Although researchers don't know exactly how linoleic acid helps you lose weight, or even if it does, there is some evidence that it might tone and trim you up a bit. However, its effectiveness as a weight loss food or supplement needs further testing to determine whether it is truly useful. It may, in fact, prove to be more useful for other conditions because animal and some human research have indicated it may be valuable as a cancer and heart disease fighter.
Linoleic Acid
Linoleic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid found in high doses in beef, lamb and dairy products. It can also be found in fatty fish and some plant oils. As the Gale Encyclopedia explains, it is an essential fatty acid that's necessary for your overall health. Because the body can't produce linoleic acid, it must be derived from what you eat. Conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, is a mixture of isomers of linoleic acid, used as a supplement to deliver linoleic acid into your system.
Theory
Some researchers believe the large amount of processed foods in modern diets results in a lack of CLA in your system because processing strips CLA out of foods. In "Natural Physician's Healing Therapies," author Mark Stengler writes that CLA "helps glucose (fuel) muscle cells more effectively, thus preventing glucose from being converted into fat. It also helps fats enter the cell membranes of muscles and connective tissues, where the fat is burned for fuel."
Weight Loss
There is some evidence that CLA can help you lose body fat, increase muscle and suppress appetite. According to the Dr. Ray Sahelian website, "Human studies are evenly split between finding CLA helpful and showing no effect." In one study of 180 overweight people, those who took CLA supplements lost an average of 2 to 4 lbs. of body fat in a year, while those who didn't take CLA lost nothing. Lean muscle mass was increased in some of those who took CLA, but there were no controls over diet and exercise, so it is possible that the small weight loss was due to other factors besides CLA.
Linoleic Foods
You don't have to eat lots of red meat and drink lots of milk, which may fill you up with unhealthy levels of saturated fat, to get the potential benefits of linoleic acid. Fish oil contains some linoleic acid in the form of omega-6 fatty acids. Plant oils such as primrose, sunflower and safflower contain large amounts of linoleic acid.
Considerations
A clinical study by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center sums up the current level of research into CLA. Studies of obese men found a reduction in body fat and weight. However, a study of obese women found little effect on body composition. Other studies show that CLA is a strong antioxidant that inhibits carcinogens. Lab tests have indicated that CLA inhibits the grown of breast cancer cells. On the down side, studies have shown that CLA may increase blood glucose levels. Although the research into CLA is promising, it is too early to tell whether CLA will be effective for weight loss or any other condition or disease. Check with your doctor before trying CLA supplements or eating excessive amounts of linoleic acid foods.
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