Introduction: Depression and anxiety are known to be appearing in pair and are both more and more present in the society. The usual treatment with medicines and psychotherapy is being replaced by natural methods – food, food supplements and physical exercise. The reason for this is partially because antidepressants start showing effect after two weeks, which is why many patients give up gives up on them, where as some are afraid of anxiolytics addiction. Food supplements, on the other hand, are quite popular, most common being: kavalactones, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B-complex. Purpose: This thesis presents results of anxiety-depressive disorder treatment based on food diet and physical exercise. Methods: A descriptive method as well as meta synthesis of studies retrieved from EBSCOhost and DiKUL information services were employed in the research. The following databases were examined: CINAHL, Medline (PubMed), ERIC, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, Wiley Online Library, BioMed Central. Only the studies written in English were taken into account. We categorized each study into one of the four categories (from I. to IV.) as suggested by Eccles and Mason. Results: Generalized anxiety disorder treatment with kavalactones is comparable to pharmacological treatment and is maybe therefore a valid monotherapy treatment. This treatment can be effective when a dose is large enough and must be used for at least a week. Treatment with omega-3 fatty acids is also possible for mild depression. Furthermore, omega-3 fatty acids can increase the responsiveness to the pharmacological depression treatment in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Depression treatment with vitamin B-complex is also possible. Physical exercise can treat mild to moderate depression and anxiety. The effects of any kind of physical activity are immediate and permanent. For previously physically inactive patients, introducing physical activity has similar effect to pharmacological treatment. Discussion and conclusion: Side effects of antidepressants and anxiolytics can be avoided in case of mild form of anxiety-depressive disorder by using complementary therapies. Treatment with food supplements and physical exercise can be for some more, for others less effective as a single treatment. It can also be combined with medicine treatment and psychotherapy to increase patient's responsiveness.
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