Student food

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Student food is a colloquial term for a snack consisting of a loose mixture of nuts (typically walnuts, cashew nuts, brazilnuts, hazelnuts and almonds) and raisins. The term is a translation of the German Studentenfutter and derives from alleged academic performance benefits achieved by those eating nuts and raisins.

Short-term performance benefits may derive from the fact that this high-energy snack combines rapidly digested carbohydrates from dried fruits with longer lasting fat from nuts plus the rich mix of vitamins and trace elements found in any fruit. Long-term benefits in academic performance have been associated with a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in nuts.

Similar mixes with additional ingredients, where the aim is more energy rather than omega-3 fatty acid content, are known as trail mixes, gorp or scroggin.