Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Adherence to a 'health-conscious' dietary pattern, characterized by high intake of fatty fish, nuts, fresh fruit, and vegetables, is associated with the most favorable micronutrient profile (including selenium, vitamin D, B12, and biotin) among university students.
To maximize nutrient intake as a student, prioritize a 'health-conscious' pattern: eat fatty fish, nuts, fresh fruit, vegetables, and low-fat yogurt. Note that this pattern was associated with higher food spending, so budgeting for these specific items is necessary to achieve the nutrient benefits.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The 'health-conscious' pattern was the most nutrient dense, with significant, positive, strong correlations (0.5 ≥ r < 0.7; p < 0.01) for energy-adjusted intakes of selenium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and biotin.
Why this rating
Cross-sectional design establishes correlation, not causation; however, the sample size (n=1448) is robust for a survey.
Source
Dietary patterns of university students in the UK: a cross-sectional study
E. F. Sprake et al. · Nutrition Journal · 2018
DOI 10.1186/s12937-018-0398-y
cross_sectional · n=1448Cited 209×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Adherence to a 'convenience, red meat & alcohol' dietary pattern is associated with higher weekly food spending, regular/social smoking, low physical activity, and frequent consumption of take-aways.Moderate
- Higher self-reported cooking ability is independently associated with adherence to 'vegetarian' and 'health-conscious' dietary patterns, which have more favorable nutrient profiles than the 'snacking' or 'convenience' patterns.Moderate
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