Omega-6 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) decreased body fat and increased lean muscle in two new studies.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Omega-6 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) decreased body fat and increased lean muscle in two new studies.

Omega-6 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) decreased body fat and increased lean muscle in two new studies.
In the body-fat study, researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public
Health, Madison, reviewed 15 double-blind randomized placebocontrolled studies where participants
took a median dose of 3.2 grams of CLA per day for anywhere from six months to two years. Doctors
found that participants lost an average of 0.2 pounds of body fat per week, or 0.8 pounds of body
fat per month, which is approximately 10 pounds of body fat per year. The scientists noted that losing
body fat usually translates to losing more total body weight, which includes fat, muscle, and water, and
concluded that participants who took CLA lost a modest amount of body fat.
In the lean-muscle study, researchers from the Department of Nutrition, Schools of Medicine and Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, recruited 48 obese but otherwise healthy participants, 13
men and 35 women, who took 3.2 grams of CLA per day, 6.4 grams of CLA per day, or a safflower oil
placebo, for 12 weeks. At the end of the study period, those who had taken the 6.4 gram CLA dose had
gained 1.4 pounds more muscle (lean body mass) compared to the start of the study. There were no
significant changes in lean body mass for those who took the 3.2 gram CLA dose or the placebo.
Participants reported no serious side effects, although markers for inflammation in the blood increased but remained within normal limits. Doctors concluded that CLA may increase lean body mass in those who are obese.
Reference: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
2007; Vol. 85, No. 5, 1203-11.