Everyday someone asks me if there is anything they can do to target fat loss in certain body parts, more specifically their stomach. While its pretty hard to get away from the body type we were given, there are a few things we can do to help. As a nutrition consultant I always advocate a healthy diet made up of clean foods, but studies do show that there is one supplement that could actually be your secret weapon again weight gain, heart disease, and cancer!
“The most popular supplement for losing belly fat seems to be CLA or conjugated linoleic acid. CLA is something that should be prevalent in the foods we eat (in meat and dairy that is) but because animals or cows eat mostly grains rather than grass, they don’t make much CLA anymore, therefore there isn’t much in our diets either.”
“CLA has been proven to have many benefits. “A study published by Web MD showed that overweight women were able to lose nine percent of their total body fat in one year while taking CLA.” The most amazing part is that these women didn’t change their diet or exercise habits.
“Some of the most known suggested benefits of CLA supplementation include increased metabolic rate, enhanced muscle growth, lowers cholesterol and triglycerides, lowers insulin resistance, reduces food-induced allergic reactions, and enhances the immune system.”
“Supplementing with CLA may also increase how fast fat is broken down into fat cells and it may reduce the total number of fat cells in our bodies. CLA assists in the use of body fat as a source of energy, and appears to prevent the decrease in metabolic rate usually associated with a decrease in caloric consumption. The benefits of CLA for fat-loss is that it assists in the metabolism of stored body fat for fuel, and it prevents the metabolism from slowing down while on a diet.”
If you are going to use CLA the amount is important. Use one that is at least 90% CLA-which will be stated on the label-and take at least 3000mg (or 3 capsules) a day with food. CLA does take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to start seeing results, but it is definitely worth the wait!