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According to a new study, diets which are rich in coconut can help to keep fat away. This study has also revealed the way people who use coconut oil, which contains medium chain fatty acids, lose their excess fat. It is a known fact that Type 2 Diabetes is triggered by obesity as well as insulin resistance.
The mice, which were fed coconut oil and lard based diets, were observed to compare the metabolism of fat and insulin resistance. The study was conducted by Nigel Turner and Jiming Ye from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
"The medium chain fatty acids like those found in coconut oil are interesting to us because they behave very differently to the fats normally found in our diets," said study leader Turner.
"Unlike the long chain fatty acids contained in animal fats, medium chain fatty acids are small enough to enter mitochondria - the cells' energy burning powerhouses - directly where they can then be converted to energy."
"Unfortunately the downside to eating medium chain fatty acids is that they can lead to fat build up in the liver, an important fact to be taken into consideration by anyone considering using them as a weight loss therapy."
The amount of fat stored in body is calculated as the balance between amount of fat absorbed by cells and the amount of fat which is burned for energy.
"Obese humans usually eat 40-50 percent of their calories as fat. Our mice were fed 45 percent of their calories as fat," Turner said.
