A study carried out in the Netherlands suggests that eating a handful of nuts each day can substantially lower the risk of premature death. During a ten-year study, researchers at Maastricht University found that people eating at least 10g of nuts or peanuts (peanuts are actually legumes, not nuts) had a remarkable 23% lower incidence of early death. The figures related to mortality risk from cancer, diabetes, respiratory and neuro-degenerative diseases. The bad news for lovers of peanut butter however, is that – being high in salt and trans fats – it did not show any of these benefits.