California launches 'nutty' campaign on Canadian campuses

Marketing group is handing out free walnuts on the SMU, Acadia and Dal campuses to promote healthy snacks as food for thought.

Photo: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

Nietzsche once said, "the mind can only go as far as the body can carry it."

That's the thinking behind a new campaign by the California Walnut Commission, which aims to educate students about the health benefits of walnuts and ways to improve study habits.

The commission is an agency of the California government that markets state products.

You may have seen people handing out walnuts this week on campus. These nuts are not from any local grocery store.

Video

Notable Canadians advise students about healthy lifestyles and effective study tips in Cailfornia Walnut Commission promotional video.

The commission's assembled street teams to target universities across Canada. They gave out information cards titled "Boost Your Brain Power With California Walnuts" at nine universities, including the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, Acadia University and the University of Alberta this week.

The card is, in essence, an advertisement for California Walnuts.

Dr. Rickey Yada, a professor at the University of Guelph, is pictured and quoted on the card. He's the scientific director of the university's Department of Food Science and gives credibility to the walnut campaign.

"What I'm advocating is healthy choices," says Yada in an interview. "Walnuts provide a good source of what we look for in food - fat, carbohydrates and protein."

The relationship between body and mind can be traced back to the ancient Chinese, who believed that a healthy diet worked wonders for the mind.

Walnuts were said to, among other things, make you a little less dim.

A recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition supports this notion, relating walnuts to improved cognition and motor function in rats.

It's understood that natural foods are good for us, so it comes as little surprise that walnuts have health benefits. There's an endless list of foods that nutritionists tell us will nurse us back to health.

Ginkgo leaves, for example, are said to enhance memory and concentration - not unlike the supposed benefits of walnuts. It's not always a question of knowledge; it's also a matter of persuasion.

"We need to rediscover ideas and communicate them in an effective manner," says Yada. "Public interest in food and how it affects our health is something that is becoming more and more prevalent."

Despite the nutritional value of such foods, there are other factors to consider.

"I like to know where it is sourced from -- if it's organic, or if there are pesticides," says Krista Romaniuk, an employee of Planet Organic, a health food store in Halifax. "I would prefer if it was locally grown - coming from Canada, or even provincially."

A first-time campaign like this will have many perspectives, but according to Faye Clack Communications representative and California Walnuts spokesperson Natalie Pavlenko the response has been favourable.

"Here at the University of Toronto and Ryerson, the walnuts seem to be very popular," says Pavlenko. "It is something that we will consider doing again."

When asked if this experiment indicated an increase in walnut sales, Pavlenko replied,

"It's too soon to tell."

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