If you’re struggling to lose weight, could chilling your carbs help?

By J.M. HIRSCH

Online influencers claim the secret to low-calorie rice, pasta and potatoes may be as simple as chilling out.

Are they right? Not quite. But a small yet solid body of science does suggest that chilling these carbohydrate-rich foods after cooking them still could help people slim down.

For several years, wellness and nutrition influencers have promoted a process called retrogradation, urging people to cook, chill, then reheat carbohydrate-rich foods. They say doing so can cut the calories.