I am super excited to welcome Louise from vegetarianmenu.net to write a guest post today! See below 🙂
Give me five minutes and I’ll provide you 1 great reason to become vegetarian.
While fish may serve as the most important dietary supply of the long-chain omega-3s eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, which were shown to be important in supporting brain health, low intake of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in vegetarians will not adversely affect mood, according to a new research (Nutr J. 2010;9:26. DOI:10.1186/1475-2891-9-26).
A study team from Arizona State University conducted a cross-sectional study to check the mood of vegetarians who never eat fish with the mood of healthy omnivorous adults.
A total of 138 healthy Seventh Day Adventist adults residing in Arizona and California (64 vegetarians and 79 non-vegetarians) were enrolled in the study and completed a health history questionnaire, food frequency questionnaire and two psychometric tests, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and the Profile of Mood States..
Vegetarians had significantly lower mean intakes of eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and the omega-6 arachidonic acid; they had higher intakes of the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid and the omega-6 linoleic acid.
“Seed oils are the richest sources of α-linolenic acid, notably those of rapeseed (canola), soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed (Linseed oil), clary sage seeds, perilla, chia, and hemp.”
However, the vegetarians also reported considerably less negative emotion than omnivores in both psychometric tests. Mean total psychometric scores were positively linked to the mean intakes of eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid , and inversely associated with alpha-linolenic acid and linolenic acid intake.
The research team noted there is also the chance that vegetarians may make smarter dietary choices and could generally be healthier and happier.
If you would like to try it out, here is a good example of vegetarian recipe based on Italian cuisine.
Italian Spaghetti with Zucchini
Ingredients:
- 17 oz. Spaghetti
- 24 oz. Of thin sliced zucchini
- A half cup of walnuts oil
- Some basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons of yeast flakes
- Salt and pepper
In a skillet or frying pan heat the oil and when hot, add garlic and zucchini. Raise the heat and stir often to finish their cooking. They need to be golden and crispy outside and tender inside. Cook the pasta, drain and sauté in pan with zucchini, basil and yeast. Serve immediately.
***Zucchini contain fewer calories and have no fat. However they are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin e, vitamin c, folate, lutein and zeaxanthin. These types of nutrients are very sensitive to heat and to enjoy their full benefits you need to find a quick method to cook or even eat raw in salads. From the therapeutic viewpoint, zucchini have laxative, refreshing, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and detoxifying action.
About the Author – Louise Infante writes for the www.vegetarianmenu.net. Her personal hobby blog focused entirely on vegetarian cooking tips to help people live better.
Marisa's Healthy Kitchen 