A nutrient with the potential to burn fat in humans is scheduled to be tested by scientists at the University of Wisconsin.
If researchers confirm what they have seen in animals, conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, could become a regular part of the American diet.
CLA is found in such things as beef, cheese and milk — foods Americans have been avoiding in a quest to lose weight, said Michael Pariza, head of the university’s Food Research Institute. Pariza discovered CLA’s beneficial effects about 10 years ago.
CLA is a slight variation of linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid that is taken up by cells in the body.
“We’ve been shifting the U.S. population off of animal fats for the past 30 years, and vegetable fats do not contain CLA and look what’s happened to obesity,” said Mark Cook, a professor of animal science who has teamed with Pariza to study CLA.
In studies by Pariza and Cook, animals ranging from pigs to mice were fed CLA. In each case, they lost fat, gained lean muscle and ate less — without dropping all that much weight, Cook said.
Animals fed CLA seem to use their food more efficiently and, in the case of pigs and cattle, convert it into healthier meat and milk for human consumption, Pariza and Cook said.
Researchers have found no negative side effects from CLA.
In the only human trial using CLA, 20 average-sized subjects reduced their percentage of body fat by 20 percent in three months without any changes in diet or exercise.
Group members also lost an average of seven pounds, according to the study.
