Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory fatty acid that’s produced in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminant animals, such as cows, sheep, goat, and bison.
CLA is found in the meat of these animals, as well as in dairy products such as yogurt. It is an essential fatty acid for humans, meaning we cannot make it in our own bodies. Therefore, the only way we can benefit from CLA is if we eat meat or some kinds of dairy.
CLA has so many beneficial properties, such as improved lipid profiles, increased lean body mass and reduction of fat mass, and improved insulin sensitivity just to name a few. It is important to note that grass-fed ruminants have a significantly higher amount of this beneficial fatty acid, because grass promotes the beneficial bacteria that convert fats to CLA.
Takeaway: consider adding grass-fed/grass-finished beef or full-fat yogurt into your diet a couple times a month, or weekly
if you enjoy it.
[Side note: CLA in supplement form does not seem to be effective in reducing body fat or changing body composition, and it is recommended to get CLA from whole food sources, found in animal fats.]
Some extra tid bits of information:
- a fatty acid that is produced in the digestive tract of ruminants
- benefits: improved insulin resistance, reduction of atherosclerosis, improved lipid profile, modulation of the immune system and stimulation of bone mineralization, reduced blood glucose, increase in lean body mass and reduction of fatty mass
- mechanism: reduction of lipogenesis and potentiation of lipolysis, oxidation of fatty acid in skeletal muscle due to increased carnitine palmitoyl-transferase-1 activity and action, adipocyte differentiation inhibition
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4574006/
- Recommended dose: 3-6 g/day
- This paper above recommends consuming CLA from food (ruminants) to alter body composition rather than supplements
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6413010/
- Grain fed cows have decreased amount of CLA because the rumen pH decreases, which inhibits activity of the enzyme responsible for the conversion to CLA
Grass-fed has more CLA because grass promotes a more favorable environment for CLA-producing bacteria
