|
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) consists of a series of positional
and geometric dienoic isomers of linoleic acid that occur
naturally in foods. That’s the technical definition,
but in plainspeak, CLA is a fatty acid found mainly in cooked
beef that has undergone a minor structural change. But with
that change comes a tremendous alteration in its biological
properties. You’re thinking: Fat is fat. How can it
be good for me?” Well, this fat is unlike any other.
For one thing, CLA exhibits antioxidant and anticancer properties
Michael Pariza, PhD, who has clone the bulk of existing CLA
research, has shown that in laboratory mice with skin lesions
and tumors, those treated with CLA had very minor or small
lesions compared to untreated mice. In another experiment,
Pariza fed rabbits 0.5 gram of CLA per day and found that
12 weeks of treatment reduced low-densitv-lipoprotein (“bad’)
cholesterol and triglycerides dramatically. The aorta (the
large vessel leaving the left ventricle of the heart) of these
rabbits was less clogged with plaque than those of the rabbits
not fed CLA.
Additionally, CLA has been shown to overcome some of the catabolic
effects of endotoxin (a poison contained in a cell) injection
in mice. You might ask: “So what? So it helps fight
heart disease and cancer heck, I could just eat a bunch of
fruit and veggies or load up on Vitamin E. But will it make
me workouts better? Will it make me bigger leaner and more
muscular?
POTENTIAL EFFECTS
A study presented at the 1997 National Strength and Conditioning
Association conference examined the idea that CLA supplementation
might have a similar effect in humans as it does in our four-legged
friends producing a leaner, more muscular creature. This time,
scientists used resistance-trained men, not rodents, who supplemented
daily with either 9 grams of olive oil (a placebo) or CLA
(6 grams plus 3.2 grams of fatty acids). After a 28-day supplementation
period, no differences were found in the subjects’ gross
measures such as bodvweight, fat mass or fat-free mass. Researchers
did, however, find some interesting data suggesting that a
longer supplementation period might have produced statistically
significant differences.
An analysis of the subjects’ strength showed that the
CLA group increased their bench press by 5.5 pounds and their
leg press by 30.6 pounds. Though not statistically significant,
these changes could be indicative of a trend, in addition,
some differences existed in the ratio of blood urea nitrogen
to creatinine which, as a marker of anabolic/catabolic status,
would suggest a potential net anabolic effect.
Certainly the human study could be criticized for showing
no statistically significant differences, which you might
say once again proves what a worthless bunch of shit this
supplement is. On the other hand (this is the view I’d
take), just because the differences weren’t statistically
significant doesn‘t mean they weren’t physiologically
significant. As a real-life example, compare the times of
world-class 100-meter sprinters over the course of a season
and you’d be hard-pressed to find statistically significant
differences (they often vary by only hundredths (if a second).
Yet an obvious difference exists. For a bodybuilder, a 1%-2%
difference in muscle mass is physiologically huge! Furthermore,
the human studies examined a four-week supplementation period,
whereas Pariza’s animal studies lasted eight weeks,
and those particular animal studies did exhibit both physiologically
and statistically significant changes in lean body mass and
one week for a rat is a much longer period relative to that
animal’s life span than it is for a human.
If this type of study were carried out for several months
on humans, I think it’s wholly possible that you’d
get demonstrable differences. Perhaps that study is being
carried out as you read this. Nonetheless, is it worthwhile
to supplement with CLA? Maybe. As mentioned, CLA is found
in its highest concentrations in cooked meats such as beef
and less so in poultry and eggs. Vegetable fats are a poor
source.
Related Articles
What Can Amino
Acids Do For Me?
What is NO2 - Nitric
Oxide?
When To Take Protein
| Popular Products! |
Creatine
Serum
'No-maintenance' formula in the convenient liquid
form Creatine Serum. The only stable creatine on the market,
due to innovative.. |
|
 BSN
Cheaters
If I had to marry food, I just couldn't be faithful.
I love to eat way too.. |
|
NxLabs
Vaso XP
VASO XP is the world's first and only 2nd Generation Nitric
Oxide Stimulator. VASO XP is.. |
|
