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Can CLA Supplements Prevent Cancer and Reduce Body Fat?
Is it possible to prevent cancer AND reduce body fat by eating plenty of ground beef and butter?
It just might be, provided it's the right kind of beef and the right kind of butter. The key to this potential cancer prevention is a fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) found in meat and dairy products. But CLA supplements may also help reverse existing atherosclerosis, decrease progression of osteoporosis, and has been shown to aid in the management of glucose and insulin levels as well.
So is CLA some kind of super supplement? At this point, it's too early to say for sure. But there's something going on here that would seem to be very beneficial to overall health. And as several HSI members have found, CLA may provide a welcome boost when it comes to getting rid of excess body fat, especially in the abdominal area.
The burger factor
CLA is part of the omega-6 fatty acid family. And while the typical diet supplies more than enough omega-6, the mechanism of CLA's action apparently mimics that of omega-3 fatty acids.
Even though CLA was discovered in the 1930s, it wasn't properly researched until the 1980s when it was identified as an
anti-carcinogenic factor in fried ground beef. Since then, the majority of CLA research - and there's been quite a bit - has been conducted on animals with very promising results.
In addition to the health benefits mentioned above, studies also show that CLA may be a very effective tool in managing body fat.
Exchanging fat for muscle
In 2000, a Norwegian study followed 60 overweight or obese subjects while they took different daily dosages of a CLA supplement or placebo. After 12 weeks, researchers found significantly greater reduction in body fat mass (BFM) among subjects who took either 3.4 grams of CLA daily, or 6.8 grams daily, compared to the group that took placebo. The data showed that CLA doses less than 3.4 grams were ineffective in reducing BFM.
In another CLA study conducted at Maastricht University in The Netherlands in 2003, researchers examined the effects of CLA supplementation on 54 overweight subjects. For 13 weeks, subjects received 1.8 grams of CLA each day, 3.6 grams per day, or a placebo. Researchers found that among the CLA subjects, feelings of fullness and satiety were increased, while feelings of hunger decreased, compared to subjects taking placebo.
And in a 2000 study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US, researchers found that when subjects taking CLA regained weight, they were more likely to regain it as muscle and not fat.
These results are reflected in comments I've received by email from HSI members who've taken CLA. For instance, one member who took one gram of CLA daily for about a year, says, 'My loss was very slow but I lost inches in the mid section which is the hardest fat to lose. Lost more in inches than in weight loss. I'm sure if I took one with each meal the results would have been much better'.
A member named Cork says she began taking CLA to help prevent a recurrence of breast cancer. She writes, 'As a welcome side effect, I have lost about 18 pounds and have more stamina for exercise. The weight loss was quite gradual. I'm sure I've lost more than 18 pounds of fat and have gained muscle because I have gone from size 16 jeans to size 10.'
Note that Cork effectively combined exercise with her CLA regimen.
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