CLA Review
Conjugated Linoleic Acid or CLA has grown in popularity as a health supplement because it has been found to contribute to weight loss as well as other health benefits. CLA is a type of fatty acid that is essential for your diet. CLA is actually composed of 13 different isomers of linoleic acid and is found in beef and dairy products.
CLA's popularity has been largely attributed for its ability to reduce body fat and increase muscle. CLA is believed to influence the way your body stores and processes fat. Studies have shown that CLA may help people to maintain an optimum balance between body fat and lean muscle when it is used in conjunction with regular exercise and a healthy diet. Numerous studies have linked CLA to promoting less body fat and producing lean muscle composition with little change in body weight. Studies have also shown that CLA promotes muscle growth, prevent muscle loss, lessen fat accumulation and increase energy expenditures. For these reasons, CLA has gained the interest of athletes in need of very low fat diets and those people concerned about body composition and shape.
CLA is not produced by the body and must be consumed through dairy or other meat products. In fact, studies have associated CLA deficiencies to produce negative health effects. Recently, people have been consuming less and less CLA for two reasons:
1. People are eating less meat and consuming dairy products with lower fat content
2. There is lower CLA content in meat and dairy products
Because meat products are injected with hormones and the changes in the way we feed cows, cows have become bigger and producing more dairy products. This may mean more profitable cows, but meat and dairy products are lower in CLA content. In fact, CLA content in cows have decreased by over 60% when compared to the 1960s.
With lower CLA content, you would need to eat huge amounts of very-fatty foods to consume a beneficial amount of CLA. By doing so, you would lose any potential benefit from eating all those fatty foods.
Fortunately, CLA consumption can be increased by taking a good CLA supplement. This will ensure you are consuming high amounts of CLA, while not taking in too much bad fats. Our experts have reviewed the most popular CLA supplements. Tonalin CLA is one of the most well known CLA supplements. Although it is very well known and has a decent formula, Tonalin charges a premium price for its CLA supplement. You are basically paying for the name, instead of the quality of the CLA supplement.