA in our diets may also be the result of changes in the feeding of cattle. Artificially fattened via feed cycles, cattle now produce reduced amounts of CLA, thus changing the content of meat and milk—an idea confirmed at Utah State University by Tilak R. Dhiman’s team. Data conclusively show that pasture-fed cattle have up to 500 percent more CLA in their milk and 300 to 400 percent more in their meat. Today’s dairy products typically contain only about one-third as much CLA as similar products did in 1960. That’s why researchers are suggesting that CLA supplementation is the key to reaching and maintaining weight- and fat-loss goals, as current dietary regimens don’t provide adequate amounts. For example, to get enough CLA to do any good, you’d have to eat three pounds of hamburger, 25 slices of American cheese or a half-gallon of ice cream.

CLA: A Dream Supplement
Research has revealed that CLA is intimately involved with the conversion of fat to lean muscle mass, which makes it a highly effective supplement for achieving and maintaining a lean physique. Pariza, who reported his findings at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in August 2000, found that CLA not only had appreciable results in reducing the size of large fat cells, as well as accelerating the rate of fat burning in skeletal muscle. In Pariza’s initial studies, among dieters who stopped dieting and regained pounds, those taking CLA actually gained muscle and not fat. In other words, CLA converts would be bodyfat into lean muscle tissue.
Additional studies have shown that CLA can decrease bodyfat storage (especially around the abdomen) and increase lean-muscle mass relative to bodyfat. That’s due in part to CLA’s ability to modulate insulin sensitivity. Insulin is one of the body’s most anabolic (muscle-building) hormones, and at stable levels it facilitates transport of fatty acids and glucose into muscle cell membranes and away from fat tissue.

More Benefits
University of Wisconsin research teams found that CLA inhibits the formation of cancer-causing agents, prevents atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, and assists in stabilizing blood glucose (sugar). CLA has powerful antioxidant properties that support immune function and elimination of waste by-products. That aids in both cell and muscle repair. CLA also has anti-inflammatory properties. It can neutralize arachidonic acid, a compound found in red meat that’s linked to tissue inflammation, which can negatively affect recovery time and/or regular workout routines. CLA also has a positive effect on neurotransmitters for improved mental clarity and focus and reduces the risk of heart attack and strokes by lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels (see “Triglycerides” on page 240). It has no known toxicity. Recommended dosage is 3.4 grams, or 3,400 milligrams, a day for obtaining beneficial effects on bodyfat. Controlled human trials have shown that 5.6 to 7.2 grams per day increased muscle size and strength in beginning and seasoned weight trainers. Bodyfat has been substantially reduced within four to eight weeks with supplemental CLA use.

The Scientific Stuff
Conjugated linoleic acid is a chemical compound having a variety of isomers, or molecular configurations, and is found primarily in dairy and meat products. At the molecular level CLA resembles linoleic acid, though biologically, the two fatty acids have opposite effects on human physiology. Linoleic acid appears to promote tumor growth, while CLA inhibits it.

Twenty-eight CLA isomers have been identified, each with a slightly different chemical-bond structure. Scientists refer to the most researched form as cis-9-trans CLA, or rumenic acid. The cis-9-trans-11 form was believed to be the most biologically active isomer in promoting human fat loss. New evidence out of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, however, suggests that cis-10-trans-12 isomer may produce even greater fat-loss-to-lean-muscle ratios.

CLA has a variety of effects on human health:

1 Reduces bodyfat
2 Improves insulin sensitivity
3 Inhibits growth of prostate cancer
4 Prevents the initiation, development and spread of breast cancer
5 Lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels
6 Has powerful antioxidant and anticancer capabilities

Triglycerides and CLA
Triglycerides are an important yet overlooked factor in assessing the destructive process of atherosclerosis. For many years attention focused mainly on cholesterol, and triglycerides weren’t measured, according to, R.C. Khurana, M.D., who’s served as clinical assistant professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and chief of endocrinology, St. Clair Memorial Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Triglycerides are important fats that fuel organ function, except the brain, which runs on glucose. Connections between triglycerides, cholesterol and cardiovascular disease tend to support the view that CLA is beneficial:
•Some studies have shown an inverse correlation between the “good” (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood. In other words, if the HDL level tends to be high, the triglyceride level tends to be low. Conversely, if HDLs are low, the triglycerides tend to be high.
•A person who has high triglycerides generally has LDLs (the bad cholesterol) lower than normal. Some researchers feel that the lower LDLs may pose greater danger than higher LDLs in causing atherosclerosis and plaque buildup.
•High triglyceride levels also are associated with premature coronary heart disease in people with special types of diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, severe hyperlipidemia (high fat levels) and chronic kidney disease.
•According to Khurana, women generally have higher HDLs and less chance of heart attacks. A 12-year longitudinal study in Gothenburg, Sweden, however, showed that women aged 38 to 60 with high triglyceride levels have a higher incidence of heart attacks, stroke and other forms of fatalities than do women who have normal triglyceride values.
In general, triglycerides should be less than 100 to 200 milligrams per deciliter. Women may be at higher risk than men with high triglycerides and should take care in monitoring this important barometer of health. Based on all the data, CLA supplementation just makes good sense.