SubscribeCLA - Not So Safe?
You may have heard of the compound CLA – or conjugated linoleic acid – that originally was found in small amounts in beef and dairy products.
Many people take the supplement form of CLA to lose body fat, especially abdominal fat, build lean muscle and even fight cancer. Up till now, there have been many studies on CLA in humans, touting the various weight loss benefits.
But how do we know it's really safe?
A new study at Ohio State University found that mice who were fed the supplement CLA accumulated excess amounts of fat in their livers. Apparently, this also happens if you're insulin-resistant.
Another study, done on rats, showed that the CLA, while not helping them lose weight, actually decreased the amount of fat in their livers.
So who are we more like, mice or rats?
Fatty liver hasn't been measured in human studies, although in one, slightly higher triglycerides were found after a year. Obviously, there's more work to be done.
In the meantime, maybe this will make some people think before they buy CLA just because an employee at their local health store or a site on the Internet recommended it.
One of the studies says they used 1% CLA in the diet, the other doesn't say how much, so it is hard to determine if the results aren't simply affected by amount of CLA given.
ReplyI do not believe in pills for weight loss or for a better quality of life. I think people should rethink what their priority in life are, change their habits and
Replybecome fit in a natural way.
I'm with Linus Pauling on this one, I believe in vitamins. I don't believe in bogus weight loss supplements though.
ReplyAs I think, the only person to individually win two Nobel Prizes, Linus Pauling deserves our respect and attention! In med. school, I was told by a teacher, when I told them I took daily vit. C, it was a placebo!All I know is I never had a cold and they were continually sick! :-)
ReplyDr.J sounds like my mom: "Well, I don't care what that doctor says about studies, I KNOW that the [insert crank treatment here] cured me!"
Pauling was brilliant, but his ideas about vitamin C are thoroughly discredited, 100 times over. Dr.J's teacher probably mentioned it to him because it's the classic textbook case study of how to interpret scientific research, looking at the preponderance of research rather than individual studies, and it's also the classic example of the correct use of the scientific method, distinguishing between hypothesis (and it was indeed a brilliant and creative hypothesis) and empirical testing of the hypothesis (unfortunately where the theory broke down).
ReplyIs your Mom a doctor?
ReplyThe fact that Vitamin C in the prevention of colds has been discredited does not take away from the proven fact that our food supply now contains fewer vitamins and minerals than in the past, due to depleted soils and longer storage times. If you look at the data on selenium alone, which was found in a lot of vegetables and now can only be found in Brazil nuts grown in the rainforest (Brazil nuts grown in other parts of Brazil don't contain selenium either), you'll be shocked, and that is just one mineral.
Disproving Pauling's hypothesis there does nothing to disprove this type of data.
ReplyI hope this doesn't annoy anyone, but I take selenium also.:-)
ReplyDr. J, me too. Before it, I was on pretty high dosages of thyroid replacement hormone. Although my thyroid is no longer functional, the dosages I took were way above the full production of hormones, leading doctors to say I had a resistance to it. Add the selenium and soon the "resistance" was gone. Turns out the body needs selenium to convert thyroid hormones into their active form.
Same thing with Vitamin C. Yes, it does not prevent colds, but along with other vitamins, it has been proven to be necessary so your adrenal glands function correctly. And adrenal health is necessary so your immune system works correctly. And what do you get when your immune system is good? Fewer colds. Yeah, Linus Pauling was completely wrong on that one... not.
ReplyI don't trust CLA, this and any other wonder weight loss solution, even if some are effective, they all eventually take their toll on your health, and I think that's not a price worth paying in the long run.
Replyi started to take cla...recently after reading a blog that many people took it to lose weight and help tone. fyi...after one week ..my breasts were so swollen i couldnt wear a bra and the soreness was unbearable. my stomach also became very distended. I spent about 60 dollars and i am so sorry i did. the day i stopped taking them my breast started to feel better and now they arent as sore. please beware.
ReplyI started taking CLA about 2-3 weeks ago. I noticed that about the same time, I started having a lot of muscle soreness after workouts. I have been doing the same thing at the gym as before, but I always get sore afterwards like I haven't worked out in a week and just started up again. Is it a coincidence that this started at the same time I began taking these pills? Perhaps it really does help with gaining muscle mass. Maybe the soreness is a sign of progress. I find my workouts getting easier, and I'm able to do more now than a few weeks ago. This pill does not claim to be a miracle diet pill, but rather a type of fat that our body needs and isn't getting from most of the foods we eat. If you aren't exercising or eating right, I doubt it would do anything at all. But I'm starting to think it just might be helping me.
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