Walnuts Could Help Students with Stress, Says Study
University isn't all sleeping, parties and video games — many students find it a stressful time, with exams and the beginning of adult life.
But a recent study has suggested that there's a food that could help with some of that stress — walnuts.
Walnuts are known to be a healthy snack. They contain healthy fats and proteins, which are good for the body and the mind.
They may not be the most exciting food for young adults to snack on in a world of pizza and burgers, but they could have a positive effect both on academic stress and on the health of the body.
That's according to researchers from the University of South Australia, who had 80 students take part in their study.
One group of students was asked to eat about half a cup of walnuts every day for 16 weeks. They could eat them as a snack or add them to meals at any time of the day.
The other participants were told not to eat nuts for those 16 weeks.
The researchers found that academic stress was having a negative effect on students' mental health, on the amount of protein in their bodies, and — in female participants — on the diversity of bacteria in their guts.
But these things all improved among those who had been eating walnuts.
Larisa Bobrovskaya, one of the study's authors, said not only are walnuts good for students, they're an easy thing to add to lots of different meals.
However, she also said just having something extra to eat might have made the students feel better, so more research is needed.
1. What are your thoughts on the findings of this study?
2. Do you often eat walnuts? Do you eat them as a snack or add them to meals?
3. What are your favorite healthy snacks? How often do you have them?
4. Do college students in your country typically eat unhealthy diets?
5. What are your favorite comfort foods? How often do you have them?
6. What would you say is the most stressful thing these days?
7. What aspects of your job would you describe as stressful?
8. Do you know anyone who has an extremely stressful job?
9. Which of your friends or family are the best at dealing with stress?