Tequila could help with weight-loss

While not normally considered part of a healthy diet, scientists have discovered that the sugars found in Tequila may beneficial to weight-loss and treating diabetes.

An agave plant (photo: db)

Sugars called agavins, derived from the agave plant used to make the Mexican spirit, could lower blood glucose levels for type 2 diabetes sufferers and help obese people shed weight.

In research presented to the American Chemical Society, a team of biochemical scientists from Guanajuato, Mexico fed a group of mice a standard diet and added agavins to their daily water. The team weighed the mice daily and checked their glucose blood levels weekly.

Most mice that drank agavins ate less, lost weight and their blood glucose levels decreased when compared to other sweeteners such glucose, fructose, sucrose, agave syrup and aspartame, they said.

Mercedes López, who led the research, said, “Agavins are not expensive and they have no known side effects, except for those few people who cannot tolerate them.” In addition, agavins, which are made of the sugar fructose, are the best sugars to help support growth of healthful microbes in the mouth and intestines, she said.

“This puts agavins in a tremendous position for their consumption by obese and diabetic people,” the authors of the report wrote.

However, there is debate about the amount of agavins that make its through the distillation process to finish up in a bottle of Tequila, with López saying that most of the sugars are converted into ethanol.