Scientists have discovered a new type of fat that could help regulate blood sugar and insulin development. Added to the list of “good” fats, this newly discovered lipid might also be useful in treating inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

The study’s lead author, Barbara Kahn, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said that the fatty acids are store in fat cells and other kinds of cells in the human body. Known as FAHFA, the lipids help the cells release insulin which in turn regulates blood sugar. It can also make sure that the insulin is more efficiently used by the body.

Insulin is crucial to maintaining a healthy blood sugar level and insulin resistance (or the tendency of the body to not use its insulin) often leads to Type II diabetes. This disease affects nearly 350 million people globally and is developing at increasingly younger ages in many people.

The pressure to treat the disease is enormous since these younger aged diagnoses mean that complications like kidney failure and blindness which used to only occur late in life are starting to occur in midlife.

A potential solution to this problem came when Kahn and her team began giving obese mice a solution of FAHFA. Insulin resistant mice experienced drastic drops in their blood sugar levels within a half hour of receiving the solution. Consistent high levels of the lipid meant that the mice were able to maintain normal blood sugar levels on their own.

Much more work must be done before the fat can be used as part of treatment. Kahn intends to begin human trials in the upcoming years. Preliminary testing has already revealed a strong correlation between FAHFA levels in the blood and insulin resistance in humans. Those with insulin resistance were found to have as much as 75 percent less of FAHFA in their samples than those with normal levels of insulin sensitivity.