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CLA: Newly Discovered Benefits
LOSE THE FAT
KEEP THE MUSCLE
by Ivy Greenwell
Compelling evidence indicates that CLA can promote youthful metabolic
function and reduce body fat. The unique mechanisms by which this fatty acid
protects against disease makes it an important addition to a life extension
program.
Several years ago, the discovery of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) caused a
scientific sensation. Here was a fatty acid found in red meat and cheese
that showed strong anti-cancer properties, being particularly effective in
inhibiting breast and prostate tumors, as well as colorectal, stomach, and
skin cancer, including melanoma. On the whole, scientists found CLA to be
more strongly anti-carcinogenic than other fatty acids. What made CLA
especially unique is that even low concentrations significantly inhibited
cancer cell growth.
CLA supplementation was also shown to improve the lean mass to body fat
ratio, decreasing fat deposition. especially on the abdomen, and enhancing
muscle growth. One mechanism whereby CLA reduces body fat is by enhancing
insulin sensitivity so that fatty acids and glucose can pass through muscle
cell membranes and away from fat tissue. This results in an improved muscle
to fat ratio.
After some head-scratching about cheeseburgers as the newest health food, it
was discovered that, sadly, the natural sources of CLA such as beef, butter
and cheese no longer provide as much of this valuable fat as they used to.
Compared to the previous generations, Americans are deficient in CLA, and
not only because of lower consumption of red meat and butter fat. It turns
out that changes in cattle-feeding practices have decreased CLA content in
meat and milk. For optimal CLA production, cows need to graze on grass
rather than be artificially fattened in feed lots. The meat of grass-fed
cows contains up to four times as much CLA. Today's dairy products have only
about one third of the CLA content they used to have before 1960.
One big reason for the current obesity epidemic in America could be CLA
deficiency. Several animal studies showed that adding CLA to the diet
resulted in leaner, more muscular bodies. One 1996 study, for instance,
showed as much as 58% lower body fat in CLA-supplemented mice. A pioneering
Norwegian human study found that CLA-supplemented subjects lost up to 20% of
their body fat in three months without changing their diet, while the
control subjects on the average gained a slight amount of body fat during
the same period.
CLA was also shown to have antioxidant properties, and to prevent muscle
wasting (an anti-catabolic effect). It became popular with muscle builders
because of its ability to improve the transport of glucose, fatty acids and
protein to the muscle tissue.
It is interesting that while it is chemically related to linoleic acid,
conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) appears to have opposite effects in certain
important areas. For instance, linoleic acid stimulates fat formation
(lipogenesis) in adipose tissue, while CLA inhibits fat forma- tion;
linoleic acid tends to promote tumor growth, while CLA is an excellent
inhibitor of tumor growth; linoleic acid makes cholesterol more susceptible
to oxidation, while CLA makes cholesterol more stable.
One of the greatest problems with the Western diet during the last fifty
years has been excessive consumption of linoleic acid, due to the
introduction of margarine, seed oils such as corn oil and safflower oil, and
the modern artificial feeding methods that have raised the linoleic acid
content of meat. At the same time, the consumption of beneficial fatty acids
such as omega-3 fats (fish, flax, perilla) and CLA has gone down. Because of
the enormous impact that fatty acids have on our physiology, an excess of
linoleic acid combined with a deficiency of CLA could have far-reaching
effects on health and longevity.
Let us now take a closer look at the current research findings about CLA.
CLA reduces body fat in mice by up to 88%
A recent study at the Louisiana State University confirmed that feeding male
mice a CLA-enriched diet (at 1% of the diet by weight, or l0g/kg) for six
weeks resulted in 43% to 88% lower body fat, especially in regard to
abdominal fat. This occurred even if the mice were fed a high-fat diet. The
effect was partly due to reduced calorie intake by CLA-supplemented mice,
and partly to a shift in their metabolism, including a higher metabolic
rate.
In another study, performed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, mice
supplemented with only .5% of CLA showed up to 60% lower body fat and up to
14% increased lean body mass compared to controls. The researchers
discovered that CLA-fed animals showed greater activity of enzymes involved
in the delivery of fatty acids to the muscle cells and the utilization of
fat for energy, while the enzymes facilitatmg fat deposition were inhibited.
CLA improves insulin sensitivity
A study using diabetic Zucker rats indicates that part of CLA's
effectiveness in preventing obesity may lie in its ability to act as a
potent insulin sensitizer, thus lowering insulin resistance and consequently
insulin levels. Since elevated insulin is the chief pro-obesity agent, it is
enormously important to keep insulin within the normal range. By activating
certain enzymes and enhancing glucose transport into the cells, CLA acts to
lower blood sugar levels and normalize insulin levels. Thus, besides being
anti-atherogenic and anti-carcinogenic, CLA is also anti-diabetogenic: it
helps prevent adult-onset diabetes, characterized by insulin resistance. If
the current animal results are corroborated, CLA may prove to be important
not only in the prevention of diabetes, but also as a new therapy for
adult-onset diabetics, aimed at lowering insulin resistance.
CLA inhibits the growth of prostate cancer while linoleic acid promotes it
Immuno-deficient mice inoculated with human prostate cancer cells were fed
either a standard diet, a diet supplemented with 1% linoleic acid, or a diet
supplemented with 1% CLA. Mice receiving linoleic acid showed significantly
higher body weight and increased tumor load compared with the two other
groups. CLA-supplemented mice, on the other hand, showed the lowest tumor
load and a dramatic reduction in lung metastasis.
CLA supplementation helps prevent the initiation, promotion and metastasis
of breast cancer
In a study performed at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, 50 day-old
rats were treated with a potent carcinogen and then supplemented with 1% CLA
for 4, 8 or 20 weeks. Only rats receiving CLA for the full 20 weeks showed
tumor inhibition. CLA lowered the total number of carcinomas by 70%.
Interestingly, there was a much higher incorporation of CLA into the neutral
lipids of the mammary tissue rather than into the phospholipids (cell
membranes). While the physiological significance of this phenomenon is not
understood, it seems that the presence of CLA in mammary tissue plays a
highly protective role against the initiation of breast cancer.
In another study, immuno-deficient mice were fed a 1% CLA- enriched diet for
two weeks prior to inoculation with human breast adenocarcinoma cells.
Besides inhibiting tumor growth, CLA totally prevented the metastasis of
breast cancer to the lungs and bone marrow.
The preventive effect of CLA against breast cancer is independent of the
amount of fat in the diet. Even when the tumor-promoting excess levels of
linoleic acid reach 12% in the diet, CLA was still incorporated into the
lipids of the mammary tissue, and still provided protection against
carcinogenesis. Anticarcinogenic effects of CLA did not increase with a dose
beyond 1% of CLA in the diet.
A recent in-vitro study of breast cancer cells showed that CLA worked
synergistically with nordihydroguaiaretic acid (ND GA), a potent antioxidant
and lipoxygenase inhibitor found in the desert herb chaparral. This suggests
that one mechanism of CLA's suppression of tumor growth is its ability to
inhibit the production of leukotrienes, inflammatory compounds that may be
even more harmful and difficult to control than series II prostaglandins.
(Both series II prostaglandins and leukotrienes fuel tumor growth; both are
metabolites of arachidonic fatty acid, itself a metabolite of linoleic
acid.)
CLA: Newly Discovered Benefits
LOSE THE FAT
KEEP THE MUSCLE
by Ivy Greenwell
Compelling evidence indicates that CLA can promote youthful metabolic
function and reduce body fat. The unique mechanisms by which this fatty acid
protects against disease makes it an important addition to a life extension
program.
Several years ago, the discovery of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) caused a
scientific sensation. Here was a fatty acid found in red meat and cheese
that showed strong anti-cancer properties, being particularly effective in
inhibiting breast and prostate tumors, as well as colorectal, stomach, and
skin cancer, including melanoma. On the whole, scientists found CLA to be
more strongly anti-carcinogenic than other fatty acids. What made CLA
especially unique is that even low concentrations significantly inhibited
cancer cell growth.
CLA supplementation was also shown to improve the lean mass to body fat
ratio, decreasing fat deposition. especially on the abdomen, and enhancing
muscle growth. One mechanism whereby CLA reduces body fat is by enhancing
insulin sensitivity so that fatty acids and glucose can pass through muscle
cell membranes and away from fat tissue. This results in an improved muscle
to fat ratio.
After some head-scratching about cheeseburgers as the newest health food, it
was discovered that, sadly, the natural sources of CLA such as beef, butter
and cheese no longer provide as much of this valuable fat as they used to.
Compared to the previous generations, Americans are deficient in CLA, and
not only because of lower consumption of red meat and butter fat. It turns
out that changes in cattle-feeding practices have decreased CLA content in
meat and milk. For optimal CLA production, cows need to graze on grass
rather than be artificially fattened in feed lots. The meat of grass-fed
cows contains up to four times as much CLA. Today's dairy products have only
about one third of the CLA content they used to have before 1960.
One big reason for the current obesity epidemic in America could be CLA
deficiency. Several animal studies showed that adding CLA to the diet
resulted in leaner, more muscular bodies. One 1996 study, for instance,
showed as much as 58% lower body fat in CLA-supplemented mice. A pioneering
Norwegian human study found that CLA-supplemented subjects lost up to 20% of
their body fat in three months without changing their diet, while the
control subjects on the average gained a slight amount of body fat during
the same period.
CLA was also shown to have antioxidant properties, and to prevent muscle
wasting (an anti-catabolic effect). It became popular with muscle builders
because of its ability to improve the transport of glucose, fatty acids and
protein to the muscle tissue.
It is interesting that while it is chemically related to linoleic acid,
conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) appears to have opposite effects in certain
important areas. For instance, linoleic acid stimulates fat formation
(lipogenesis) in adipose tissue, while CLA inhibits fat forma- tion;
linoleic acid tends to promote tumor growth, while CLA is an excellent
inhibitor of tumor growth; linoleic acid makes cholesterol more susceptible
to oxidation, while CLA makes cholesterol more stable.
One of the greatest problems with the Western diet during the last fifty
years has been excessive consumption of linoleic acid, due to the
introduction of margarine, seed oils such as corn oil and safflower oil, and
the modern artificial feeding methods that have raised the linoleic acid
content of meat. At the same time, the consumption of beneficial fatty acids
such as omega-3 fats (fish, flax, perilla) and CLA has gone down. Because of
the enormous impact that fatty acids have on our physiology, an excess of
linoleic acid combined with a deficiency of CLA could have far-reaching
effects on health and longevity.
Let us now take a closer look at the current research findings about CLA.
CLA reduces body fat in mice by up to 88%
A recent study at the Louisiana State University confirmed that feeding male
mice a CLA-enriched diet (at 1% of the diet by weight, or l0g/kg) for six
weeks resulted in 43% to 88% lower body fat, especially in regard to
abdominal fat. This occurred even if the mice were fed a high-fat diet. The
effect was partly due to reduced calorie intake by CLA-supplemented mice,
and partly to a shift in their metabolism, including a higher metabolic
rate.
In another study, performed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, mice
supplemented with only .5% of CLA showed up to 60% lower body fat and up to
14% increased lean body mass compared to controls. The researchers
discovered that CLA-fed animals showed greater activity of enzymes involved
in the delivery of fatty acids to the muscle cells and the utilization of
fat for energy, while the enzymes facilitatmg fat deposition were inhibited.
CLA improves insulin sensitivity
A study using diabetic Zucker rats indicates that part of CLA's
effectiveness in preventing obesity may lie in its ability to act as a
potent insulin sensitizer, thus lowering insulin resistance and consequently
insulin levels. Since elevated insulin is the chief pro-obesity agent, it is
enormously important to keep insulin within the normal range. By activating
certain enzymes and enhancing glucose transport into the cells, CLA acts to
lower blood sugar levels and normalize insulin levels. Thus, besides being
anti-atherogenic and anti-carcinogenic, CLA is also anti-diabetogenic: it
helps prevent adult-onset diabetes, characterized by insulin resistance. If
the current animal results are corroborated, CLA may prove to be important
not only in the prevention of diabetes, but also as a new therapy for
adult-onset diabetics, aimed at lowering insulin resistance.
CLA inhibits the growth of prostate cancer while linoleic acid promotes it
Immuno-deficient mice inoculated with human prostate cancer cells were fed
either a standard diet, a diet supplemented with 1% linoleic acid, or a diet
supplemented with 1% CLA. Mice receiving linoleic acid showed significantly
higher body weight and increased tumor load compared with the two other
groups. CLA-supplemented mice, on the other hand, showed the lowest tumor
load and a dramatic reduction in lung metastasis.
CLA supplementation helps prevent the initiation, promotion and metastasis
of breast cancer
In a study performed at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, 50 day-old
rats were treated with a potent carcinogen and then supplemented with 1% CLA
for 4, 8 or 20 weeks. Only rats receiving CLA for the full 20 weeks showed
tumor inhibition. CLA lowered the total number of carcinomas by 70%.
Interestingly, there was a much higher incorporation of CLA into the neutral
lipids of the mammary tissue rather than into the phospholipids (cell
membranes). While the physiological significance of this phenomenon is not
understood, it seems that the presence of CLA in mammary tissue plays a
highly protective role against the initiation of breast cancer.
In another study, immuno-deficient mice were fed a 1% CLA- enriched diet for
two weeks prior to inoculation with human breast adenocarcinoma cells.
Besides inhibiting tumor growth, CLA totally prevented the metastasis of
breast cancer to the lungs and bone marrow.
The preventive effect of CLA against breast cancer is independent of the
amount of fat in the diet. Even when the tumor-promoting excess levels of
linoleic acid reach 12% in the diet, CLA was still incorporated into the
lipids of the mammary tissue, and still provided protection against
carcinogenesis. Anticarcinogenic effects of CLA did not increase with a dose
beyond 1% of CLA in the diet.
A recent in-vitro study of breast cancer cells showed that CLA worked
synergistically with nordihydroguaiaretic acid (ND GA), a potent antioxidant
and lipoxygenase inhibitor found in the desert herb chaparral. This suggests
that one mechanism of CLA's suppression of tumor growth is its ability to
inhibit the production of leukotrienes, inflammatory compounds that may be
even more harmful and difficult to control than series II prostaglandins.
(Both series II prostaglandins and leukotrienes fuel tumor growth; both are
metabolites of arachidonic fatty acid, itself a metabolite of linoleic
acid.)