CLA supplements: Worth a try?

CLA is a supplement that's becoming more and more popular, especially with people who struggle to manage their weight and seem to yo-yo between weight loss and weight gain.

Although CLA has been researched for many years, no studies have examined their long-term safety. That all changed when the Journal of Nutrition published a study conducted by a team of scientists from several medical centers in Norway.

More than 150 overweight subjects took part in a one-year trial that compared the effects of CLA to a placebo. At the end of the year 134 subjects agreed to continue for an additional year, with each subject receiving 3.4 grams of CLA daily.

Subjects who started out with the highest fat lost the most during the first year. And they didn't regain any of the fat over the full two-year testing period, avoiding the yo-yoing effects of weight loss and regain. Subjects who took CLA only during the second year lost an average of 3.5 pounds.

As for safety issues, the researchers found CLA to be well tolerated. A small percentage of mild reactions (mostly gastrointestinal) were reported, and the rate of adverse events decreased during the second year of the study.

That's the good news. There were several aspects of the study that weren't so good.

First, subjects who took CLA only during the second year of the study lost an average of just 3.5 pounds. Not each month, or each week, but in a year!

"I have been telling people for years that this is not a weight loss product," says Michael W. Pariza, PhD. "If someone takes CLA to lose weight but doesn't change their diet or exercise patterns they are going to be disappointed."

The funding also came from Cognis, a company that produces a popular CLA supplement called Tonalin.

In some subjects, lipoprotein levels increased. This is the same response seen with other trans-fatty acids (CLA is a trans-fatty acid). Meanwhile, other subjects had an increase in white blood cells and blood platelet counts, suggesting an increase in inflammation.

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Reference
Gaullier JM, Halse J, Hoye K, Kristiansen K, Fagertun H, Vik H, Gudmundsen O. (2005). Supplementation with conjugated linoleic Acid for 24 months is well tolerated by and reduces body fat mass in healthy, overweight humans. Journal of Nutrition, 135, 778-784