A Traditional Korean Diet with a Low Dietary Inflammatory Index Increases Anti-Inflammatory IL-10 and Decreases Pro-Inflammatory NF-κB in a Small Dietary Intervention Study

Chronic low-grade inflammation may increase the risk of chronic disease, while diets rich in anti-inflammatory components may reduce it. To determine the anti-inflammatory properties of the traditional Korean diet (K-diet) that comprises high amounts of vegetables, fiber and phytochemicals, moderate amounts of legumes, and low amounts of animal fat, ten obese women aged 50-60 years were randomly assigned to the K-diet or control diet group. The control diet was a Westernized Korean diet commonly consumed in Korea, which is high in animal fat and protein. Subjects were housed in metabolic unit-like conditions during the 2-week intervention. Plasma was collected before and after the intervention to measure inflammatory cytokines using ELISA. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) was calculated based on nutrients and food intake. The DII score for the K-diet was lower than that of the control diet (-0.94 ± 1.39 vs. 1.04 ± 1.61, < 0.001). In the K-diet group, anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-10 levels increased (4.45 ± 0.34 pg/mL vs. 5.94 ± 0.33 pg/mL, = 0.0102), whereas pro-inflammatory nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) levels decreased (7.70 ± 0.62 pg/mL vs. 2.71 ± 0.49 pg/mL, = 0.0015), but not in the control group. In the K-diet group, NF-κB levels negatively correlated with IL-10 levels (r = -0.794, = 0.006). The K-diet has anti-inflammatory properties, and IL-10 and NF-κB are putative inflammatory markers for K-diet studies.