Conjugated Linoleic Acid: CLA Benefits and Side Effects
Derived from safflower oil, conjugated linoleic acid or CLA is a fatty acid related to the omega-6 fatty acids. It has received much praise from the medical field because of the safe and effective weight-loss benefits that it offers its users.
You must take note that it’s not just a weight loss wonder, It also increase muscle mass, strengthens immunity system, reduces cholesterol levels, and is a powerful antioxidant protection provider. Although it is usually found in red meat and dairy products, most people don’t consume sufficient amounts in diet alone.
Conjugated linoleic acid had been the subject of numerous studies in recent years. The findings of these studies imply that CLA brings many benefits to its users. One, it promotes muscle enlargement while lessening body fats. It increases the metabolic rate and decreases abdominal fat.
It can be considered as one of the most powerful cancer-fighting substances in our diet. It also helps normalize impaired glucose tolerance in diabetics. It lowers insulin resistance and reduces food-induced allergic reactions. It has also been proven to lower cholesterol, lower triglycerides, lower LDL cholesterol, and improve the cholesterol/HDL ratio. It increases immune response, too.
In addition to conjugated linoleic acid’s numerous advantages, it also enhances the ratio of lean body mass to body fat. It can also aid in increasing the proportion of fat that is used as an energy source during workout, sparing valuable glycogen, and muscle. It has also been discovered to stop human platelet aggregation that plays the role of 'sticky cells' play in strokes. In addition, it improves the activity of enzymes involved in the diffusion of stored fat, potentially escalating its availability to be utilized as a substrate for the production of energy.
CLA Research You May Find Interesting
It’s also good to hear that side effects of the conjugated linoleic acid supplement are very much uncommon. Once they occur, they’re usually mild and only manifest themselves as mild gastro-intestinal problems. With this, it truly appears to be a pretty much safe nutritional supplement.
However, nursing mothers have brought a concern out regarding the use of CLA. A double blind, placebo-controlled study states that its use lessens the fat content of human breast milk. Infants depend on breast milk fat to supply adequate calories and on certain fats to help in proper growth and development. Therefore, nursing mothers must be extremely careful when taking these substances.
Furthermore, there are also issues that CLA can worsen blood sugar control under certain conditions. In a conducted study of people with type 2 diabetes, their blood glucose levels significantly increased by 6.3% and the insulin sensitivity decreased while they were supplementing three grams of CLA per day for eight weeks.
While in a study of young sedentary men, four grams of CLA intake per day for eight weeks improved insulin sensitivity. A reduction in insulin sensitivity was also proven in a study of obese men without diabetes after treatment with three grams of it per day for three months. The results were really contradictory so, it is not advisable for some people who have or are at risk of developing diabetes to take this supplement.
There were also cases where overweight volunteers who took four and a half grams of conjugated linoleic acid per day for one year had a tremendous increase in their blood levels of lipoprotein and could end up to illness related to heart disease. While the importance of this change is vague, it can be concluded that the long-term use of it can increase the risk of developing heart disease. Folks, these are the still-to-be proven “harmful” effects of CLA.
Indeed, it’s certainly amazing that CLA has become very successful for fat loss and lean muscle gain. However, there are also some side effects when you take this stuff. Even though these things are not yet proven, it is always safe to remember that prevention is still better than a cure. It is more advisable if you’ll start building muscle and losing body fat the safe, natural, and effective way. What do you think?
Recommended Supplements
For your convenience I have provide a short list of some known high quality products for you to look through.
| Supplement Name | Servings | Mg / Serving |
|---|---|---|
NOW CLA |
60 | 2100 |
| PrimaForce Max CLA |
180 | 1000 |
| SciFit Conjugated Linoleic Acid |
100 | 700 |
Nutritional Supplement Topics
- Top Bodybuilding Supplements
- Chromium Picolinate
- Chromium Side Effects
- Conjugated Linoleic Acid
- Benefits of Glutamine
- HMB Side Effects
- HMB Information
- ZMA Review
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