Has anyone heard of CLA and if so, is it worth buying? A lot of internet companies are selling it for pretty cheap and hyping it up to be pretty good. Any help would be greatly apprecited. Thanks.
CLA is a fatty acid that gained alot of popularity when it was first introduced. The reason being was the large amount of animal studies that demonstrated significant increases in LBM and decreases of adipose tissue. It also was shown to have some potent anti-carcinogenic properties. Unfortunately it didn’t quite pan out this way in the “real world”. The reason being, I’m pretty damn sure about this, was that the companies producing the CLA were using a high % of the wrong isomer. There are a good number of studies to support this. I’ve also found some interesting things about the other various fatty acids and go into detail about them. The article should be done pretty soon here. Hope you guys will enjoy it.
A recent study showed that people taking CLA after finishing a diet gained muscle and fat back in a 1:1 ratio, whereas those not taking CLA gained muscle and fat back in a 1:2 ratio. This seems to indicate CLA could be useful in a bulking phase to build more muscle than would otherwise be possible, but the hypothesis surely needs testing.
CLA has also been shown to build muscle mass and reduce weight, mainly in animals, but there is at least one study that confirms this action in humans. Cy is right about the isomer used being very important.
The Life Extension Foundation carries high quality CLA. If you take it, I would recommend at least 6 grams a day.