How to live longer: Spreading THIS on your morning toast could be the key to longevity

If you want to live a long, healthy life, eating almond butter might just be the key.

Good-quality almond butter is produced out of ground-down almonds, meaning that none of the nutritional benefits of the popular nut are lost.

That includes essential nutrients such as magnesium, iron, potassium and zinc.

Additionally, almonds – and incidentally almond butter – have been shown by studies to lower your cholesterol.

“We and others have shown that nuts tend to lower serum cholesterol,” said Dr David Jenkins, professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, to TIME.

“The more you eat, the lower your cholesterol.”

Lower cholesterol means reduced risk of heart disease and stroke.

Additionally, a couple of handfuls worth of almonds could also help control diabetes.

Almond butter is also a good source of fibre, which many people can struggle to get enough of.

A serving can provide 3.3g – or 13 per cent of the amount recommended by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.

Lacking fibre could potentially lead to bowel cancer and heart disease.

Eating it on whole grain toast is any easy way to increase fibre intake further.

Another benefit of almond butter to your health is weight loss.

While calorie-dense, two tablespoons provides 7g of protein and 18g of fat.

If consumed at breakfast the high amounts of protein and fat will keep you satisfied and less likely to overeat throughout the rest of the day.

However, beware salt, sugar and other oils that could be added to the nut butter.