This article has been Fact-Checked by Kendall Kennedy MS, RD, RYT
You might have read a sensational headline or heard from a friend that tequila supposedly helps you lose weight. Is this really the case?
Tequila is a popular alcoholic drink. This drink is made by distilling blue agave plants that have gone through alcoholic fermentation.
Many people claim that tequila has health and weight loss benefits. While tequila might be one of the healthier alcoholic drinks, it’s not something you should aim to drink more of if you want to lose weight and be healthier.
Where does this tequila weight loss claim come from?
The fact that so many headlines have been written about this gives the feeling that this weight loss claim about tequila must come from somewhere.
Unfortunately for tequila lovers, this claim results from some really backward thought processes. This myth that tequila helps you lose weight mainly comes from one study.
The study in question, examined the effect of agavins on mice. Agavins are sugars found in the ageve plant that tequila is made of.
They found that the mice that consumed these agavins ate less, lost more weight, and had decreased glucose levels compared to mice that were fed other sweeteners such glucose, fructose, sucrose, agave syrup, and aspartame (1).
However, because of the preparation process of tequila, no agavins are found in the finished tequila. That means there are no weight loss benefits left. In fact because of the other substances in tequila this drink can only make you gain weight.
Tequila nutrition facts
Tequila contains other substances that will decrease your weight loss results. Here are some nutrition facts about tequila.
100 grams of tequila contains about 231 calories (2). This is not the usual quantity people drink tequila.
One shot of tequila (1.5 fluid ounce / 44 ml) contains about 97 calories.
Tequila usually has an alcohol percentage between 35-55%. The human body is then able to convert this alcohol into usable energy, measured in calories.
Since tequila has no benefits for weight loss this drink adds calories to your diet and the alcohol in it damages your body and can mess with your sleep. Sleep is important for weight loss so this is something you want to avoid.
Can you drink tequila while trying to lose weight?
Like with almost everything you can drink some tequila and still lose weight but the tequila will slow down your results.
If you do decide to drink tequila while trying to lose weight you should avoid any cocktails that add a lot of sugar and sweeteners to the drink. Fruit juices and sodas will make your drink even worse for weight loss.
The case of tequila is similar to red wine but with even less sensible reasoning. There are no benefits of tequila for weight loss, on the contrary. This drink only helps you gain weight.
Tequila adds calories to your diet and harms your health.
