Adding coconut oil and using a fridge can cut the calories of rice by more than half

Adding fat to rice and then letting it cool can cut the calorific content of a portion by more than half, new research shows.

According to Time magazine, the College of Chemical Sciences in Sri Lanka has found that using just a teaspoon of coconut oil and a refrigerator can cut calories by up to 60 per cent.

Rice has two types of starch - digestible and resistant - the latter of which cannot be properly digested by the stomach and is therefore not broken down into sugar and absorbed into the bloodstream like digestible starch.

However, by testing out 38 different types of rice, researchers discovered they could make some of that digestible starch more resistant and therefore make it less calorific.

Unfortunately for those of you trying to watch your weight, their method is rather time consuming.

The researchers found that the most effective way of reducing calories was to drop a teaspoon of coconut oil into a pan of boiling water, add half a cup of non-fortified white rice for 40 minutes and then to refrigerate it for 12 hours. This increased the levels of resistant starch ten-fold.

The fat molecules were said to wedge their way between the starch molecules and act as an extra layer of protection against quick digestion.

More: You've been peeling oranges wrong this whole time