What are conjugated linoleic acids (CLA)?
Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) are polyunsaturated fatty acids that have been the focus of researchers over the past two decades. In animal experiments, CLA have been shown to reduce obesity and heart disease and have anticarcinogenic properties. The majority of research into CLA has focused on the health benefits of CLA to humans. These benefits have only properly been demonstrated in animal models and human cells, not humans themselves. However, one study in humans detected an inverse (reduced) relationship between milk consumption and breast cancer risk. Tests of CLA benefits in humans have been limited by ethical considerations – for example, the illnesses that CLA are reported to protect against cannot be induced in human subjects, nor can lifestyle factors be controlled as easily as with mice or rats in a laboratory. Currently, scientists do not yet have a definitive answer for the amount of CLA required to produce beneficial effects in humans.
