CLA supplements have been described as everything from a miracle supplement all the way down to a flat out worthless scam.  While everybody has their own opinion of CLA supplements, most of the claims (both good and bad) have been made without taking a  serious look at the science surrounding this supplement.

In my experience, nothing is ever quite as good or bad as it seems.  Before assigning CLA supplements the top shelf billing in the muscle building supplement market, or relegating CLA supplements to the “worthless” category, you owe it to yourself to take a look at the studies and make your own informed decision regarding CLA.

Over the past 25 years, more than 600 CLA studies have been published highlighting the many ways CLA supplements can help to enhance the way your body looks as well as your health.

What Are CLA Supplements Supposed To Do?

Lets kick this off by explaining that traditionally, CLA supplements have not been presented as muscle building supplements, rather fat loss and weight loss supplements.  If you’re reading this blog to find out about the best muscle building supplements, CLA is definitely not in the same muscle building category that supplements like creatine monohydrate are in.  That said, there is a substantial amount of evidence that suggests that CLA can help you shed excess body fat.

When it comes to decreasing body fat, CLA supplements safely work in four ways:

1.) They decrease the amount of fat stored after eating

2.) They Increase how fast fat is broken down in fat cells

3.) They Increase the rate of fat metabolism

4.) They Decrease the total number of fat cells in your body

While these benefits are not directly related to the muscle building process, I have never met a bodybuilder who wasn’t interested in burning more fat – naturally!

What Is CLA?

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a naturally-occurring polyunsaturated fatty acid – an essential fatty acid of the omega-6 family. The human body is unable to manufacture Linoleic Acid or CLA, so it must be obtained from dietary sources. Foods highest in CLA include milk, cheese, beef, and lamb as well as a lot of other processed foods.

Getting enough CLA from your diet for the preferred benefit would require considerable intake of potentially unhealthy foods. This is not only impractical, but would also have a seriously negative impact on your metabolism due to the high caloric penalty you would pay.

My Experiences With CLA Supplements…

Based on my experiences with CLA, I honestly can’t say that I noticed a dramatic impact in the amount of lean muscle mass that I gained, or a drastic reduction in body fat once I began taking CLA supplements regularly. I don’t believe that CLA is a supplement that will give you results that you’ll be able to instantly recognize.

I view taking CLA supplements as more of a healthy thing to do to ensure that I’m getting enough high quality essential fatty acids into my diet. In addition to CLA I regularly use an omega-3 essential fatty acid fish oil supplement and occasionally throw high quality flax seed oil into the mix (especially if I am cutting calories to burn fat). I really believe that if you can experience even one of the many benefits commonly associated with CLA supplements, taking them regularly is well worth the price!

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