Scientists from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona found that adding walnuts to the diet of adolescents improves cognitive function, improves fluid intelligence, and also contributes to better concentration in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The research was published in the journal eClinical Medicine (part of The Lancet).
Walnuts are rich in alpha-linolenic fatty acid (ALA), a type of omega-3 that plays a fundamental role in brain development and strengthening connections between neurons. This is especially important during adolescence, when neuropsychological maturation occurs.
The study volunteered 700 students aged 11 to 16 from 12 different secondary schools in Barcelona. They were divided into two groups: participants of the first consumed 30 grams of walnuts for six months, and the second did not.
Attention and behavior improved in adolescents who ate walnuts for at least 100 days. In addition, they significantly improved the so-called mobile intelligence. It is the ability to think abstractly, reason, solve non-standard problems, and recognize patterns by gathering information that does not need to be formally taught. People with high mobile intelligence tend to be better and faster at finding solutions to various problems.