A "binge-eating disorder" and subsequent lead poisoning contributed to the death of the Baroque composer George Frederic Handel, according to a music academic.

But more than two decades of ill health ironically helped Handel produce some of the best music of his life, Dr David Hunter of the University of Texas at Austin has claimed.

He has published his theory in a catalogue for a new exhibition called Handel Reveal'd at the Handel House Museum in London, which opens next week to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer's death.