Grapefruit never sounded so sweet: A natural chemical in the fruit might help your body break down fat and reduce cholesterol.

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem studied naringenin—a flavonoid found in grapefruit. After a fatty, sugary meal, researchers gave one group of rats pure naringenin and another group naringenin plus a starch, which helps its absorption. Three and a half hours after the meal, levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol were 42 percent lower and insulin sensitivity was 64 percent higher in the rats that had the starchy supplement vs. the other group.

“The supplement increases the activity of a protein that controls hundreds of enzymes in the liver,” says lead author Yaakov Nahmias, Ph.D., head of the bioengineering program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. These enzymes break down some fatty acids from the food and some of your own stored fat, which could help fight obesity.

Drugs that boost this protein have also been shown to make the body more resistant to insulin, which may help treat diabetes. It also interferes with the body’s signals to produce LDL cholesterol, but doesn’t affect your healthy cholesterol.

People would need to take the supplement before every meal to see long-term benefits, the researchers speculate.

Researchers expect the supplement to hit shelves in 3 to 4 years. In the meantime, don’t waste your time on naringenin supplements or grapefruit. “Since it’s difficult to absorb, you’d need to eat 40 grapefruit a day to see an effect,” says Nahmias.

Tempted by the thought of a natural fat-burning pill? Try green tea. In a Japanese study, those who had 690 mg of green tea catechins everyday for 12 weeks decreased their body fat by 2 percent more than those who didn’t, possibly because the catechins increased their metabolism. We recommend up to 800 mg a day.