A new study being published in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition reveals that daily consumption of Conjugated Linoleic Acid
(CLA) helped overweight adults lose a significant portion of body fat
(up to nine percent, says the study). Of course, the study was funded by
Tonalin, makers of the most popular CLA nutritional supplement, so the
findings aren't surprising. Other clinical studies have found a variety
of results, but the consensus is clear that CLA does, indeed, help
people lose weight even as the degree of that weight loss is hotly
debated.
CLA is a particular form of dietary fat, so the obvious
question here is: "How does eating fat cause you to lose fat?" Answering
that question requires a closer look at the fat-free craze of the last
two decades, where doctors were telling people to avoid practically all
dietary fats and, instead, eat as much refined sugar and carbohydrate as
they wanted. It was this sort of advice that resulted in hoards of
consumers sitting around on their couches, watching TV and consuming a
dozen fat-free donuts in one meal while telling themselves, "It's
healthy! My doctor says I'll lose weight!"
The result of all this is
the alarming rise in obesity and diabetes our population has experienced
over the last two decades. Consuming unlimited quantities of sugar,
refined carbohydrates and processed foods, it turns out, actually
raises triglyceride levels in your blood and damages your
pancreas to boot. As we now know, the body needs dietary fat, and it is
the type of fat that determines the health outcome. Hence the
recent distinction between "good fats" and "bad fats."
Simply put,
CLA helps people lose weight because it's a good fat. Consuming it
accelerates of the body's metabolic rate while slowing the body's
conversion of dietary fats into body fat. In a way, when the body is
getting enough fat through the diet, it doesn't feel the need to hoard
fats by enlarging adipose tissue. This benefit can be further
accelerated by avoiding all low-quality fats in the diet: hydrogenated
oils (found in nearly all cookies, crackers and baked goods), soybean
oil (the most common, cheapest vegetable oil on the market), and other
low-cost vegetable oils. Instead, the consumption of healthy oils should
be increased: extra virgin olive oil, flax seed oil, evening primrose
oil, peanut oil, macadamia nut oil, and even extra virgin coconut oil.
By consuming these oils while avoiding all refined carbohydrates, the
body will naturally achieve a healthy triglyceride level in the
bloodstream.
In this CLA study, it's important to note that study
subjects consumed over three grams of CLA each day. That's a fairly high
dose. Most people taking CLA supplements don't even come close to that
dose, since many softgels hold no more than 500mg of oil. You'd have to
take six or seven each day to match the dose used in the study. There's
nothing wrong with that, but it's a level of supplementation that most
consumers would never reach. For some reason, consumers tend to take
nutritional supplements, herbs, vitamins and minerals like they were
drugs: one pill a day. That's typically far less than what's needed,
depending on the supplement. For example, I personally take as much as
ten grams of chlorella each day -- that's twenty 500mg capsules (an
entire handful). Chlorella isn't a drug, it's a superfood. People should
be eating it like food. CLA falls into the same category: it's a food,
not a drug. It would be more effective and more convenient to buy CLA in
its liquid form and take it by the tablespoon rather than individual
gelcaps.
In any case, CLA is certainly effective in helping people
lose weight, but once again its effects pale in comparison to daily
exercise, strength training, and the avoidance of all processed foods
and metabolic disruptors. If you decide to take CLA, don't make the
common mistake of thinking it replaces daily exercise. Instead, use CLA
in conjunction with exercise to achieve your health and fitness goals.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams created TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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Thursday, June 10, 2004
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