What is Conjugated Linoleic Acid?

Conjugated Linoleic Acid is a naturally occuring free fatty acid. It is commonly referred and sold as CLA.

Does it work? 

Yes. CLA has clearly been shown to reduce body fat and improve body composition in multiple studies.
Body composition is the percentage of fat, bone and muscle in the human body. CLA decreases fat whilst increasing muscle. Perfect scenario for most athletes!
 

It is thought to do this by diverting calories that are usually stored in fat cells towards muscle cells. However, no definitive mechanisms have been found to explain CLA's role in reducing body weight.

One study examined the effects of CLA supplementation for 1 year. They concluded that the long term effect of CLA resulted in a significant decrease in body fat and an increase in lean body mass.

Click here for more information on the benefits CLA has on body fat mass and lean body mass.

Natural food source

The richest source of CLA is found in dairy products and meats. However, they are only found in small amounts.

CLA is found in larger amounts when animals and live stock have been grass fed as opposed to grain fed. This explains the recent popularity in the Paleo diet, where foods such as grass fed beef are consumed. 

Click here for more information on the benefits of grass fed meats on CLA, Omega 3 fatty acids and Trans fatty acids.

Why Supplement with CLA?

Consuming enough CLA from regular diets would require a large intake of these foods, which can be counter productive to losing fat as you will be consuming more calories in doing so, because of this many people supplement their diets with CLA Softgels.

Muscle Mass 
CLA has been shown to increase muscle mass and lower body fat at the same time. More muscle, means an increase in your basal metabolic rate (burning more calories whilst resting).  

A previous study found that Creatine Monohydrate and Conjugated Linoleic Acid improve strength and body composition following resistance exercise in older adults.

 
Click here for more information on this study 

This study suggests that CLA, Creatine Monohydrate and resistance exercise all have a synergistic effect in improving muscle and lowering fat in adults.

Recommended Dosage

The dosage of CLA varies in studies. Benefits can be seen by supplementing from 1400mg up to 6500mg.