Easy as 1-2-3: Simple Steps to Cut Rice Calories

Researchers have discovered a way to reduce the calorie count in rice, a notorious carb-heavy staple across the globe. All it takes is adding a little fat in the form of coconut oil. Who knew?!

The experiment was conducted on a “less-healthful” variety of rice, and the calorie count was reduced by 10 – 12%. Researchers are hoping that when the process is applied to more healthful varieties, the calorie count could be reduced by as much as 60%.

Scientists from the College of Chemical Sciences in Sri Lanka recently presented their findings, explaining the few extra steps to reduce the calorie count absorbed into the body, unlike digestible carbs, which eventually turn into fat.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Add one teaspoon of coconut oil to a half cup of white rice, then cook the rice for about 40 minutes.

2. After cooking, cool in the refrigerator for 12 hours. During the cooling process, the molecular make up of the rice will change, creating more “non-digestible” carbs.

3. Reheat and serve, or enjoy it cold! Interestingly, the new molecular make-up will not revert back even if reheated.

While it may seem like a great trick to use at home, the process could have a much greater effect worldwide, combatting rising obesity rates and type 2 diabetes in a low-cost way.

The researchers didn’t go into other details, such as whether the process affects the nutritional content of rice (mainly magnesium and potassium), or if the taste or texture changed. However, the initial results have encouraged the researchers to forge ahead with more experiments, using not only different rice varieties, but different oils. Eventually, it could be possible to replicate the process on other low cost, high-calorie foods. Lastly, the non-digestible rice will feed the good bacteria in the gut, essentially acting like a probiotic. Down the road, this method could be applied to other foods like bread. That will be a very good day.

Read up on the study here.