An affordable weight loss product that works?
Bulk Supplements is known for forgoing flashy packaging to focus on ingredient quality and giving their customers the best value for their money.
This local brand located in Nevada has a wide selection of health and fitness supplements, with most of them being well-received for having affordable prices without sacrificing their effectiveness. What’s more, Bulk Supplements also operate in FDA-registered and cGMP facilities.
One of their latest products, the CLA soft gel, is currently making waves among fitness nuts and novices alike. Let’s take a closer look and see if it really helps with weight loss.
Note: This product is a supplement, and shouldn’t be used as a replacement for medicine.
Pros
- Good value for your money
- 300 tablets per package
- Simple but effective
Cons
- Not vegan
- Misleading CLA amounts per serving
Click here for the lowest price on Amazon
Ingredients and Nutritional Information
This product might not have an extensive ingredients list, but this goes the same for every CLA supplement in the market. In fact, the fewer additional components, the better. And you’ll see why below.
Bulk Supplements CLA supplement contains:
1,589mg CLA per serving (2 soft gels) extracted from safflower seed oil
Other Ingredients:
Glycerin
gelatin capsule (bovine source)
Note: Never forget to consult with your doctor first before using any new supplement. This is especially important if you have a medical condition, currently taking medicine, aged below 18, or pregnant.
Bulk Supplements CLA Benefits And Effectiveness
So why is every supplement manufacturer so confident with CLA’s effects that they don’t include other ingredients? After I’ve read all the related research and literature, it’s not hard to see why:
Conjugated Linoleic Acid
What is it exactly? Well, it’s a part of the essential fatty acid group, which are fats that our body requires to maintain good health. We consider it “essential” because our body can’t produce these fats, so we have to get them through our diet (1).
CLA comes in many different forms. For instance, the ones you get from meat sources vary because of the animal’s age, diet, breed, and other factors. However, CLA supplements typically use safflower seed oil as their source. Here are the reasons why everyone’s raving about this weight-loss product:
CLA can help you lose weight by burning additional fat. With a little bit of research, you’ll find many studies showing CLA’s ability to slow down weight gain and reduce body fat (2). One of the most popular studies on CLA can be found in the Journal of Nutrition (2000), where subjects who used CLA lost six additional pounds compared to those among the placebo group (3).
CLA is also proven in one experiment to be effective in helping prevent weight gain during the holidays. The subjects experienced better moods and fat reduction over a six month period (4).
Essential fatty acids like CLA help raise our body’s metabolism (5). This means that the calories you generally burn are increased. So your body can essentially turn the food you eat into energy more effectively.
CLA is also comparable to omega-6 fatty acids, where you can also get them from foods or supplementation since they can be produced by the body. They’ve also been found to improve our immune defense and improve cholesterol levels (6, 7).
With proper exercise and a healthier diet, using CLA can help you gain more lean body mass over body fat.
How Much Should I Take?
So far, there’s no universal recommended CLA dosage that’s proven to be most effective. With that said, the studies I’ve found show that the golden range for weight loss is 3.2 g – 6.4 g every day (8). In another study, daily doses of CLA can reach 6g without any side effects (9).
While the FDA classifies it as GRAS (generally regarded as safe), it’s still a good idea to start off with smaller amounts. Bulk Supplements suggests that you take 2000mg 1 to 3 times per day, or you can ask a physician for their recommendation.
Best Time To Take Bulk Supplements CLA
Bulk Supplements doesn’t recommend a specific time to take CLA. But generally, you should take one serving (in this case, two soft gels) for every major meal of the day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). You can also start off small to observe for any side effects.
It’s good to keep in mind that almost every weight loss product is only effective when combined with proper diet and exercise. And Bulk Supplements CLA is no exception.
Why Choose Bulk Supplements?
The main reason why Bulk Supplements is so popular is that they openly allow their products for 3rd-party testing. However, they don’t give general public access to their product’s COA. You can still contact them and ask for the COA of the product that you bought.
Bulk Supplements has a very effective and responsive customer service. You can ask them a question on their social media or through email. It’s also possible to make a quick inquiry by using the chat button you can find on their main website. While their customer service team is only available between 7:30 am and 3:45 pm PST, they’re active every day of the week.
Drawbacks
You can find a lot of evidence suggesting CLA’s numerous weight loss benefits. But most of it comes from studies done on animals, not humans. Human studies have varying results, with some concluding that CLA promotes weight loss, and some saying otherwise.
We shouldn’t write off CLA supplements just yet, though. The thousands of positive online reviews I’ve seen (for instance, Bulk Supplements CLA has a 4.6/5 star rating in Amazon from 4344 reviews) convinced me to try CLA out for myself, and I wasn’t disappointed one bit.
Many people make the mistake of equating higher amounts for a stronger effect with most weight loss supplements. But this isn’t always the case. In fact, it might even be dangerous to your health.
For instance, several studies suggest that extremely high CLA supplement doses can raise your liver’s accumulated fat (10, 11). This effect can be detrimental to your health and potentially lead to illnesses like metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Keep in mind that these experiments used very high amounts of CLA. So if you stick to the recommended daily dosage, you’re safe.
Bulk Supplements CLA Pricing
You get a very affordable price point with Bulk Supplements CLA. One package that contains 300 soft gels costs $19.96 on the brand’s website. You can also get them for $20.96 on Amazon.
This is a very good deal considering that you’re getting 150 servings (one serving is two soft gels) for every pack. As I’ve mentioned before, Bulk Supplements focuses on the value of the product itself instead of its packaging.
Review Breakdown Of Bulk Supplements CLA
- Effectiveness – 8/10 Stars
- Ingredients – 9/10 Stars
- Taste – 8/10
- Price – 9.5/10 Stars
The Takeaway
Bulk Supplements CLA supplements are all lab tested to guarantee their purity. For each serving, you’re sure to get at least 1,589mg of CLA. There’s no added fluff or filler, just pure CLA goodness.
With every package, you get 300 soft gels that have a slightly lower than the regular amount of CLA you find in similar supplements. This is useful if you’re looking to fine-tune your supplement intake. If you’re looking for an effective fat burner that offers a great bang for your buck, consider looking into Bulk Supplements CLA.
References:
1- Michael W Pariza, Perspective on the safety and effectiveness of conjugated linoleic acid, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 79, Issue 6, June 2004, Pages 1132S–1136S, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/79.6.1132S
2- Kennedy A, Martinez K, Schmidt S, Mandrup S, Lapoint K, Mcintosh M. Antiobesity mechanisms of action of conjugated linoleic acid. J Nutr Biochem. 2010;21(3):171-9.
3-Henrietta Blankson, Jacob A. Stakkestad, Hans Fagertun, Erling Thom, Jan Wadstein, Ola Gudmundsen, Conjugated Linoleic Acid Reduces Body Fat Mass in Overweight and Obese Humans, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 130, Issue 12, December 2000, Pages 2943–2948, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/130.12.2943
4- Watras AC, Buchholz AC, Close RN, Zhang Z, Schoeller DA. The role of conjugated linoleic acid in reducing body fat and preventing holiday weight gain. Int J Obes (Lond). 2007;31(3):481-7.
5- Vaughan, R.A., Garcia-Smith, R., Bisoffi, M. et al. Conjugated linoleic acid or omega 3 fatty acids increase mitochondrial biosynthesis and metabolism in skeletal muscle cells. Lipids Health Dis 11, 142 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-511X-11-142
6- O’shea M, Bassaganya-riera J, Mohede IC. Immunomodulatory properties of conjugated linoleic acid. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79(6 Suppl):1199S-1206S.
7- Wanders AJ, Brouwer IA, Siebelink E, Katan MB. Effect of a high intake of conjugated linoleic acid on lipoprotein levels in healthy human subjects. PLoS ONE. 2010;5(2):e9000.
8- Benjamin, S., Prakasan, P., Sreedharan, S. et al. Pros and cons of CLA consumption: an insight from clinical evidences. Nutr Metab (Lond) 12, 4 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-7075-12-4
9- Whigham LD, O’shea M, Mohede IC, Walaski HP, Atkinson RL. Safety profile of conjugated linoleic acid in a 12-month trial in obese humans. Food Chem Toxicol. 2004;42(10):1701-9.
10- Jaudszus A, Moeckel P, Hamelmann E, Jahreis G: Trans-10,cis-12-CLA-Caused Lipodystrophy Is Associated with Profound Changes of Fatty Acid Profiles of Liver, White Adipose Tissue and Erythrocytes in Mice: Possible Link to Tissue-Specific Alterations of Fatty Acid Desaturation. Ann Nutr Metab 2010;57:103-111. DOI: 10.1159/000319877
11- Vyas D, Kadegowda AK, Erdman RA. Dietary conjugated linoleic Acid and hepatic steatosis: species-specific effects on liver and adipose lipid metabolism and gene expression. J Nutr Metab. 2012;2012:932928.
