The objective of this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel trial is to determine whether consuming avenanthramide-enriched oats daily for 8 weeks on can improve biomarkers of inflammation in older, obese adults.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Men & postmenopausal women, age 50 years and over
• BMI 30-36 kg/m2
• waist:hip ratio > 0.8 for women, > 0.9 for men

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cigarette smoking and/or nicotine replacement use
• Individuals taking estrogen
• Use of cholesterol-lowering medications
• Use of blood pressure-lowering medications
• Regular use of any stomach acid-lowering medications, laxatives (including fiber supplements) or anti-diarrheal medications(prescription or over-the-counter [OTC])
• Cardiovascular (heart) disease
• Gastrointestinal disease
• Kidney disease
• Endocrine disease: including diabetes, untreated thyroid disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Active treatment for any type of cancer, except basal cell carcinoma, within 1 year prior to study admission
• Systolic blood pressure > 150 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure > 95 mmHg
• Regular use of oral steroids
• Regular daily intake of ≥ 2 alcoholic drinks
• Strict vegetarians
• No dietary supplements, including those containing any vitamins, minerals, herbs, plant concentrates (including garlic, gingko, St. John's wort) homeopathic remedies, probiotics, or fish oil (including cod liver oil), for one month prior to study admission