NATROL Tonalin CLA (1200mg) 90 sgels

The Story Behind NATROL Tonalin CLA

The story behind Natrol's Tonalin is really the story of CLA. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a type of non-essential omega-6 fatty acid. CLA occurs naturally in the meat and dairy products of ruminant (grass-eating) animals, and varies with the proportion of the animals' diet made up by grasses. CLA was once fairly well-supplied in most American diets, because until about WW II, dairy and beef cattle were raised primarily on their natural diet of grasses and hay. CLA was then abundant in butter, cheese, milk, and meat fats, while skim and reduced-fat dairy foods were not even available to most consumers. At that time, people consumed much more saturated dairy and animal fat than today, yet obesity rates were much lower than today. As obesity rates have skyrocketed in recent decades, researchers have struggled to explain why obesity was far less prevalent then than now, in our era of fat and sugar-free foods. Nutritional scientists have been investigating which nutritional or lifestyle factors may account for this apparent paradox.

CLA attracted the attention of these researchers since it was known that CLA can influence body composition (the proportion of body fat to 'lean body mass' which refers collectively to all the non-fat substances like muscle tissue, fluids and bone). It is also known that, beginning shortly after WW II, farmers began to use fewer grasses and more grains like corn as a more cost-effective feedstock for their animals. By raising food animals that would naturally graze on grass, such as dairy and beef cattle, on grains instead, the amount of CLA in the meat and dairy products they yield is drastically lowered. It was postulated that the now-low levels of dietary CLA in modern diets was either fostering obesity or exacerbating other factors that lead to obesity. If this was true, then supplementing with CLA should have pretty potent anti-obesity effects.

Many animal studies and several human studies were undertaken to determine how effectively CLA performs as an anti-obesity supplement. The studies showed that when CLA is consumed in amounts of about 3.5 grams per day or more, it is able to reduce body fat while preserving or even helping to increase lean body mass. Based on clinical evidence of this, patents were obtained for the use of CLA as a dietary supplement and food additive. Tonalin is the CLA blend upon which these patents are based. The Tonalin name is licensed to companies like Natrol who can then take advantage of its high-profile and the informative marketing efforts put forth on Tonalin's behalf by its manufacturer.

A review of CLA studies shows inconsistent results and variable effects of body composition, insulin sensitivity, inflammation and lean body mass. As a result, CLA has its supporters and its detractors. It is very clear that CLA is able to help some people reduce body fat. It is also clear that it doesn't seem to work equally well for everyone. One study suggests that significantly obese women stand to benefit the most compared to other groups, although men and mildly obese women responded too. One 'catch' to using CLA is that is it CLA doesn't work quickly or dramatically; users should commit CLA on a consistent daily basis for 3-6 months before evaluating results. The other catch is that the dose of CLA is significant. You want to use a dose of at least 3.4 grams per day of Tonalin . That amount is equivalent to the minimum dose at which significant fat loss occurred in most studies. 3.4 grams works out to be 5 of the Natrol Tonalin softgels. They can be taken in divided doses or all at once, since they are in a sunflower oil base and very easy on the stomach. One interesting animal study showed that using coconut oil as a dietary fat source enhanced the fat loss effects of CLA.

Although some studies of CLA showed fat loss effects that occurred independently of any exercise or diet changes, that's not an excuse to ignore their importance; users will get much better fat loss results (and more overall health benefits) by exercising regularly and improving the diet as much as possible while using CLA.