Tequila is good for a lot of things—like getting totally blitzed and inducing deathly hangovers. But while tequila is essentially fun, tasty poison, the plant that it’s made from could have some surprising health benefits.

According to Science Daily, a researcher from Mexico says that the blue variety of the agave plant used to make tequila could actually strengthen bones and fight osteoporosis.

Mercedes López, a scientist at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute in central Mexico, says that her research has shown that substances inAgave tequiliana, or blue agave, can improve the absorption of calcium and magnesium—minerals vital for bone health. López induced osteoporosis in mice by removing their ovaries, then fed them fructose molecules from blue agave. Eight weeks later, mice who ate agave had nearly 50 percent more osteocalcin—a protein that signals the production of new bone—even though they had osteoporosis. Their bones were also greater in diameter than bones of mice with osteoporosis who didn’t eat agave.