100 per cent proof: Tequila could help you lose weight

Slamming tequila shots could help you shed some of the Christmas timber, according to new research.

Famously renowned for tasting like hell, researchers, unsurprisingly from Mexico, say it can make you feel fuller for longer.

The sugars, called agavins, contained in the rancid booze help trigger the production of insulin, which regulates your body’s sugar level.

Researcher Mercedes López said: “We believe that agavins have a great potential as light sweeteners since they are sugars, highly soluble, have a low glycemic index, and a neutral taste, but most important, they are not metabolized by humans.”

She added: “This puts agavins in a tremendous position for their consumption by obese and diabetic people.”

Tests show the sugars from the cactus-like agave plant raise levels of a gut hormone, telling the brain it is time to stop eating.

Take all this evidence with a pinch of salt.