In a Bad Mood? Eat More Salmon! Omega-3s are Good for Your Heart, and Your Brain.

Overly critical of your spouse's spending habits? Losing your temper over the littlest things? Mad because last week's episode of Desperate Housewives was a re-run?

Maybe you need to improve your mood. Eating more foods rich in omega-3s just might do the trick. Omega-3s are the healthy fatty acids found in fish like salmon and mackerel, and in plant foods like walnuts, flax, hemp and canola oil.

Omega-3 fatty acids seem to affect areas of the brain associated with emotion. A new study focused on 106 healthy people. Those who had low blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids scored worse than those with high levels on tests designed to assess mood, personality and impulsive behavior.

So how much omega-3 should you be getting in your diet? The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of fatty fish each week. But I recommend eating as many different types of omega-3 rich fish as you enjoy. Salmon, for example, is a flavorful, versatile fish that you can roast, poach, grill or broil. Look for Alaskan Wild Salmon, free of the additives of much farm-raised salmon.