conjugated linoleic acid

I seen these weight loss supplements at the drug store and since I had never heard of them, I googled them. This is what I found;

According to Wikepedia, CLA is an

Antioxidant and anti-cancer properties have been attributed to CLA, and studies on mice and rats show encouraging results in hindering the growth of tumors in mammary, skin, and colon tissues.[6]

A European team led by the Swiss scientist Lukas Rist has found that mothers consuming mostly organic milk and meat products have about 50 percent higher levels of rumenic acid in their breast milk.[7]

Studies of CLA in human diets show that it tends to reduce body fat,[8] particularly abdominal fat, improves serum lipid profiles, and decreases whole-body glucose uptake. The maximum reduction in body fat was achieved with a daily dose of 3.4g.[9] CLA supplementation has, however, been shown to increase C-reactive protein levels, possibly to induce oxidative stress,[10] to reduce insulin sensitivity, and to increase lipid peroxidation.[11] However, the significance of these findings is unknown, and other studies suggest that CLA may protect cells from oxidative damage by increasing glutathione levels without inducing lipid peroxidation.[12] It is possible, however, that the observation of markers of increased lipid oxidation may indicate potentially desirable lipolytic effects. Further studies are necessary to establish the clinical significance of such observations.

Has anyone tried CLA? Did you have any side effects? Did it help you lose weight??

I have taken CLA since I started losing weight... I think it was mainly to speed up metabolism and help build muscle or something. My boyfriend suggested we take it while we were losing weight.

Never had any known side effects from it.

Did it help me lose weight? Hell if I know, honestly... If it made a difference.. it may have been like .00000000001%. I don't know how exactly I could quantify it. I don't even know why I'm still taking it... However, I attribute my weight loss 100% to my change in diet and weight lifting/some cardio.

EDIT: I guess you should just determine for yourself if it's worth it.

anyone else??

Running the numbers on the studies done, for overweight populations it might enhance weight loss by 0.06lbs/week, or about the equivalent of cutting out one 210-calorie latte per week.

 If you're going to be on stage for a bodybuilding show at a specific date you might find the enhanced results useful, or if you weren't otherwise dieting since the loss of fat mass is independent of dietary change in the studies done. But for anyone already counting calories it's a lot cheaper and more convenient to cut out that latte than to pound back the capsules.