Can CLA Really Help You Lose Weight?

Yesterday, I wrote about the health benefits associated with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). One of them, research suggests, is that this fatty acid can help reduce body fat while maintaining lean muscle mass. In fact, some marketers are calling CLA "the fat that makes you thin."

But there's a catch.

Researchers studied the effects of CLA on mice that were fed a high-fat diet. What they found was that a reduction in stored body fat AND an increase in lean muscle mass resulted only when the CLA was combined with exercise.

So it appears that CLA can help you become lean … but you'll still need to get off your butt and do some exercise.

(Resource: Journal of Nutrition)

- Jon Herring
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Notes From Michael Masterson's Journal: Depressing Thoughts on the Way People Think

For many years, Bill Bonner and I have had a running conversation about a mutual interest: why people think the thoughts they do.

We have talked about what he calls "group think" - the preference most people seem to have to think those thoughts that others deem good or acceptable. Rather than take the trouble to figure out things on their own or put themselves in danger of having nothing at all to say about a popular topic, they adopt a big idea that they've seen bandied about by so-called experts. Depending on their emotional preferences and cultural situation, they might buy into the group thinking of liberals or libertarians, Republicans or Democrats. But do they have their own individual opinions on a popular subject? Perish the thought!

Lately, Bill and I have been talking about another disappointing phenomenon in the world of thinking: the tendency of people to adopt beliefs and ideas that suit their particular circumstances. This is not unrelated to "group think," but it may be even more depressing.

Here is what he said about this in a recent issue of Daily Reckoning:

"At the heel of our new thoughts is the idea that thinking itself is little better than a conceit. We believe what we need to believe when we need to believe it. When circumstances change, we believe something completely different - even though we considered both thoughts eternal.

"A man marries one woman. 'She is the girl of my dreams,' he thinks to himself. 'I am hers forever.' Years later, he finds a new girl of his dreams. People with no money of their own believe in the graduated income tax. 'From each according to his means,' they say. People with more money believe in 'flat rate.' 'It is fairer,' they say. People with a great deal of money barely care what the tax rate is; money has reached a point of such low marginal utility they become indifferent. Besides, money really is a burden; the rich man has to take up expensive hobbies from which a poor man is spared. These handicaps (see It's Good to Know, below) help him get rid of his old money, as well as reducing his ability to compete for new money."
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Today's Action Plan

Take stock of your own thinking today. Are your opinions really your opinions? Or were they born out of a need to embrace "acceptable" thoughts … or to justify your current circumstances? ______________________________
It's Good to Know: About Handicaps

As Bill Bonner pointed out in the Daily Reckoning article quoted above, the idea of "handicap" comes from sports, where stronger players spot weaker players a few points in order to make the game more competitive. But you see this in nature too, where male animals have physical handicaps to enable them to prove that they are stronger (and therefore better candidates for mating). That is why male birds have such bright plumage (which makes them obvious targets for predators) ... and why stags have such huge antlers (which make it difficult for them to maneuver).

Humans give themselves similar handicaps, Bill notes. When, for example, a successful lawyer buys a beach pad and a sports car, he is signaling that he is strong enough to carry the financial load.
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1502, 08-25-05], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.