An uncomplicated change in how rice is cooked could reduce its calories by up to 60 percent. The technique converts the “normal” starch in rice into more a indigestible form, thus reducing the quantity of calories the body is obligated to absorb.

The simple technique starts with boiling rice with a small amount of coconut oil. It is then cooled for several hours and then briefly microwaved.

Because the shape of starch molecules is similar to doughnuts, the oil added while cooking permeates into the holes, blocking digestive enzymes. Next, once rice is cooled, its molecules tend to pack more tightly together, further increasing their resistance to digestion.

James gushed about the possibilities, predicting the technique could be used commercially as a relatively low-cost way to fight diabetes and obesity. “This could be a massive breakthrough,” he said, reiterating that rice calories could be reduced 50 to 60 percent.

But Thavarajva was clear that the cooking technique is not effective with all varieties of rice even as he admitted that exactly why it works with some types of rice but not others is not fully understood. If the experiment is to be effectively translated into the real world, he said, more research is needed.

Although it is now understood that the level of resistant starch can be increased and the amount of calories reduced, what still needs to be examined is how the starch is used by bacteria in the gut. Thavarajva points to similar efforts at Harvard University on potatoes, as well as studies involving legumes and cereals at universities in India. The real question, he proposed, was whether similar conversions could be done with other starches, such as those in bread.