What is CLA?

CLA is also known as conjugated linoleic acid, and it is a common fatty acid found in cheese and meats and sunflowers for vegetarians. Recent media has painted CLA to be a particularly powerful and stimulant free fat burner that burns fat, builds lean muscle mass, and improves heart health over time. Obviously, it is supposed to be far more powerful than the average fatty acid. But the science doesn’t back it up.

Scientifically speaking, CLA may as well be water, at least when it comes to weight loss. Some animal studies show that CLA fights the effects of a high fat diet, and some animal studies show that it can lower cholesterol levels. But there are just as many animal studies that show that CLA has no known benefits at all. The human studies seem to show that CLA does not have any common benefits including lowering cholesterol.

Studies That Can

Typically, some scientists believe that users can get the best benefits from CLA by using at least 4500mg. But I hardly call 2 pounds a year clinically proven weight loss (which is what the “successful” human studies show), and GNC Total Lean CLA only has less than half that at 2000mg. So even if CLA can promote amazing results, chances are it won’t.

Overall Impression of GNC Total Lean CLA

GNC Total Lean CLA may promote health benefits. With or without clinical studies, it has been shown that a lot of fatty acids can lower cholesterol and improve heart health. But the bad news is that CLA and therefore GNC Total Lean CLA does not have any clinically proven fat burning or weight loss benefits.