Quote[/b] ]Try to get 2-6 grams per day of EPA+DHA. The FDA has only approved 2 grams per day because of the ability of omega-3s to thin the blood (reduce clotting). However, if you are not at risk of bleeding abnormalities, anywhere up to 6 grams per day is beneficial. The burping WILL stop if you take them consistantly. Takes about a week for the burps to stop.
Keep in mind that omega-3s will be preferentially oxidized (burned for fuel), so a lot of what you supplement on a low carb diet will be burned as energy before it can be stored in fat cells where it does its magic. Whenever possible, take your fish oils after a meal or after carbs. The carb load to the liver will decrease the oxidation of the fatty acids and allow more to pass through into the blood for storage. This is good when it comes to omega-3s and CLA.
CLA can't exactly "replace" EPA as far as nutritional needs go. But it does do the same job on fat cells (through PPARs)
It's going to take about 6-10 grams per day of CLA to notice any effect. If you use CLA while bulking it may help nutrient partitioning. CLA and Omega-3s should be taken "all" the time. They aren't supplements that you take every now and then. It has to be constant so that they can have time to change the environment within the body. This only happens as CLA are incorporated into fat cells. Unfortunately, the CLA is preferentially oxidized as it enters the liver, so you have to take enough to not only let the liver burn some, but also have enough to get into circulation and be deposited into fat cells.
As with EFAs I suggest you take CLA with carbs (or after a meal). The rise in insulin may prevent the immediate oxidation of the CLA, and enhance the delivery of it to subcutaneous fat cells.
The delivery of "fat" to fat cells may not seem like a good idea at first, but CLA and Omega-3s activate PPARs once in fat cells. This is good, and is what leads to the change in body composition over time.
Regular use of CLA will change your "tendency" to gain and lose fat. It will basically make your fat cells act as if you had a genetic predisposition to leanness. The mechanism is pretty interesting.
Here is a bit of info on CLA.
CLA is a naturally occurring fatty acid found primarily in beef and dairy fats. The reason that it is found primarily in beef and dairy products is because CLA is formed from linoleic acid by bacteria in the gut of cows (or herbavors). The cows then absorb the CLA and it becomes incorporated into lipids in the cows, including milk lipids.
How does it work?
CLA increases fat oxidation.
(West, D. B., J. P. DeLany, P. M. Camet, F. Blohm, A. A. Truett, and J. A. Scimeca. Effects of conjugated linoleic acid on body fat and energy metabolism in the mouse. Am. J. Physiol. 275 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 44): R667-R672, 1998)
CLA has been shown to increase certain enzymes responsible for fatty acid beta-oxidation. This means that the body’s ability to burn fat goes up significantly with CLA supplementation.
Inhibition of triglyceride uptake into fat cells.
(Park, Y., K. J. Albright, W. Liu, J. M. Storkson, M. E. Cook, and M. W. Pariza. Effect of conjugated linoleic acid on body composition in mice. Lipids 32: 853-858, 1997)
The best way to get fat is to send the fat you eat straight to the fat cell to be stored. This is generally what happens when we eat fat, however CLA supplementation has been shown to decrease the enzyme necessary for fat cells to take up fat and triglycerides from the blood. This fat is then more apt to be taken up by muscle tissue where it can be burned for fuel. In fact, CLA also increases the muscles ability to burn fat as fuel as mentioned previously.
CLA increases insulin sensitivity
(Houseknecht, K. L., J. P. Vanden Heuvel, S. Y. Moya-Camarena, C. P. Portocarrero, L. W. Peck, K. P. Nickel, and M. A. Belury. Dietary conjugated linoleic acid normalizes impaired glucose tolerance in the Zucker diabetic fatty fa/fa rat. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 244: 678-682, 1998)
The reason CLA has been labeled a “partitioning agent” is because of its ability to shift the flow of nutrients away from fat tissue and towards muscle tissue. So you are starving the fat and feeding your muscle, the end result being an increase or maintenance of muscle and a reduction in fat.
CLA acts to reduce body fat stores by chronically increasing metabolic rate.
(West DB, Blohm FY, Truett AA, DeLany JP. Conjugated linoleic acid persistently increases total energy expenditure in AKR/J mice without increasing uncoupling protein gene expression. J Nutr. 2000 Oct;130(10):2471-7.)
Treatment with CLA chronically increases basal metabolic rate. Over time this elevation leads to significant reductions in fat mass. The exact mechanism by which CLA raises energy expenditure has yet to be elucidated but could act through PPARs.
