Cold Carbs Cut Calories?

A research suggests that refrigerating rice for half a day reduces the calories by up to 60 percent

17:22 26 March 2015

Sri Lankan researchers said that boiling rice with coconut oil and then refrigerating it for half a day reduces its calories by up to 60per cent. 

 

 

They explained that this method make the starch in the rice less digestible so the body takes on less fuel than it otherwise would.  

 

Researcher Sudhair James said: "The cooling is essential because amylose, the soluble part of the starch, leaves the granules during gelatinisation.

 

"Cooling for 12 hours will lead to formation of hydrogen bonds between the amylose molecules outside the rice grains which also turns it into a resistant starch."

He added that reheating the rice would be fine as this would not affect the resistant starch level. 

 

British Dietetic Association spokesperson, Priya Tew, said: "This sounds like it has great potential, however there are no human studies on it yet. 

 

 

It is fantastic that research is being done into different cooking methods.

 

"I would recommend people stick to cooking rice using their normal method until there is more information available."

 

Dr Denise Robertson, a nutrition expert at the University of Surrey, said: "Seeing the results of the volunteer tests on blood glucose that are currently underway will be vital in understanding the true potential of this research and whether this can be extrapolated to carbohydrates in the Western Diet."