Department of Nutrition, Arizona State University, 6950 E, Williams Field Road, Mesa, Arizona, USA.
Nutr J. 2010 Jun 1;9:26. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-9-26.
The physical health status of vegetarians has been extensively reported, but there is limited research regarding the mental health status of vegetarians, particularly with regard to mood. Vegetarian diets exclude fish, the major dietary source of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), critical regulators of brain cell structure and function. Omnivorous diets low in EPA and DHA are linked to impaired mood states in observational and experimental studies.
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 alpha-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.
素食者的身体健康状况已经得到广泛报道，但关于素食者的心理健康状况，特别是情绪方面的研究却很有限。素食者的饮食不包括鱼类，鱼类是二十碳五烯酸（EPA）和二十二碳六烯酸（DHA）的主要膳食来源，EPA 和 DHA 是调节脑细胞结构和功能的关键物质。观察性和实验性研究表明，EPA 和 DHA 摄入量低的杂食性饮食与情绪状态受损有关。
我们在西南地区居住的 138 名健康的基督复临安息日会男女的横断面研究中，检查了由于坚持素食或杂食性饮食而导致的情绪状态与多不饱和脂肪酸摄入之间的关系。参与者完成了定量食物频率问卷、抑郁焦虑压力量表（DASS）和心境状态问卷（POMS）。
素食者（VEG：n = 60）报告的负面情绪明显少于杂食者（OMN：n = 78），这一点在 DASS 和 POMS 总分均值上均有体现（8.32 ± 0.88 与 17.51 ± 1.88，p =.000 和 0.10 ± 1.99 与 15.33 ± 3.10，p =.007，分别）。VEG 报告的 EPA（p <.001）、DHA（p <.001）以及 omega-6 脂肪酸花生四烯酸（AA；p <.001）的平均摄入量明显较低，而报告的短链 α-亚麻酸（p <.001）和亚油酸（p <.001）的平均摄入量较高。DASS 和 POMS 总分均值与 EPA（p < 0.05）、DHA（p < 0.05）和 AA（p < 0.05）的平均摄入量呈正相关，与 ALA（p < 0.05）和 LA（p < 0.05）的摄入量呈负相关，这表明 EPA、DHA 和 AA 摄入量低，ALA 和 LA 摄入量高的参与者情绪更好。
尽管素食者的长链 omega-3 脂肪酸摄入量低，但素食饮食模式似乎不会对情绪产生不利影响。
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