Description
CLA 1000mg softgels from safflower oil, 90 servings, about 20 cents each. Conjugated linoleic acid is a family of linoleic acid isomers, and this material is 80 percent active isomers, which is the specification the published trials used. So a CLA 1000mg softgel carries roughly 800 mg of the isomers and 200 mg of other fatty acids, and that second figure is the one most labels in this category leave you to guess at.
What is in the softgel
| Oil | 1,000 mg per softgel, safflower derived |
|---|---|
| Active isomers | 80 percent, about 800 mg per softgel |
| Isomer mix | roughly equal c9,t11 and t10,c12 |
| Servings | 90, one softgel each |
| Source | safflower oil, not a hydrogenated fat |
| Cost | about 20 cents a serving, 0.025 cents per milligram of isomer |
| Testing | isomer profile and oxidation measured per lot |
How a cla 1000mg softgel compares with the research dose
This is the gap worth knowing before you buy. Body composition trials have generally administered 3.2 to 6.4 grams of CLA a day for twelve weeks or longer, measuring fat mass and lean mass by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. At 800 mg of isomer per softgel, that range means four to eight softgels a day rather than one.
We print the arithmetic because a single CLA 1000mg softgel is one fifth of the lower studied amount, and a buyer who has read a summary of those trials would reasonably assume otherwise. Describing the dose a study used is not a claim that anything will happen at that dose or at any other. It is the information needed to read the label honestly, which is the point of our note on what starting low actually means.
Why safflower, and why the isomer split matters
Commercial CLA is made by rearranging the double bonds in linoleic acid, and safflower oil is used because it is unusually high in that fatty acid to start with. The alternative route, partially hydrogenated fat, yields a different and less defined isomer mixture. Of the two main isomers, t10,c12 is the one most of the body composition literature attributes its measurements to, while c9,t11 occurs naturally in dairy and beef.
Our certificate gives the split rather than a single percentage, so a cla 1000mg bottle can be compared against another on the figure that the studies actually distinguish between. Most sellers publish the total and stop there.
Oxidation, because this is an oil
Conjugated double bonds oxidise readily, which makes freshness a measurable property rather than an assurance. Peroxide value and anisidine value are on every certificate, together with the composite TOTOX figure, and a rancid lot fails and is withdrawn. The same panel is applied to every oil on the omega and fats page.
Softgels, and why cla 1000mg is not sold as a powder
Conjugated linoleic acid is an oil at room temperature, so the only sensible retail formats are a softgel or a bottle of oil, and nobody wants to measure a teaspoon of it. A cla 1000mg softgel fixes the amount and keeps air off the oil, which matters for a fat that oxidises as readily as this one. The cost of that convenience is the shell and the encapsulation run, which is why a cla 1000mg bottle costs more per gram of oil than a bottle of plain safflower oil holding almost none of the isomers.
What the literature reports, plainly
Meta-analyses of the body composition trials have found small average differences in fat mass, and some of the same trials recorded changes in insulin and liver enzyme measurements that the authors flagged for further study. That is a description of published findings, including the parts that do not flatter the ingredient. It is not a claim about this bottle, and anyone with a liver or metabolic condition should raise it with a clinician before starting.
Testing
Every lot is identity tested and assayed by an independent laboratory for isomer content and oxidation, with heavy metals and microbials screened alongside. Lots below their printed amount or over the oxidation limit are withdrawn and the failing certificate stays public. For free reference material on supplements sold for body composition, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet library is the place to start, and the full range here is indexed on supplements index.
Reviews
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