CLA: Benefits, Side Effects, Best Time to Take It & More

CLA

(Conjugated Linoleic Acid)

Evidence: High
Possible Benefits: Low
Safety: Reasonable

What is CLA?

CLA is a type of polyunsaturated fatty acid. It can be found in dairy and beef or obtained from supplements typically made of safflower oil. As a supplement, most people use conjugated linoleic acid for improving weight loss and muscle growth. This article is about the main benefits of CLA, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.

What does CLA do for the body?

Since conjugated linoleic acid is a non-essential fatty acid, you don’t need to consume it to survive. However, this fatty acid still serves some important functions in the body.

Not much is known about the specific mechanisms of CLA in the body. However, multiple studies show at least some effect of this fatty acid in regard to weight management and increasing lean muscle mass.

Possible benefits

The benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. Generally, the higher the dose, the more pronounced the effects are. However, they do reach a plateau at a certain point. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.

Minor benefits

Increased fat oxidation – When paired with exercise, this fatty acid may slightly increase fat oxidation. More research is needed to confirm this.
Preserving lean mass – While this effect is small, unreliable, and may only apply to obese people, CLA supplements can help preserve lean muscle mass during periods of fat loss.
Reduced high blood pressure – When CLA is taken with a drug called ramipril, there is usually a more notable reduction in high blood pressure than when ramipril is taken alone. This may also apply to the combination of CLA with other antihypertensive medications.

Possible side effects

These side effects are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.

Nausea
Diarrhea
Oxidation – CLA is prone to oxidation and can become a pro-oxidant that can easily cause more harm than good in the body. This is why you need to choose the brand you get CLA from carefully and store the supplement well.
Reduced HDL – Those supplementing with 7.5 grams of conjugated linoleic acid for one year often experience a reduction in HDL cholesterol.
Increased triglycerides – 7.5 grams taken for one year can lead to a statistically significant increase in triglycerides.
Toxicity – While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking high amounts of CLA could lead to chronic toxicity and cause some health problems. To prevent chronic toxicity, it is best to stay below 2 grams a day unless you have a great reason to take more.
Contamination – Contaminated supplements are uncommon in the USA and other well-regulated countries. However, if you wish to buy products from China, India, or other countries without strict regulations, beware that the supplements may be contaminated. Either way, you need to choose the brand you order from wisely. It is highly recommended to check the certificates or read through some reviews for the specific product before you buy it. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has the power to regulate dietary supplements but can only do so after they have been on the market for a while. That’s because supplement companies are not obligated to announce to the FDA when releasing a new product on the market. The FDA has to discover the product and test it for potential impurities, which can take a lot of time. During that time, the supplement can be sold on the market even if it’s impure. Also, supplement companies can change their manufacturers without announcing it to the FDA.

Who should not take CLA?

You should probably avoid taking the supplement if you:

experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the fatty acid
don’t have a great reason to take it (there are very few benefits of taking a CLA supplement)
are on a tight supplement budget (since there are more cost-effective supplements on the market for most people)

Who will benefit the most?

You should consider taking the supplement if you:

are on a very low-fat diet
are obese
suffer from hypertension and take antihypertensive drugs (CLA can increase their effectiveness)

How much CLA should you take?

If you plan to take a CLA supplement, 0.5-1 gram appears to be the best daily dose for most people. This amount should provide most of the benefits without meaningful side effects.

The upper safety limit for CLA is not well-established. To stay on the safe side, don’t take more than 2 grams daily unless you have a great reason to do so. Higher amounts may cause problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.

Best time to take CLA

Conjugated linoleic acid is fat-soluble so make sure to take it with food to absorb it well.

Whether you take the supplement in the morning or the evening doesn’t matter much.

Unless it feels too impractical, spread the daily dose into 2+ smaller doses throughout the day.

Interactions

Fucoxanthin
This combination may be synergistic for fat loss but more research is needed to support this.
Antihypertensive drugs
CLA can increase the effectiveness of drugs taken to reduce blood pressure.

Where to buy CLA

Amazon is the best option for ordering CLA supplements in most countries. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the internet.

Beware some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.

FAQ

You can take the fatty acid daily and do not need to cycle it. However, it is certainly not a problem if you don’t take it every day. Not taking the supplement every once in a while could lead to better absorption. That is yet to be proven or disproven.

All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, you may need a highly accurate scale to dose them correctly (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes some time that can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they often contain bovine gelatin, which rarely comes from an ethical source.

Yes. Most fatty acids, including CLA, absorb and digest well if you take them before falling asleep. The supplement should not impact sleep quality in any significant way.

While toxicity is rare, too much conjugated linoleic acid in the system can cause some health problems, often related to oxidation or causing an imbalance in fatty acids. It is best to stay below 2 grams a day to prevent these side effects.

The half-life of conjugated linoleic acid in the body ranges from 6-48 hours, depending on the specific isomer of linoleic acid.

In the long term, you need to take the supplement for about 2-4 weeks to begin noticing the benefits.

Most CLA supplements come from oils high in linoleic acid rather than from animal products. You can easily find vegan-friendly CLA supplements but always check the label to be sure. If you buy conjugated linoleic acid in a capsulated form, beware that the capsules often contain animal-based gelatin. Instead, find a brand that puts its products into cellulose capsules.

Conjugated linoleic acid is fat-soluble, so you need to take it with food to absorb it well.

Conjugated linoleic acid should not break a fast unless you take a very high dose at once. If you practice time-restricted eating, take this fatty acid during your eating window to make sure it absorbs well and doesn’t break your fast.

References

Most of the information provided in this guide is supported by scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything said in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.

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