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If you want to slim down, nutritionists and fitness experts will tell you to cut down on alcohol. It’s highly calorific and fattening.

But many of us are both health-conscious and like a drink, and the classic vodka-lime-soda is just, well, a bit boring.

Good news, then, that a study has found a link between tequila and weight loss.

According to research presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, everyone’s favourite party spirit can help lower your blood sugar too.

Specifically, it’s the sugars that naturally occur in the agave plant from which tequila is made.

These sugars are called agavins - which is not the same as agave syrup - and are non-digestible which means they act as a dietary fibre and won’t raise your blood sugar.

“Agavins are not expensive and they have no known side effects, except for those few people who cannot tolerate them,” said Dr Mercedes G. López.

She added that agavins, like other fructans, are the best sugars to help support growth of healthful microbes in the mouth and intestines.

What’s more, agavins can help people feel fuller and thus eat less.

Dr López explained that agavins are better than artificial sweeteners which are absorbed by the body and can cause side effects, like headaches.

However agavins don’t taste as sweet as their artificial counterparts.

To reach their conclusions, the researchers fed a group of mice a standard diet but added agavins to their water.

They found that the mice who were given agavins ate less, lost weight and their blood glucose levels decreased in comparison with other sweeteners such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, agave syrup and aspartame.

Whilst this probably shouldn’t be taken as the go-ahead to down tequila shots in an effort to lose weight, it might just be worth considering when choosing a drink next time you hit the bar.

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