By Elizabeth Nolan Brown, for Blisstree.com

Omnivores, take note: Embracing a vegetarian diet could make you happier and less stressed, according to new research published in Nutrition Journal.

The reason comes down to fatty acids: Diets that include meat and fish are higher in arachidonic acid (AA), an animal source of omega-6 fatty acids. Much of the meat Americans eat today is quite high in AA: The average omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid profile of modern grain-fed meat is 5 times higher than grass-fed meat, like our ancestors ate. And previous research has shown high levels of AA can cause mood-disturbing brain changes.

More from Blisstree.com: Meatless Monday: 10 Vegetarian Comfort Food Recipes Does Going Vegan Change Your Metabolism? 6 Ways to Sneak More Omega-3s Into Your Diet (Even If You're Vegan)

High-fish diets also mean higher levels of long-chain, or omega-3 fatty acids, like eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Both EPA and DHA combat the negative effects of AA. High dietary levels of omega-3 fatty acids are linked to better brain health, better mood and a host of other health benefits. Most health experts recommend an omega-6/omega-3 ratio of about 4:1.

In theory, then, frequent fish eaters should have be protected against the damaging effects of AA because of their higher intake of omega-3 acids. But an earlier study found omnivores reported significantly worse moods than vegetarians, despite higher intakes of EPA and DHA.

In this follow-up study, 39 meat-eating participants were assigned to one of three diets. A control group ate meat, fish or poultry daily; a second group ate fish 3-4 times weekly but no meat; and a third group ate strictly vegetarian. After two weeks, mood scores were unchanged for the fish- and meat-eating groups, but vegetarians reported significantly better moods and less stress.

After two weeks on a vegetarian diet, participants had negligible amounts of EPA, DHA and AA in their bodies. Fatty acid levels in the control group were unchanged. Participants in the fish eating group showed 95 to 100% higher levels of EPA and DHA fatty acidsbut their omega-6 to omega-3 ratios were still heavily skewed toward omega-6s.

To work plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids (called ALA) into your diet, try chia seeds, hemp seed, cauliflower and purslane.

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Vegetarian Diet Could Make You Happier And Less Stressed, Study Shows

Those who diet, but do not lose weight, should be aware. See what might be causing the failure of the system...The complaint is often recurrent and can often be resolved with an adjustment here or there.

Check out the list of five common mistakes made by those who want to lose weight.

To go on a diet

It seems strange, but true. Today, in the offices of nutritionists and endocrinologists, instead of a diet, the protagonist in the treatment of obesity is the eating plan.

The difference is large and it already begins in the definition of one and the other. Dieting is temporary and transient and an eating plan is forever. So think about losing weight as a long-term and not immediate plan.

Jump to the beginning

You see, in this regard the eating plan does not include thinly sliced bread with butter or cheese biscuits. Begin with a good plate of salad with dark green leaves (like arugula), tomato sauce and a basic and healthy flavoring like olive oil. Before having rice, beans or pasta, help yourself to salad and you will be satisfied earlier.

Going to bed hungry

Not eating properly at night is a mistake. First, because in the morning, upon waking, hunger is still there, having gone for hours on an empty stomach. The chances of over eating for breakfast - and opting for more caloric foods - increase. Secondly, because hunger can affect your sleep, making you sleep poorly, it can turn out to be fattening. This relationship has been proven by researchers at Columbia University in the United States.

Do the tests:

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Five common diet mistakes

RENO, Nev. (AP) Chris Hempel wishes her daughters could scream at the grocery store.

Its so frustrating when Im at the store or the airport and see how parents treat their kids, she said. Do you know how much I wish my kid could grab a Snickers bar off the shelf and rip it open and eat it?

Her daughters, Addison and Cassidy, could sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star four years ago.

Their cute voices can be heard on a tape parents Chris and Hugh Hempel still have.

Today, the 8-year-old identical twins dont sing. They dont talk anymore. They have seizures and periods of dementia. Eventually, they might need feeding tubes and will be bedridden and die.

And while some parents battle candy, the Hempels are meticulous about their daughters diets.

To us, cholesterol is our enemy, Chris said.

On October 17, 2007, the twins were diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Type C disease. It is a rare, fatal genetic disease often called childhood Alzheimers disease. It causes cholesterol to build up and get trapped in the cells, overloading organs and attacking the brain. Most patients dont live past their teens.

Hugh Hempel said he misses the sweet sound of his daughters singing.

Its bittersweet to have it, he said of the tape of Addi and Cassi singing nursery rhymes.

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Reno parents fight for treatment of twins’ disease

WALLINGFORD Since Maryann Meade started working as a registered dietitian in the late 1970s she has noticed that many people dont know how to put a meal together.

A lot of people say that they dont know what to eat, said Meade, a Wallingford resident. They dont know how to create a meal. I remind them that if theyre having a plate of pasta its the same thing as having a slice of bread. There has to be a vegetable or a fruit that goes with it.

To help raise awareness of nutrition and encourage people to eat balanced diets, Meade is planning a free question-and-answer session at the Wallingford Public Library. She and another dietitian, Colleen Thompson, who is a professor of nutritional science at the University of Connecticut, will host the informational event on Saturday, March 24, from 10 a.m. to noon.

This raises the issue to a conscious level, said Beth Devlin, community services librarian. If you have questions regarding your diet this is your opportunity to ask. I hope people take advantage of it.

Preparing for the session, Devlin has collected books on nutrition and healthy living to put together a display. In just a few days, Devlin noticed that more than half of the books had been checked out.

That tells me theres a huge interest in nutrition, so I expect a big turnout, she said.

The informational drop-in session is taking place during what the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has designated National Nutrition Month. The national nutrition campaign, started in 1973, was originally a week, but the academy extended the effort to raise further interest in nutrition.

It gives more time to bring awareness to people, Meade said. There are different things that are going on. The hospitals always have some type of program and there are programs that people will do in school systems. This is a must of making people aware. Sometimes these are the things that get people ready to make a change.

After years of working as a dietitian Meade noticed that much of the lack of knowledge about healthy meals is a result of families not cooking and eating meals together.

That happened as the demands on the family became greater as both parents had to work, Meade said. Nobody gets a formal education on nutrition. You usually learn what you can do from someone else.

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Dietitians spread the word on healthy diets

Whether or not a vegetarian diet is healthy is a toss up. Published March 10, 2012 at 5:18 a.m.

The term "vegetarian," in most cases, is a misnomer because the term means a "plant-based diet" and people who refrain from meat eating usually consume more than vegetables. And yet, many people embrace the word, so much so that for some, it becomes a part of their identity.

"Vegetarians" also serves as a catch-all phrase for people with very different diets. The strictest vegetarians are vegans those who do not eat any foods that come from an animal including meat, poultry, fish, dairy products and eggs. A lacto-vegetarian includes dairy products in their diets; a pesco-vegetarian sometimes referred to as a "pescatarian" eats fish and dairy products; and finally, semi-vegetarians eat primarily a meat-free diet but will "cheat" a little and either occasionally eat meat or consume, for example, beans made with animal lard or vegetable soups made with chicken stock.

Like all diets, a vegetarian diet is only healthy if people follow the rules of a nutritionally-balanced diet which includes the nutrients that one might miss by giving up animal foods. A vegetarian diet can be unhealthy if the diet consists of lots of starches and if meat items are simply replaced with soy foods.

Mary Paul is a nutritional consultant and personal trainer currently living in Minneapolis. She says people should listen to their bodies, experiment with different diets and above all, don't commit to a diet based on philosophical beliefs alone.

"If a person finds the meat industry problematic, jumping into a vegetarian lifestyle is only the right choice if it feels right," she says. "Giving your body what it needs to function properly is the most important key to a satisfying life. Everything else needs to come second."

For some, the vegetarian diet just doesn't work and they fall into the category that's sometimes, lightheartedly, called "reformed vegetarians."

Katie Cross was a vegetarian for six years, but jokingly refers to herself as having been a "Boca-tarian." She says she ate Boca products (soy burgers, "chicken" patties and sausages) almost every day of her life because she didn't like most vegetables and wanted to avoid cheese, which is high in fat. However, when she started having severe stomach aches and bloating, she did some research and realized her high soy intake was not healthy, nor was she eating a balanced diet, so she started eating turkey and fish.

"I felt a lot better," she says. "Once again, moderation is the key. I really thought I was 'being healthy' by not eating meat."

Anne Maedke, a chiropractor, was a vegetarian for several years, but she says it simply did not feel like the right diet. She says having access to well-raised meat helped her make the decision to become a carnivore again.

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"Reformed vegetarians" speak out