Your trusted source

Scientists say they have found a way to make rice less calorific - boil it with coconut oil and then refrigerate for half a day before eating, the BBC reports.

According to the Sri Lankan researchers, treating rice in this way reduces its calories by up to 60%.

They told the American Chemical Society how the method made the starch in the rice less digestible so the body took on less fuel than it otherwise would.

UK nutrition experts cautioned there was no quick fix to losing weight.

Starchy foods such as rice, which are known as carbohydrates, are a good source of energy.

When we eat them, our body breaks them down into simple sugars.

Any that is leftover will be stored by the body and quickly converted to glucose as needed.

But too much glucose circulating in the blood can ultimately end up being stored as fat.

Scientists have been experimenting to see if they can alter foods to trick the body into absorbing less fuel to keep blood sugar, and calories consumed, lower.

UK researchers have already shown that cooking and then cooling pasta will create a smaller glucose peak - even if you then reheat the cold pasta.

And investigators from Sri Lanka say the same is true for rice.

They tested 38 varieties of rice to find the best way to boost something called "resistant starch."

This type of starch is more resilient to the enzymes the body uses to break down carbohydrates in the gut, meaning less of it is absorbed.

And, according to the researchers the best way to make it is to simmer the rice for 40 minutes with a teaspoon of coconut oil, then let it cool and keep it refrigerated for 12 hours.