New weapon against hunger

TikTok's viral 3-ingredient 'Brazilian Mounjaro' drink is popular for a reason: It tames cravings and can help you melt excess fat. Exhibit A: Deidra Smith lost 103 pounds fast!

- KRISTINA MASTROCOLA

When you think of Brazil, vibrant images of Carnival might dance in your head—or maybe even images of Pelé dancing with a soccer ball. But Brazilian Mounjaro? Made with apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and ginger, the country's latest cultural export is a DIY drink going viral on TikTok for its purported ability to help women shed unwanted pounds. No wonder variations of the slimming recipe are popular on the internet. Here, experts weigh in on the “it” drink and offer a few metabolism-boosting tweaks.

Taking its name from the weight-loss drug Mounjaro, this mocktail claims big benefits right out of the gate. While its moniker is a bit of an overstatement, the much buzzed-about Brazilian beverage does have slimming effects. That's in large part thanks to its star ingredient: apple cider vinegar.

“TikTok talks a lot about apple cider vinegar [ACV], and it has medical support behind it,” confirms Cornell-trained nutrition expert Amy Shah, M.D. “I recommend adding it to a salad dressing at the beginning of your meal or drinking it diluted in a cup of water—you don’t want to drink it by itself, because it can be harsh on your teeth and throat.”

Indeed, consuming 1 Tbs. of vinegar daily is shown to curb cravings and improve satiety by 144%. Plus, the liquid's acetic acid slows the rate at which digestive enzymes break starches into glucose, flattening fat-storing insulin spikes by up to 20%. One study even found that people consuming apple cider vinegar lost 3,539% more subcutaneous body fat than those who skipped the sip.