Skimmed Milk?

Fittle

I only found this thread recently and I am finding the info and advice just brilliant - particularly the stickies, so thanks to all for the very informative posts!

Anyway, a friend of mine has recently joined a weight loss club - it's a new-ish one (not ww or unislim etc) and is based on the food pyramid - broadly speaking, you eat 6 carbs, 5 fruit & veg, 4 protein etc etc per day. She loves it and has lost alot of weight by following the programme (most of which is a healthy approach to eating).

One of the main tips she was given is to drink a full glass of skimmed milk with her dinner every day, and that skimmed milk works in exactly the same way as those CLA Boosters advertised on tv at the moment (breaking down the enzymes or fats as you eat, can't remember which, sorry!)

My question is really if this is true???

Amantine

From wikipedia:

The most promising science around CLA concerns its effect on weight management. Thirty-five intervention studies have been conducted using CLA in humans to investigate the effects of CLA on weight management. These studies, which vary widely in CLA dose and duration, show the most significant effect of CLA on weight management is on body composition, a reduction in total body fat and an increase in lean body mass. The effect of CLA on fat mass is modest and at the recommended dosage of 3.2g/day produces a statistically significant 90 g fat loss per week (ca. 1 lb in 5 weeks) as shown by a 2007 meta-analysis.[30] Doses higher than the recommended 3.2g do not seem to have any additional effects on body fat reduction. Another meta-analysis found that CLA supplementation produces about 1% increase in lean body mass per week. With the simultaneous decrease in fat mass coupled with increases in lean body mass, often the net change in weight is small. However, the effects of CLA on body composition is a healthy effect, since the degree of fat mass is related to many causes of mortality [31] and lean body mass burns more calories than fat mass which may help to increase resting metabolic rates. CLA use itself is not an answer to the prevalence of obesity, but it can be a useful tool in addition to a healthy lifestyle and exercise program to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

Some studies have found no significant effects of CLA supplementation on fat mass loss.[32][33][34][35][36][37] These results are likely due to a number of reasons. The study duration may have been too short to observe significant effects. The instrumentation used may not have been sensitive enough to detect significant fat losses.[34][35][36] CLA has also been used in combination with other ingredients which may skew results.[38]

Possible adverse effects of CLA supplements in humans

There are concerns that the use of CLA supplements by extremely overweight people may tend to cause or to aggravate insulin resistance, which may increase their risk of developing diabetes.[8] Commercially available supplements contain equal mixtures of two CLA isomers: the cis-9, trans-11 isomer (also known as rumenic acid, the predominant CLA isomer in milk and beef), as well as the trans-10, cis-12 (t10c12) isomer. All other isomers ratios found in the scientific literature are not commercially available. The trans-10, cis-12 isomer is linked to many adverse side effects. Research indicates that supplementation with t10c12 CLA dramatically increases rates of oxidative stress, to levels considerably higher than that observed in heavy smokers.[8] However, the evidence is controversial, and some studies using a mixture of c9t11 and t10c12 CLA showed no changes in insulin sensitivity.[39][40] A study in 2007 used the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp method, which is the gold standard, to evaluate insulin resistance. The study performed on 49 obese or overweight individuals taking 3.2g CLA per day for six months found no adverse effects on blood glucose management. In addition, the long term studies of one and two years have found CLA supplementation to be safe with no outstanding adverse events.[41]In one study, t10c12 CLA produced a 32% increase in biliary cholesterol concentration, which increases the chance of gallstone formation.[42] In 2006, a study by the US Department of Agriculture suggested CLA can induce essential fatty acid redistribution in mice. Changes in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) levels were observed in some organs. For instance, the t10,c12 CLA reduced the DHA content of heart tissue by 25%, while in the spleen, DHA content rose, and AA fell. DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid important to cardiovascular health, and the dramatic reduction of DHA in heart tissue can have serious health consequences. In contrast, c9,t11 CLA did not alter DHA content in the heart, but did reduce spleen DHA slightly.[7] A study of CLA supplementation (equal amounts of c9,t11 and t10,c12) in hatchling chicks (2005) showed high mortality and low hatchability rates among CLA-supplemented groups, and also a decrease in brain DHA levels of CLA-treated chicks [1]. These studies raise the question of whether CLA may increase the risk of cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, but it has yet to be established whether such changes occur in humans, and whether they are clinically relevant. Some experience migraine a few hours after taking CLA supplements.

The general consensus is that the use of this supplement should be carefully examined if the person using the supplement is greatly overweight.[43]

Dietary sources

Kangaroo meat may have the highest concentration of CLA.[44] Food products from grass-fed ruminants (e.g. mutton and beef) are good sources of CLA, and contain much more of it than those from grain-fed animals.[45] In fact, meat and dairy products from grass-fed animals can produce 300-500% more CLA than those of cattle fed the usual diet of 50% hay and silage, and 50% grain.[46]

Eggs are also rich in CLA, and CLA in eggs has been shown to survive the temperatures encountered during frying.[47]

Some mushrooms, such as Agaricus bisporus and Agaricus subrufescens, are rare nonanimal sources of CLA.[48][49]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugated_linoleic_acid

Fittle

I lost the will to live half way through that piece of text:D

It doesn't specifically refer to skimmed milk though - just dairy.

Amantine

Ok, I'll summarise it for you:

some studies found CLA had an effect on weight loss, other didn't.

CLA seems safe for most but not for extremely overweight people.

3.2g/day produces a statistically significant 90 g fat loss per week, doses over 3.3g/day do not seem to have any additional effects on body fat reduction.

Food products from grass fed mutton and beef are good sources of CLA, and contain much more of it than those from grain-fed animals. In fact, meat and dairy products from grass-fed animals can produce 300-500% more CLA than those of cattle fed the usual diet of 50% hay and silage, and 50% grain.
Eggs are also rich in CLA

So to answer your question, yes low fat milk is a source of CLA, as is meat or any dairy product but if the animals are grass fed then there is 300-500% more CLA so get organic Irish milk in spring and summer.

There is evidence that supports a relationship between calcium intake, dairy intake, and weight and body fat regulation, we just don't know exactly how yet.

Fittle

But that really suggests that all milk is a source of CLA - according to this girl (the 'leader' in class) it just HAS to be the pink milk (skimmed) or it won't work!! I'm tempted to join the class myself this week but thought I'd check this out = I thought this skimmed milk thing was too good to be true, and if she was talking gibberish about that, chances are, she was talking gibberish about other things.

But there might just be some truth in what she says so?

Btw, she is keen to point out that the ad for the CLA stuff on TV is completely wrong in so many ways!!

Amantine

I haven't seen the ad so I can't comment but all dairy products contain CLA not just skimmed milk.

Personally I believe that the traditional food pyramid is very outdated and so does Harvard. Since Harvard grads have picked up more nobel prizes that any other uni grads it might be worth listening to what they have to say.

Their food plate is an excellent way to visualise what your plate should look like.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid/

As you can see they recommend a lot less grains than the traditional food pyramid which I absolutely agree with.

El_Dangeroso

Fittle wrote: »

But that really suggests that all milk is a source of CLA - according to this girl (the 'leader' in class) it just HAS to be the pink milk (skimmed) or it won't work!! I'm tempted to join the class myself this week but thought I'd check this out = I thought this skimmed milk thing was too good to be true, and if she was talking gibberish about that, chances are, she was talking gibberish about other things.

But there might just be some truth in what she says so?

Btw, she is keen to point out that the ad for the CLA stuff on TV is completely wrong in so many ways!!

CLA is fat, skimmed milk has the fat removed, ergo there is little to no CLA in skimmed milk. There is more CLA in full fat than skimmed, more in cream than full fat and more in butter than cream. It'a all dependant on the fat percentage.

Fittle

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

CLA is fat, skimmed milk has the fat removed, ergo there is little to no CLA in skimmed milk. There is more CLA in full fat than skimmed, more in cream than full fat and more in butter than cream. It'a all dependant on the fat percentage.

So the leader in the slimming class is talking rubbish?

El_Dangeroso

Fittle wrote: »

So the leader in the slimming class is talking rubbish?

Just probably misinformed