Baloo

Anyone heard of this? It was introduced to me with claims that it
1) lowers cholesterol
2) reduces risk of cancer
3) trims fat
4) increases muscle mass

IOW, it sounds far too good to be true. However, my meager efforts at "thorough investigation" (i.e. google search) seem to support all of the above.

Coragyps

Linoleic acid itself is the main fatty acid found in linseed oil. "Conjugated linoleic acid" is a non-standard ("bullshit" doesn't sound too polite) name that *could* refer to linolenic acid, a more "polyunsaturated" fatty acid from the same source. I would certainly think it would be as healthy as lard or cottonseed oil, but probably behind canola oil. It sounds mighty like some BS from the "nutritional supplement" charlatans to me.

Automaton

It's legit.

Coragyps

Sez who? Never mind.

I take it (partially) back. The "CLA" that has been tested in some clinical trials at <a href="http://www.wisc.edu/fri/research.htm" target="_blank">the Food Research Institute </a>, U of Wisconsin, seems to show some promise in , e.g., weight loss. They caution against using it if you have asthma, though.
The only form of CLA that does any good is one particular isomer, trans-10-cis-12-octadecanedienoic acid, and the best natural source appears to be whole milk ftom pasture-fed cows. Health-food folks sell supplements, too, but I, for one, would prefer to see some documentation that what they sell is really the right stuff. Plain old linolenic acid won't work.

(Edited by Coragyps after he looked the stuff up.)

[ March 02, 2002: Message edited by: Coragyps ]</p>

Automaton

Google works wonders.