2026 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 437-443
Background: In depressive and anxiety states, structured dietary interventions based on nutritional psychiatry may serve as adjunctive options alongside pharmacotherapy and acupuncture.
Case: A 32-year-old woman presented with anxiety, hyperventilation, depressed mood, insomnia, a nd premenstrual syndrome despite ongoing pharmacotherapy. At the initial examination, the Numer ic Rating Scale (NRS) score was 9, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was 24, and Generali zed Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) was 18. Her diet was characterized by frequent intake of sweets, wheat, dairy products, and processed foods, with insufficient protein, fermented foods, and dietary fiber. A structured dietary modification was introduced, including reduction of refined sugars, eli mination of wheat and dairy products, provision of 20–25 g of protein per meal, daily fermented foods, 350 g of vegetables with one serving of brown rice, and fluid intake of 1.5–2 L/day, com bined with acupuncture. Symptoms decreased within 1–2 weeks, and after approximately seven mo nths, NRS was 1, PHQ-9 was 6, and GAD-7 was 3 without medication.
Conclusion: In this single case, dietary intervention grounded in nutritional psychiatry may have b een associated with improvement of depressive and anxiety symptoms in conjunction with acupunc ture.
