A clinical study has found that a daily intake of 3g beta-glucan from oats reduced age-related systemic chronic inflammation, also known as iAge, in adults at risk for cardiovascular disease.
This research was funded by PepsiCo, which manufactures oatmeal products under the brand name Quaker Oats.
What is iAge?
iAge is a novel metric for systemic chronic inflammation (SCI), derived from the Stanford 1000 Immunomes Project.
It predicts multimorbidity, frailty, immune decline, premature cardiovascular ageing, and all-cause mortality at an individual level.
While ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL-c) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, recent research shows that age-related systemic chronic inflammation (SCI) also plays a role.
Targeting SCI may therefore help delay or prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease.
One dietary approach to lowering both cholesterol and inflammation is the consumption of oats, which contain beta-glucan – a soluble fibre known to support heart health.
“This may help lower inflammation, thus reducing the risk of coronary heart disease,” said Kit Phanvijhitsiri, R&D life sciences manager at PepsiCo Services Asia, during a presentation at the Growth Asia Summit 2025 in Singapore.
“The oat is a species of cereal grain rich in fibre that has the potential to lower non-HDL cholesterol levels, and recent evidence demonstrates that it can lower the levels of inflammatory mediators in animal models,” according to researchers of the PepsiCo study.
To explore this further, researchers conducted a placebo-controlled randomised clinical trial on adult participants with borderline high cholesterol.
Human trial shows oats lower iAge
In the human trial, participants with high LDL and inflammation consumed an oat beverage daily, providing 3g of beta-glucan.
Those who consumed oats showed improvements in both cholesterol and inflammation markers.
“Oatmeal reduced iAge by 1.5 years in subjects with high iAge, and by 2.3 years in those with both high iAge and LDL-cholesterol,” said Phanvijhitsiri.
These findings are significant as heart disease is the number one cause of death globally.
“A beneficial effect of the oat product was observed in subjects with elevated levels of iAge at baseline (more than 49.6 iAge years) as early as two weeks post-treatment. The rice control group did not show any significant change in iAge,” wrote researchers.
Oats and their anti-ageing potential
The study found that the reduction in iAge was largely driven by a decrease in Eotaxin-1, an ageing-related protein, independent of a person’s gender, body mass index, or chronological age.
“Thus, we describe a novel anti-SCI role for oats that could have a major impact on functional, preventative, and personalised medicine,” concluded the researchers.
They concluded that drinking an oat-based beverage every day – containing 3 grams of beta-glucan – may help lower both harmful cholesterol and age-related inflammation in people who are already at higher risk for heart disease.
In other words, oats could support heart health and reduce inflammation in people with early warning signs.
The researchers added that further studies in this target population are needed to confirm the findings and refine oat-based nutritional strategies that promote healthy aging and longevity.