CLA safflower oil is said to have numerous health benefits, one of which being that it can help you shed those excess pounds. But can’t really? And is it really also help you build lean muscle mass? Is this just another overhyped ingredient? Is CLA safflower oil a scam that you should not even bother with?
With the increase of the CLA safflower oil supplements, I felt the need to write this review. The supplements are being marketed more and more heavily as weight loss supplements and in this post I want to address this. Can they really help you lose weight?… Let’s find out.
But first off… What the heck is CLA safflower oil?
What Is CLA Safflower Oil?
Lets first start out with safflower oil itself. This oil has been around for thousands of years and is used for a number of different things. The ancient Egyptians actually used this stuff, although not for weight loss purposes.
It is used in everything from cosmetics, to cooking oil, and like I said… Is becoming increasingly popular as a weight loss supplement.
But what is it really? Well… It is oil that comes from the seeds of the yellow safflower. It is all natural and there is nothing man-made about it, which is nice to see although this does not mean much.
CLA stands for conjugated linoleic acid, which is an omega 6 polyunsaturated EFA (essential fatty acid) that safflower oil contains (also in hemp oil, which I reviewed recently btw). Naturally safflower oil only contains a little bit of this “conjugated” linoleic acid, most of the linoleic acid it contains is not conjugated. However, many of the safflower oil supplements out there on the market have more concentrated amounts of the CLA, since this is where many of the health benefits are coming from.
Any Proof That This Helps With Fat Loss?
It it is said to increase fat loss, increase lean muscle growth, boost your metabolism… But is there actually proof of any of these things? Or is this all just unbacked hype?
I did some research and was able to find a few studies that tested CLA’s weight loss potential.
One study I found in particular that was really good was performed on 60 obese volunteers. In the study some of the volunteers were given a placebo which was 9 g of all of oil, while the test group was given 6.8 g of CLA per day. The study was administered for 12 weeks and found that consuming CLA did increase their body fat loss more than the placebo group.
That said, there were no signs of any increased muscle growth and it was also shown that consuming more than 3.4 g per day doesn’t have any additional benefits.
There is still definitely a lot of room for more research in this area, but based on the research I have done CLA safflower oil does seem to help increase weight loss.
Why It Might Work
This omega 6 essential fatty acid might work by helping to convert food into energy more efficiently as well as helping to burn fat in adipose tissue.
Side Effects?
There aren’t really any side effects that you need to worry about. According to WebMD, it is likely safe when taken orally, which is what you would be doing if you are consuming CLA safflower oil supplements.
That said, CLA safflower oil may slow blood clotting which would mean you should talk to a doctor if you have any bleeding disorders, like hemorrhagic diseases, stomach or intestinal ulcers, etc. It is also suggested that if you are allergic to plans of the Asteraceae/Compositae family (ex: ragweed) you might also be allergic to CLA safflower oil.
And lastly, it might increase blood sugar levels. So if you have diabetes you may want to consult with a doctor.
If you our healthy and don’t have any of these problems then you should be good to go. Although I do have to recommend that you should always consult with a doctor no matter what.
What Other People Are Saying
There are a lot of different CLA safflower oil supplements out there on the market. You can easily go to Amazon, Walmart.com, and other websites to read tons of user reviews.
Whenever I am reviewing a supplement like this I always like to skim through user reviews and read as many as possible. Why? Well… Because supplements often look good on paper, but seeing how they work in real life is what it’s all about.
Based on what I have seen skimming through hundreds of reviews, this stuff does seem to work and, generally speaking, gets reviewed very positively.
Most people claim that it does work to some extent when it comes to losing weight, although you will find a few reviews from people claiming it does not do a darn thing.
It is difficult to know what you should believe in what you shouldn’t believe. Maybe the people leaving the positive reviews also started intense diet/workout regiments at the same time they started taking CLA safflower oil… Which would mean they would get results regardless of taking the safflower oil. Or maybe the people leaving the negative reviews never gave a fighting chance… Maybe they started taking the safflower oil and eight more unhealthy than ever thinking that they would still lose weight.
It can be difficult knowing what to believe, but from what I see this stuff does seem to be working. Of course you can’t expect this product to just start burning the fat right off you. It has been shown to increase fat loss without changing anything, meaning no additional exercise, but if you were to take the supplement without doing anything else the results would be so minimal that they would be unnoticeable.
Recommended or Scam?
No…. CLA safflower oil is not a scam. It may be a little bit overhyped, but the bottom line is that conjugated linoleic acid does have well-known health benefits and has been shown in multiple studies to more than likely be an aid in weight loss, specifically fat loss.
If you are fed up with trying fat loss supplements that don’t work he and would like to go a more natural route then I would say go for it. There are a lot of people claiming that this stuff is the real deal. Just don’t be expecting miracles when you take it.
The the cheapest place I have found to buy CLA safflower oil is on amazon.com.
Anyways… I hope you enjoyed the short post and found at least somewhat helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can 🙂 Also if you have your own review of CLA safflower oil that you would like to leave, please leave that down below as well. I am sure other readers will find it helpful.
I am old user of CLA Safflower oil and found extra-ordinary results from it. It is always recommended for weight loss for every one. you can also read other helpful reviews from Slimmers Club