Vegetarian diets are associated with healthy mood states: a cross-sectional study in Seventh Day Adventist adults

We examined associations between mood state and polyunsaturated fatty acid intake as a result of adherence to a vegetarian or omnivorous diet in a cross-sectional study of 138 healthy Seventh Day Adventist men and women residing in the Southwest. Participants completed a quantitative food frequency questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), and Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires.Vegetarians (VEG:n = 60) reported significantly less negative emotion than omnivores (OMN:n = 78) as measured by both mean total DASS and POMS scores (8.32 ± 0.88 vs 17.51 ± 1.88, p = .000 and 0.10 ± 1.99 vs 15.33 ± 3.10, p = .007, respectively). VEG reported significantly lower mean intakes of EPA (p < .001), DHA (p < .001), as well as the omega-6 fatty acid, arachidonic acid (AA; p < .001), and reported higher mean intakes of shorter-chain α-linolenic acid (p < .001) and linoleic acid (p < .001) than OMN. Mean total DASS and POMS scores were positively related to mean intakes of EPA (p < 0.05), DHA (p < 0.05), and AA (p < 0.05), and inversely related to intakes of ALA (p < 0.05), and LA (p < 0.05), indicating that participants with low intakes of EPA, DHA, and AA and high intakes of ALA and LA had better mood.The vegetarian diet profile does not appear to adversely affect mood despite low intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.Although adherence to vegetarian diets has been associated with physical health benefits, most notably a low risk of mortality from ischemic heart disease [1], vegetarian mental health is not well documented. Emerging evidence suggests that fish consumption has a protective effect on mental health due to the long-chain omega-3 fatty acid content [2]. Traditional vegetarian diets omit all flesh foods, and low intakes of the long-chain omega-3 fats, eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA], have been widely reported in vegetarians [3-6]. EPA and DHA favorably impact neural function by displacing the long-chain omega-6 fatty aci