SS 204 – Does CLA Work For Fat Loss?

Episode 204 Show Notes

Grant and Heavey take a listener’s question about how effective CLA supplementation is for burning fat. Is it really effective in losing weight or is it just a waste of money? This episode dives into the research surrounding this topic! They also talk about meat consumption being detrimental to the environment and moving to plant-based options as the better choice. Are you up for it?

 

[01:40] Meat Consumption Increases Greenhouse Gases

 

A study conducted by the University of Oxford was published in Nature suggesting that the amount of greenhouse gases that go into the atmosphere because of animal consumption is unbelievable. It’s predicted that 30 years from now, the amount of environmental pressure just by our food system will increase to 90%. And 80% of total agricultural emissions are from animal products. When you look at plant-based proteins like legumes, beans, and peas, beef is 100x emissions-intensive.

 

[06:30] You Can Be a Flexitarian!

 

Grant points out that you don’t have to be vegetarian. Instead, they’re trying to promote the concept of “flexitarian,” which is the idea of eating less meat in general and choosing animal-based proteins that are less impactful on the environment.

 

For example, cows emit 10x more greenhouse gases per kilogram of meat than pigs or chickens, which are 10x more than legumes. Just by choosing chicken over beef, you reduce it a little bit.

 

Moreover, if you want to supplement your normal meat-based meals with more vegetarian meals, things like the Impossible Burger or Beyond Burger, are quite good. They taste good without too much compromise.

 

[07:35] What You Can Do

 

Heavey adds that the way we farm both plants and animals is not helpful for the environment.. One of the things Heavey does is buy from the ranch. Buy the whole cow. Find smaller operations where they’re cycling crops on their field.

 

How can you move to a flexitarian style of eating versus balancing the increase in population, which is one of the major drivers of the way that we farm today?

 

Grant adds that there are some alternatives that don’t require a whole lot of compromise. Again, try to check out those veggie burgers and see how it tastes. You just might be surprised!

 

Additionally, take a closer look at their ingredients to see whether barbequing those at high heat would be problematic with the fats added in there.

 

[10:15] A Question from Dan

 

Grant and Heavey answer a question from Dan (who’s more of a bourbon fan). Let’s digress here a bit, did you know scotch sells more than bourbon from a worldwide perspective. A big difference, at least in the U.S. is the cost since an inexpensive bottle of scotch is around $30-$40 which is the price of a pretty good bottle of bourbon.

 

But going back, Dan has been working out over the last few months and has lost weight in the last six months. He has been told that CLA is effective in losing additional weight. For him, it sounds like a sales pitch for essential oils. He’s curious whether CLA is effective or not.

 

[11:53] CLA as a Fat Burner?

 

CLA stands for Conjugated Linoleic Acid. It’s a naturally occurring mixture of fatty acids found in foods like dairy products, butter, and some meat products. It’s one of those magic transfats that actually isn’t bad for you.

 

The manufactured trans fats that come from the partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are no good. But there are some others that are not bad for you – CLA being one of them. But for the purpose of this discussion, CLA is promoted as a supplemental fat burner. Whether or not it’s effective is the question here.

 

[14:05] The Mechanism Behind CLA for Fat Burning

 

Heavey explains that the reason it is marketed as such is that there’s an opportunity and this starts with a mechanism. There’s a receptor highly expressed in the liver known as PPARA. In rats, PPRA activation has been noted after CLA consumption and is hypothesized to increase fat burning. Also, it has been shown in humans to inhibit another receptor known as PPARY. This is found in fat cells and moderates fat cell proliferation. These are a couple of mechanisms by which CLA could perhaps both limit your body’s ability to create new fat cells, as well as help burn existing fat.

 

Moreover, the potency of CLA seems to be dependent on the species with lab animals being much more responsive than humans. This is enough for supplement manufacturers to bottle CLA up and market them as such. At least in the United States, there is no regulations on this.

 

[15:57] CLA Studies on Humans: How Accurate Are They?

 

Eventually, people will conduct human studies and they, in fact, already have. The problem is that human studies on CLA are very unreliable. In humans, the most significant change Heavey found was a loss of about 2.5 pounds over a period of four months from supplemental CLA.

 

Heavey points out a lot of these studies are not conducted rigorously. Conversely, supplement companies are trying to market the products. That being  said, the previously mentioned study was the most favorable study Heavey has found.

 

More studies actually demonstrate no change in fat. Those that did show fat loss were no more than 2.5 pounds in a period of four months.

 

[17:12] Don’t Be Fooled!

 

However, many people still get lured into buying these CLA supplements because people are desperate to lose fat. Companies exploit that and they label a product that they claim will help them lose fat. It has been shown in at least one study to help people lose fat so they will apparently run with it.

 

This has been around for a while now. In a lot of times, you’ll see fat-burning products that will contain a battery of supplements including CLA.

 

[18:30] The Benefits of CLA Supplementation

 

There is some initial research that suggests CLA may be helpful for inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s but this is still in the preliminary phase. So further research is needed.

Links:

 

Featured article: World must slash meat consumption to save climate: study

Impossible Burger

Beyond Burger