A new study shows that the body fat may be kept away by just consuming coconut rich diet. It also suggests that including coconut in the diet protects against insulin resistance.

The study also reveals how people consuming a coconut rich diet can help loose body fat. It works because coconut oil has medium chain fatty acids in it which works towards reducing the fat.

Type 2 diabetes is mainly caused due to insulin resistance and obesity. Therefore coconut can reduce one’s chances of being insulin resistant.

Researchers, Nigel Turner and Jiming Ye from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research did a comparative study of fat metabolism and insulin resistance in mice that were fed coconut oil and lard based diets.

Study leader Turner said, “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.”

He further added: “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.”