What are tequila side effects and benefits? Is tequila low fodmap? Is tequila vegan? Gluten free? Acidic or alkaline? Bad for you? Healthy? Sustainable? Here are tequila pros and cons: all the info on tequila that every ethical consumer wants to know…
Food is something we consume every day and if you’re like me, you do all the research you can to make sure you don’t hurt yourself, the planet, animals or others when shopping. As an ethical consumer myself, I am giving you all the info I’ve found on tequila side effects.
This will include tequila benefits for your health and potential risks, tequila water footprint and tequila carbon footprint, tequila sustainability, if tequila is vegan or impact animals in other ways, and much more.
After learning if tequila is good or bad for you, the environment, animals and human rights, you will be prepared to make the best choices you can the next time you buy food.
This post is all about tequila benefits and side effects that every ethical consumer should know.
Tequila Benefits And Side Effects
Health
Tequila side effects for health may include:
- risk of addiction
- alcohol dependency
- dehydration
- depression
- disrupted sleep patterns
- impaired brain function
- risk of cancers
- deadly accidents
- dementia
- early death
- high blood pressure
- liver damage and liver disease
- dry skin
- weight gain
Tequila benefits may include:
- reduced anxiety (temporarily)
Additionally, tequila is…
- Acidic 4.5 pH level after digestion
- Gluten Free when distilled and Not Gluten Free when non-distilled
- Not a Common Food Allergen
- Low Fodmap
Environment
Water footprint: likely low
Carbon footprint low, it takes around 3.3-3.5 kg CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of alcoholic beverages, a car driving equivalent of 8.75 miles or 14 kilometers
Destruction: High. Tequila production is relatively unsustainable. Alcohol production negatively impacts the planet with the process of growing the ingredients necessary to produce alcohol: grains, potatoes, rice, botanicals, sugar cane, and agave -all significant ingredients in the alcohol industry. Such ingredients require a significant amount of fertilizers, land and use of machinery to produce beverages that aren’t necessary for human survival. Resources in alcohol production could be diverted to providing food and beverage aid for those in need.
Animals
Kills: none, tequila production does not require any animals to be killed
Harms: none, tequila production does not require any animals to be used
Indirectly kills or harms: unknown
Laborers
Is tequila alkaline or acidic?
Tequila is acidic.
What is the pH level of tequila?
Tequila has a 4.5 pH level, once digested. Hard liquor is an acidic food group.
When you eat food, it breaks down to an ash residue that can be neutral, acidic or alkaline. Minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, silver, copper and iron produce an alkaline ash; whereas sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine and iodine, which are found in meat, coffee, dairy and alcohol, leave an acid ash.
Going alkaline easier than ever with this: Acidic and Alkaline Foods List
Is tequila gluten free?
Tequila and other hard liquors are gluten free when distilled and not gluten free when non-distilled.
While celiac disease may not be as rampant as many marketing trends lead us to believe, you may have a gluten sensitivity…
Celiac and gluten sensitivity symptoms are similar and may include:
- recurring abdominal pain
- chronic diarrhea
- constipation
- tingling
- numbness in hands and feet
- chronic fatigue
- joint pain
- unexplained infertility
- low bone density (osteopenia or osteoporosis)
There are hundreds of potential symptoms, many of which are also symptoms of other conditions.
Going gluten free easier than ever with this: Gluten and Gluten Free Foods List
Is tequila a common food allergen?
No, tequila is not a common food allergen. Some people may experience allergic reactions to tequila but it is relatively rare by comparison.
A group of the eight major allergenic foods, AKA the Big-8, include:
Severe food allergies can be life threatening. Following ingestion of a food allergen, a person with food allergies can experience a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.
Persons may still be allergic to and have serious reactions to foods other than the eight foods identified by the law.
Be aware of common dietary restrictions and food allergens with this: The Big 8 Most Common Food Allergens List
Is tequila low fodmap?
Yes, tequila is low fodmap, and does not interfere with a low fodmap diet.
A low FODMAP diet may help those with bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).
It’s all about knowing your body. Observe what works and what doesn’t. You body might even react negatively to a low-FODMAP food simply due to intolerance. Everyone is different! Be mindful and patient. Take time to get to know what’s best for your physical health and overall wellbeing.
Water footprint of tequila?
Tequila likely has a low water footprint compared to other foods.
Did you know that water is a finite, non-renewable resource? Once it’s gone, it’s gone!
How much water does it take to produce an apple? A serving of rice? A steak dinner?
We need to be aware of something referred to as a “water footprint”. That is, the amount of fresh water utilized in the production or supply of goods we consume. As it turns out it takes significantly more water to yield foods that come from animals than foods that come from plants. Imagine how much water a cow needs to consume to generate a piece of beef. Not only how much water a single cow drinks, rather all the water that went into producing the crops that the cow ate.
Find out how much water your food consumes with this: Water Footprints of Foods and Ingredients List
Carbon footprint of tequila?
Tequila has a low carbon footprint compared to other foods and beverages.
It takes around 3.3-3.5 kg CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of alcoholic beverages, a car driving equivalent of 8.75 miles or 14 kilometers.
When calculating product emissions, some factors that may be included are… farm equipment, animal feed production, hothouses (greenhouses), food processing, packaging, transport, refrigeration, freezing, package waste, and more.
But that’s not all!
It’s best to keep the following in mind when grocery shopping:
- shopping locally reduces transportation emissions
- food without packaging reduces waste as well as the carbon footprint
- refrigerated and frozen foods increase carbon emissions
- seasonal foods reduce carbon emissions from hothouses (greenhouses)
- growing plant-based foods at home is the most environmentally sustainable method with zero carbon footprint
Find out how much carbon your food emits with this: Carbon Footprints of Foods and Ingredients List
Is tequila sustainable?
No, tequila production is relatively unsustainable. Alcohol production negatively impacts the planet with the process of growing the ingredients necessary to produce alcohol: grains, potatoes, rice, botanicals, sugar cane, and agave -all significant ingredients in the alcohol industry.
Such ingredients require a significant amount of fertilizers, land and use of machinery to produce beverages that aren’t necessary for human survival. Resources in alcohol production could be diverted to providing food and beverage aid for those in need.
A 2018 Oxford University study – which is the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet – found that ‘avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on Earth’ as animal farming provides just 18% of calories but takes up 83% of our farmland.
Consuming animal products and byproducts is not environmentally friendly and is one of the worst things for the Earth. Not only is meat production wasteful, it causes enormous amounts of pollution. The industry is one of the biggest causes of climate change.
Is tequila vegan?
Yes, tequila is vegan. Tequila is made from blue agave and no animal products or byproducts, therefore making it a vegan food.
However, avoid alcohol with honey flavoring because it is not vegan.
Animals of factory farms and the livestock industry are suffering. They live in horrific conditions that often include confinement, physical abuse and unnatural environments…so much so that they need to receive antibiotics to keep from getting ill or spreading disease. They’re also injected with growth hormones to become fatter faster and live short lives, being slaughtered as soon as they finish growing and are killed prematurely, well before their natural lifespan.
Because we cannot see for ourselves how these animals live and what they endure does not mean it isn’t happening. The meat, poultry and dairy industries do everything they can to distance us from knowing how our food comes to be in order to keep us in the dark about what we support each time we buy animal derived products and byproducts.
Go vegan for animals!
It’s the best way to help animals and it’s not as difficult as you may think. Speak for animals with your actions, for they cannot speak at all.
Going vegan is easier than ever, at a glance with this: Vegan and Non Vegan Foods List
Does tequila have human rights issues?
At this time, there are no specific reports of worker mistreatment regarding tequila production or blue agave farming but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
Did you know the single largest employer in the world is agriculture? The labor involved behind each and every product cannot go unrecognized.
Some known problems include workplace health and safety, child labor, gender inequality, inadequate pay, wage theft and exploitation. Workers can even be subjected to harassment, humiliation and violence and unfair employers often fail to provide laborers with access to shade, drinking water, restrooms and breaks. Consequently, laborers can face nausea, dizziness, heat exhaustion, dehydration and heat stroke -the leading cause of farmworker death!
Such mistreatment has been likened to modern day slavery. Workers are often afraid to report issues because they fear it will result in losing their jobs or deportation.
Fair trade organizations fight to ensure better social, environmental and economic standards.
We can improve people’s lives with foods we eat every day simply by buying products that are certified fair trade.
This post was all about tequila side effects and benefits.
Sources:
GAIN Report – USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
