Walnut consumption may have a protective effect against academic stress in college students

Being a college student is a particularly stressful time in your life. In fact, 8 in 10 of her college students report feeling stressed frequently, and 61% of his college students seek counseling for anxiety, depression, and other needs.

New research published in nutrients Researchers at the University of South Australia found that undergraduate college students eating 2 ounces of walnuts a day for 16 weeks improved self-reported mental health measures and protected against some of the negative effects of academic stress. I have found that self-improvement is encouraged. reported long-term sleep quality.

“It has long been known that walnuts are a health-promoting food, but thanks to the design and duration of this study, the findings show how simple foods like walnuts can help fight stress. It really shows how it works,” explains Mauritz F. Herselman. , a doctoral student who undertook this research.

In this randomized clinical trial, co-funded by the University of South Australia and the California Walnut Commission, a group of participants who ate walnuts also experienced an increase in metabolic markers associated with protection against stress.

Furthermore, in women only, eating walnuts may have counteracted the negative effects of academic stress on gut bacterial diversity.

“College students are a unique group of people who transition into adulthood while completing a difficult and stressful college degree. It can have an impact on health and overall well-being,” said Dr Larisa Bobrovskaya, associate professor of clinical and health sciences at the University of South Australia and lead investigator of the study.

“Therefore, managing academic stress is important and students can adopt a variety of strategies to help them navigate college life. Dietary interventions can improve brain health in students. It’s one strategy that can be done, but is often ignored by students,” she adds.

research summary

College students between the ages of 18 and 35 were randomly selected to be in either the treatment or control group for 16 weeks of the study.

The treatment group was provided with pre-portioned walnuts and asked to consume one serving (approximately 56 grams) per day. A control group was asked to refrain from eating nuts of any kind and fatty fish for the same period of time.

Participants provided blood and saliva samples and completed a series of self-report questionnaires on mental health, mood, general health, and sleep habits three times during the study. A subgroup of participants also provided a stool sample at each clinical visit. A total of 60 participants (30 in each group) completed the study.

Promising results for walnuts

The walnut-eating group appeared to experience a protective effect against some of the negative mental health effects of academic stress compared to the control group.

Table 1. Effects of walnut consumption on mental health and general health status in college students.

Emerging but consistent evidence from observational and clinical studies suggests that eating walnuts is associated with:

• Declining prevalence and frequency of depressive symptoms in US adults
• Improvement in mood in otherwise healthy young adults and
• With mental health as an area of ​​healthy aging, you are more likely to achieve overall health in old age

In fact, walnuts have a unique matrix of bioactive nutrients and phytochemicals that may underlie the beneficial effects on mental health seen in these studies.

“Although more supporting research is needed, walnut consumption as part of a healthy dietary pattern could potentially have a positive impact on cognition and mental health due to its high omega-3 ALA content. Evidence is emerging that it is.”^* Bobrovskaya explains.

“Additionally, research has shown that increasing dietary tryptophan, which the brain uses to produce serotonin (a natural mood stabilizer), can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Tryptophan, which is found in , may also have contributed to these findings,” she points out.

Although these results are encouraging and support previous results found in similar populations, the current study has limitations. In addition, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders interrupted clinical visits during this period, which may have further affected the results.

Further research is needed to better understand the complex pathways through which walnut-containing dietary patterns affect the brain and affect mental health.

Adding walnuts to your daily eating pattern could be a small, versatile, simple, and accessible dietary change to promote brain health and overall health in college students.