Some noteworthy research on supplements

Calcium, Vitamin D, and weight loss

During the last few years, there have been numerous studies linking supplementation of calcium with increased weight loss in those who had calcium-deficient diets. This article from Medical News Today about a study posted in British Medical Nutrition describes one example.

I know that it is hard to get enough calcium if one is trying to lose weight with less than 1500 calories per day. It would seem necessary for weight loss success to take a daily calcium supplement.

Also, another recent study "suggests that both higher dairy calcium intake and increased serum vitamin D are related to greater diet-induced weight loss" -- this study abstract, found at right, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Selenium

Research regarding the relationship between selenium and iodine and their respective role in thyroid function is out there, but I have to say that I am confused as to the conclusions that are drawn and I have read that iodine supplementation can be dangerous. Therefore, I think that I will pass on selenium supplementation for the time being unless I find a physician who recommends such supplementation. This one seems controversial to me.

Conjugated Linolineic Acid (CLA)

A 2010 article in Journal of Obesity (see article at right) reviews literature regarding the use of CLA, among other dietary supplements, and concludes that "CLA, ... (and three other supplements) ... appeared to be effective in weight loss via fat modifying mechanisms." However, as you can read in the abstract, "the data on the use of these products is limited."
And this interesting conclusion from the Journal of Nutrition (2000): "The data suggest that conjugated linoleic acid may reduce BFM in humans and that no additional effect on BFM is achieved with doses > 3.4 g CLA/d."

I have noted that most of the studies that find either significant improvement in weight loss with CLA or no significant effect with CLA are all fairly short-term studies. The fact that an average weight loss with a product may be only a few pounds more than a placebo group may only be due to the short time frame of the study.

There are certainly encouraging results with this, but there are also articles that indicate that liver damage in mice/rats has occurred with CLA. One should be aware of this potential side effect if one decides to try the supplement.