What if I told you that many of the world's leading metabolic Researchers are now suggesting that we may be able to burn fat by eating more of it?

Sounds bogus, right? Kind of like sucking on sugar cubes to curb hyperglycemia,

Yet, as preposterous as it may seem, it's true-within the last few years, scientists have indeed identified a kind of fat that studies show may actually help us burn fat. What's more, this same fat has been shown in recent research to also increase lean muscle mass and enhance strength. And, as if all this weren't already worthy of "Ripley's Believe It or Not," consider that this fat is prominently featured in such junk- food fare as hamburgers, butter, and cheese.

But before you go amending your 'authorized' food list, there are a few things you should know about this extraordinary compound, called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)-and how you can go about properly incorporating it into your nutrition program to experience the full force of its benefits.

Like many great finds of the 20th century, the discovery of CLA was a bit serendipitous, A little over 20 years ago, professor Mike Pariza and his team at the University of Wisconsin at Madison set out to discover what happens to hamburger when it's cooked at high temperatures. They wanted to know whether these biochemical changes could produce genetic mutations that could induce cancerous changes in cells. What they discovered, though, was just the opposite: a mysterious compound formed that actually protected cells from cancerous changes.

It took another few years of detailed clinical research for Dr. Pariza, currently a microbiologist and director of the University's food Research institute, to fully identify, isolate, and name this compound as CLA. He found this nutrient occurs naturally in a variety of foods, particularly beef, turn key, and some dairy products.

CLA is the collective term for the different chemical variations of linoleic acid-one of the omega-6 essential fatty acids that cannot be made be the body, but is necessary for thousands of biochemical reactions to take place. It has also been shown to reduce catabolic state (muscle breakdown), to enhance growth, and even to improve blood lipid profiles. Of greater interest to exercise enthusiasts, however, is the more recent clinical research studying CLA's effects on metabolism and body composition.

Dr. Pariza says that he and his team stumbled across CLA's body fat-reducing 'side effect' by accident, They noticed that laboratory animals being fed the compound ate less food and carried less body fat than those animals who were not given CIA, but whose diet was otherwise the same. Upon further investigation, Drs. Pariza and Cook discovered that a diet containing 0.5% CLA reduced body fat in laboratory animals by 50 to 75%. What's more, according to Pariza, it seemed these animals tended to carry greater amounts of lean muscle.

To see what this was all about, the guys in the white coats began explicitly studying what effects CLA had on body composition. They discovered that CLA appears to reduce the body's ability to store fat by regulating several of the enzymes involved in fat metabolism. It reduces the activity of an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL), which transports fatty acids into the fit cell and keeps them there. At the same time, CLA increases the activity of a second enzyme, called hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), that releases the fat from fat cells into the blood. The net result? More fat is released into the bloodstream and transported to other cells to be 'burned' as fuel. In other words, CLA blocks fat uptake and speeds up fat burning.

In humans, 3.000 mg CLA taken daily for at least three months has been shown to bring about an average 20 percent reduction in body fat. And in studies concentrating on weight trainers, researchers at Kent State University in Ohio also showed that supplementing with CLA increased arm girth, boosted lean muscle mass, and enhanced muscle strength.

Scientists today believe that Americans are getting much less CLA in their diets than they did 30 years ago. Recent research suggests the average intake of CLA among Americans is between 15 mg and 175 mg daily-far below the 3,000 mg a day scientists say is needed to experience optimal fat-fighting and muscle-building effects. According to researchers, this drop off in CLA consumption is due to two factors. First, we have substantially reduced our consumption of beef and cattle dairy products to avoid cholesterol. Second. beef and dairy cattle content of CLA has been reduced by 65% due to changes in cattle food. Some researchers believe the reduction in CLA intake in the typical American diet is a contributing factor to the steady rise of obesity in the U.S.

The problem with trying to consume the optimal level of CLA from whole foods alone (as with creatine, HMB, and a number of other nutrients) is that it's impractical, if not impossible, to get enough of the micronutrient through regular foods to experience a positive effect. That's why researchers such as University of Chicago professor Delbert R, Dorscheid, M.D., Ph.D., say supplementation may be important.

Dr. Dorscheid, who recently completed a scientific review of more than 200 published research and clinical studies on CLA's health benefits, calls CLA, a significant health promoter. As such, he says, 'CLA may be an important and necessary dietary supplement for humans!

The bottom line? Supplementing with CLA (three grams a day is the amount most researchers recommend) may enhance fat loss and increase lean body mass-provided you're also following an integrated exercise and nutrition program.