The Skinny on CLA - Does It Really Help You Get Ripped?

There sure are a lot of claims about CLA, but for all of the claims it appears that there aren’t very many real, concrete and verifiable answers. Some people claim that CLA helps you lose weight, while others dismiss it as a useless supplement ingredient that has become the victim of its own hype.

So what’s the REAL story? Does CLA really help you get ripped?

A new study shows that while CLA doesn’t do much for losing fat directly, it may help with improving insulin function. Insulin, a hormone secreted by your pancreas, is critical for losing body fat and improving insulin function. So, by keeping insulin levels low CLA may help with fat loss indirectly, or at least help prevent fat gain.

But there’s a catch: CLA is a lipid with twice the number of calories of protein or carbohydrates. So, while bodybuilders who are leaning up for a contest can use CLA to help reign in insulin 12 weeks out from contest day, CLA shouldn’t be used up until the day of the contest as its calories may make fat loss more difficult the leaner you get.

So here’s your FUSION FACTOID: Use CLA in the beginning weeks of your contest prep, but cut it off as you get lean. In this way you’ll take advantage of its effects on insulin, you’ll support your hormone function when dieting down, all without gaining fat in the final weeks before contest time.


- FUSION Research Team
www.fusionbodybuilding.com


Source: Jing-Jing Li, et al. Anti-obesity effects of conjugated linoleic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2008, 52, 631 – 645.