Van's Health Foods

CLA helps manage weight

CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid, had several benefits including reducing body fat in earlier animal studies, but human studies have been inconclusive, doctors said. In this study, 63 people tending toward overweight or obesity took 1,700 mg of CLA per day, or a vegetable oil placebo, in about 7 ounces of sterilized milk. After 12 weeks, while there were no changes for placebo, the CLA group had lost body weight, improved body mass index score, had less total fat and fat under the skin, a lower percentage of body fat, and a smaller waist-to-hip size. The higher the body mass index at the start of the study, the larger the improvements in all measures.

Calcium burns fat, reduces fat absorption

When dieters take in fewer calories than they burn, calcium supplements may stimulate fat loss, but prior studies have been inconclusive, doctors said. In this review, researchers analyzed eight placebo-controlled calcium weight-loss studies, and found that dieters who got high levels of calcium increased fat metabolism by 11 percent compared to placebo. Those who consumed low levels of calcium before the study-less than 700 mg per day-saw the most fat-loss benefit. Researchers said the higher rate of fat-burning was equal to losing eight pounds per year.

In discussing their findings, doctors said that calcium supplements raised the metabolic rate as effectively as caffeine. The average amount of calcium linked with the largest weight-loss benefit was 958 mg of calcium per day. Doctors also said good calcium levels help control appetite.

Reference: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; October, 2012, Electronic Prepublication

From the January 2013 newsletter

Whey protein reduced “hunger”hormone

In this study, 90 overweight and obese people who were otherwise healthy took 56 grams of whey or soy protein per day, to the same amount of calories in the form of carbohydrates as a placebo. Doctors measured body weight and fat monthly, and collected food diaries every 10 days. After 23 weeks, the whey group had lost an average of 3.9 pounds more body weight and 5 pounds more fat-mass compared to placebo. The soy group lost about half these amounts compared to placebo, which doctors said was not statistically significant.

The whey group also lost one inch around the waist while the soy and placebo groups had not changed. Researchers also measured ghrelin, a hormone the body produces to tell the brain when it is time to eat, and found lower levels of ghrelin in the whey group compared to the soy and placebo.

Reference: The Journal of Nutrition; 2011, Vol. 141. No. 8, 1489-94

From the April 2012 Newsletter