Your body has a burning desire for extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) and other oils — such as canola and sunflower — that contain a lot of monounsaturated oleic fatty acids. (Salmon, avocados, and nuts also deliver a good dose).

That's the conclusion of a new study that looked at which fats your body chooses to burn for energy, and which get stored as fat deposits.

Published in the journal BBA Advances, the study explains that monounsaturated fats take less oxygen to burn and produce the most energy to fuel your body's metabolic needs.

And it appears that your body is able to sense that it will take less oxygen for your cells to turn those monounsaturated fats into fuel, so it instructs your cells burn those fats first.

In contrast, saturated fats’ atoms are much harder to pry apart, and your body uses up a lot more oxygen when it tries to turn them into fuel.

As a result, your body doesn't burn them unless absolutely necessary. Instead, it stores them as adipose (fat) tissue, where they fuel heart- and brain-damaging inflammation.

To help your body shed excess fat stores — especially around your belly — make sure your diet provides a good supply of monounsaturated fats that efficiently fuel all your body systems. And avoid foods such as red and processed meats, full-fat dairy, highly processed foods, and palm oil that are packed with saturated fats.

For more info on smart nutrition and recipes, check out my books "What to Eat When" and "The What to Eat When Cookbook."