Investigating the Cognitive and Brain Health Benefits of Lean Pork Consumption
NCT ID: NCT07031076
Last Updated: 2025-12-26
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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WITHDRAWN
NA
INTERVENTIONAL
2025-08-31
2026-12-31
Brief Summary
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* Does eating more lean pork lead to higher scores on cognitive tests and better quality of life?
* Does eating more lean pork lead to slower brain aging and/or better brain function?
Researchers will compare participants in the experimental group (participants undergoing the dietary intervention) to control participants (participants that do not undergo the intervention).
Participants will:
* Be instructed to prepare and consume ready-to-eat pork meals along with their regular diet and not eat any more pork other than what they are given; or be instructed to consume their regular diet
* Visit the study facilities once every week to pick up ready-to-eat pork meals and complete dietary surveys; or complete dietary surveys every 4 weeks
* Visit the study facilities before and after the 16-week of intervention period for researchers to study them
Detailed Description
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The study will consist of two groups of participants: experimental and control. Participants in the experimental group will take part in a 16-week dietary intervention. Throughout the intervention, participants in the experimental group will receive 4 portions of ready-to-eat lean pork in frozen packages each week. Each serving of ready-to-eat lean pork for the experimental group will weigh 5-ounces. Participants in the control group will be asked to continue their regular diet, without receiving any frozen packages of ready-to-eat lean pork. Study compliance will be evaluated through weekly surveys about lean pork consumption.
In addition, all participants will complete pre- and post-intervention assessments:
* MRI scan, including structural and functional brain imaging
* a comprehensive questionnaire battery evaluating cognitive and psychological measures
* neuropsychological tasks
* a blood draw
Conditions
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Keywords
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
BASIC_SCIENCE
TRIPLE
Study Groups
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Experimental Group
The experimental group will participate in the 16-week lean pork dietary intervention study. Participants will be provided with 4 portions of ready-to-eat lean pork in frozen packages per week. Each portion of ready-to-eat lean pork provided to this group will weigh 5 ounces.
Ready-to-eat lean pork in frozen, 5-oz packages
The dietary intervention lasts 16 weeks for each individual. Participants in the experimental group will receive this intervention. Each participant will acquire 4 portions of ready-to eat lean pork in frozen packages per week; each portion of ready-to-eat lean pork in this intervention will weigh 5 ounces.
Control Group
The control group will not participate in any dietary intervention, other than being instructed to maintain their regular diet.
No interventions assigned to this group
Interventions
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Ready-to-eat lean pork in frozen, 5-oz packages
The dietary intervention lasts 16 weeks for each individual. Participants in the experimental group will receive this intervention. Each participant will acquire 4 portions of ready-to eat lean pork in frozen packages per week; each portion of ready-to-eat lean pork in this intervention will weigh 5 ounces.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and lifestyle considerations and availability for the duration of the study
* Males and females; Age 65-75
* Willingness to adhere to the ready-to-eat lean pork intervention regimen or the control condition regimen (depending on group assignment)
* Score between 51 and 80 out of 100 on the Healthy Eating Index
* Consume less than or equal to 15 grams of lean pork per day on average prior to participating in the study
* BMI between 18.5 and 39.9
* Mini-Mental State Examination score 26 or greater
* Vision scored greater than 20/50
* No history of subjective cognitive impairment
* No evidence of loss of instrumental activities of daily living
* Minimal dependence in hygiene, bathing, and dressing
* Low pork consumers
* Willing to discontinue dietary supplement use throughout the duration of the study, if they are consuming supplement at the time of the registration
* No known contraindication to MRI scans as determined by the MRI screening survey questions
Exclusion Criteria
* Known intolerance or allergy to pork
* Current use of nicotine products, including vaping
* Previous use of nicotine products, including vaping, within the recent 6 months at the time of pre-screening
* Diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment
* Diagnosis of any dementia, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer's Disease, Lewy body disease, vascular cognitive impairment and frontotemporal dementia
* Diagnosis of psychiatric illness within the last 3 years
* Stroke in previous 12 months
* Cancer diagnosis within past 3 years, except prostate cancer or basal cell carcinoma
* Current chemotherapy or radiation treatment
* Planned move from study area
* Scheduling conflicts that would preclude participation in study activities
* Prior or ongoing involvement in cognitive training or dietary intervention studies
* Contraindications for MRI
* Dietary quality outside the average range (i.e., HEI score less than 51 or greater than 80)
* Other inability to complete study activities
65 Years
75 Years
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
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National Pork Board
OTHER
University of Nebraska Lincoln
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Principal Investigators
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Aron Barbey, PhD
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Locations
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University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Countries
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References
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Wade AT, Davis CR, Dyer KA, Hodgson JM, Woodman RJ, Keage HAD, Murphy KJ. A Mediterranean Diet with Fresh, Lean Pork Improves Processing Speed and Mood: Cognitive Findings from the MedPork Randomised Controlled Trial. Nutrients. 2019 Jul 4;11(7):1521. doi: 10.3390/nu11071521.
Hepsomali P, Groeger JA. Diet and general cognitive ability in the UK Biobank dataset. Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 3;11(1):11786. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-91259-3.
Zhang H, Hardie L, Bawajeeh AO, Cade J. Meat Consumption, Cognitive Function and Disorders: A Systematic Review with Narrative Synthesis and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2020 May 24;12(5):1528. doi: 10.3390/nu12051528.
Other Identifiers
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23280
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id