[b said:
Quote[/b] (Nemesis7884 @ May 10 2004,4:41)]hey how do you get your essent. f. a. - with a supp such as fishoil? or with oils (olive oil or somthing like that)?...how much should you get in your bulking diet? between 20-30 %?= from which the essential ones take the biggest part?
You may want to read this about EFA.
One bodybuilding supplement lately has captured the attention of both researchers and athletes. It's CLA, short for conjugated linoleic acid. Linoleic acid belongs to a family of essential fatty acids called omega-6 fatty acids and performs a number of important metabolic functions in the body. Whereas linoleic acid is present in many vegetable oils, CLA occurs primarily in beef and dairy products. Its commercial form is derived from sunflower oil.
The first two human studies on CLA supplementation were recently reported. At the 1997 National Strength and Conditioning Association conference in Las Vegas, Richard Kreider, Ph.D., of Memphis State University in Tennessee, presented his study of CLA supplementation's effects during resistance training on catabolism (tissue breakdown), body composition and strength. In a double-blind manner, researchers randomly assigned 27 experienced resistance-trained males to supplement their diets for 28 days with capsules containing either an olive oil placebo or CLA. Fasting blood samples, total body mass and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry determined body composition. Bench-press and leg-press tests on days zero and 28 measured strength.
After the 28-day supplementation period, researchers found no differences between the two groups in gross measures such as body weight, fat mass or fat-free mass. However, further analysis showed that the CLA group increased their overall strength for bench press and leg press by almost 30 pounds, while the placebo group improved by only 9.5 pounds. Though not statistically significant, these changes could indicate a trend. In addition, differences in the ratio of blood urea nitrogen to creatinine--a marker of anabolic (tissue building) vs. catabolic (tissue breakdown) status--suggested a potential net anabolic effect.7 A longer supplementation period might lead to statistically significant differences.
CLA For Nonathletes
Researcher Erling Thom, Ph.D., from Medstat Research Ltd., in Lillestrom, Norway, conducted such a study. His randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial on 20 healthy people lasted three months. Researchers measured subjects' body weight and percent of body fat at baseline, then every four weeks thereafter. Each day, the treatment group took slightly more than 1 g of CLA at breakfast, lunch and dinner. The other half took a placebo. The average weight of the 10 who took CLA dropped by about five pounds (not enough to reach statistical significance), but the body-fat percentage dropped by 15 to 20 percent, or from 21.3 percent of average body fat to 17 percent of body fat (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the group taking a placebo had little change.
Half the people in the study were men; half were women. Two dropped out because of unpleasant gastrointestinal upsets. Of these, one was from the placebo group, the other from the CLA group.8
The positive results from this pilot study lay the groundwork for future research on different patient populations, such as people with obesity.
Although scientists aren't yet sure how CLA works, they've developed three theories.
1) CLA may directly affect fat metabolism. By preferentially burning fat and sparing muscle glycogen, muscle mass is preserved at the expense of fat stores during exercise and fasting.
2) It may also negate or counteract the adverse effects of hormones such as corticosteroids. Overtraining, severe illness and other stresses cause cortisol levels to rise. This adrenal gland hormone elevates blood sugar levels, breaks down muscle protein, and increases fat deposition.
3) CLA may increase production of prostaglandin E1,9 a type of fatty acid that increases brain levels of the hormone somatotropin--which may give athletes an advantage.10 Somatotropin increases growth hormone output that, in turn, increases muscle growth. Prostaglandin E1 also increases blood flow to the muscles, brain and other organs.11
However CLA works, preliminary data suggest it may help people, particularly athletes, who need to burn fat while preserving muscle mass. Research indicates an ideal daily dose of CLA ranges from 0.01 to 2 percent or more of daily caloric intake.12 One study proposes that an effective dose for a 165-pound person is 3-5 g/day.13
Doses of this magnitude require supplementation. Most people ingest less than 1 g/day of CLA from food sources, which are largely limited to meat and dairy. For example, cheese averages 2.9 mg-7.1 mg of CLA per gram of fat. A 3 g CLA dose requires eating several pounds of cheese a day. That's a lot of unwanted dietary fat, so it makes more sense to take CLA supplements.
Before people begin buying all the CLA off the health-store shelves, though, more research must be done on athletes--and the rest of the population.
