Restriction of meat, fish, and poultry in omnivores improves mood: A pilot randomized controlled trial
Nutr J. 2012; PMCID: PMC3293760
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3293760/
Omnivorous diets are high in arachidonic acid (AA) compared to vegetarian diets. Research shows that high intakes of AA promote changes in brain that can disturb mood. Omnivores who eat fish regularly increase their intakes of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), fats that oppose the negative effects of AA in vivo. In a recent cross-sectional study, omnivores reported significantly worse mood than vegetarians despite higher intakes of EPA and DHA. This study investigated the impact of restricting meat, fish, and poultry on mood.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that reducing meat, fish, and poultry may improve some domains of short-term mood state in modern omnivores. Exploring this phenomenon further is warranted, as reductions in dietary meat, fish, and poultry would not only reduce health risks but could benefit the environment as well.