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Fitness & Health

16th Sep 2016

US fitness experts claim tequila is the healthiest alcohol you can buy

Drink the right kind and you can even avoid a hangover...

Ben Kenyon

If you’re trying to eat clean, train hard and be healthy, we’re not going to lie – it’s probably best you’re not out smashing the booze every night.

We’re not going to pontificate on why you shouldn’t…although we explain the science of why binge drinking can ruin your gains here.

But a little drink every now and again won’t hurt, right? RIGHT?

If you’re going to have a session with your mates there are definitely some drinks that aren’t great for your health – the ones packed with sugar, additives and chemicals won’t make any ‘healthy Top 10’ list. And just check out the calories in some of your favourite drinks here.

But equally, there are some tipples out there that won’t dent your gains quite as badly – resveratrol-rich red wine, and also gin and vodka being three of them (so long as you’re not mixing them with energy drinks or sugary pop).

However, American wellness figures are extolling the virtues of one particular alcoholic drink above them all… and they reckon it could actually be healthy for you.

You might be surprised to hear that it’s actually tequila that they’re all raving about.

It’s gluten free, it’s low calorie, low sugar and suitable for vegans – but the most interesting claim of all is that it won’t give you a hangover.

But you can’t just be downing any old tequila – it’s a very specific type that imparts these brilliant benefits. You need to be looking for blanco tequila.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BI0yRYtg5Ep/?tagged=blancotequila

It’s the purest form of the Mexican spirit you can get and crucially it’s made from 100 per cent agave.

Other tequilas and most other spirits are often full of sugars and other chemicals – particularly something called ‘congeners’ which are produced in the fermentation and ageing process which make your hangovers worse.

That’s why spirits aged in barrels like whisky or brandy can make you feel like absolute shit the morning after, as congeners can increase hangover severity, according to this study.

But blanco tequilas, which are produced from blue agave rather than corn syrup or sugar, contain far less congeners than any other spirit or red wine.

“José Cuervo — what most Americans think of as tequila — is 42 percent corn syrup, which gives you a horrible hangover,” Gracias Madre beverage director Jason Eisner claims in The Cut.

“We have a lot of trainers and fitness gurus who come in and drink every day — and the way they’re able to do that is to stick to pure agave spirits.

“As long as you stay hydrated and don’t drink, like, a whole bottle, you’re fine. Not hungover.”

We’re not surprised one bit. Our low-calorie drink of choice is the 65-cal ‘Paleo Magarita’. Here’s how to make one.

https://www.instagram.com/p/8YiFdIQwfB/?tagged=blancotequila

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