Inappropriate Diet – A Major Cause of Psychological Disorders

Emotional imbalances and mental illnesses are continuously increasing and have become one of the plagues of modern society. One of the main contributing factors is the modern diet. The only form of medicine that has precisely described the pathophysiological mechanisms by which the prolonged and excessive consumption of certain types of food can lead to specific diseases is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Here we report a case where where the use of diet therapy with lifestyle changes acording to TCM principles combined with acupuncture and TCM plant therapy is used for a patient with insomnia and depression. Implementation of the lifestyle and dietary prescriptin was done from week one of treatment, the patient proved very receptive to them. Acupuncture was administered for 10 consecutive days, TCM herbal therpy was initiated from day one of treatment and continued for the next three months. Condition gradually improved over three months while following the prescribed lifestyle discipline, sleep improved signifficantly from week one of treatment, ans so did the depression along with associated symptoms. In conclusion diet can be a major determinant in mental illnesses, advising the patient on lifestyle discipline is an important part of treatment, reatment as a whole must be individualized and adapted, including consideration of the season in which it is applied.