Recruiting

Lean Pork Loin

Sponsor:

University of Arkansas

Code:

NCT06025292

Conditions

Hyperglycaemia (Non Diabetic)

Prediabetes

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Lean Pork vs Plant-Based Protein

Study Details

Brief summary:

We will be directly comparing a high-quality protein diet composed primarily of lean pork loin (PORK) to a lower-quality plant-based protein diet (PLANT) in individuals with prediabetes on muscle and whole-body protein turnover and glucose regulation.

Conditions

Hyperglycaemia (Non Diabetic)

Prediabetes

Study ID

NCT06025292

Start date

Sep 11, 2024

Status verified date

Jun, 2026

Completion date

Jan 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Sep 30, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 1\. Males and females ages 40-65 years.
  • 2\. BMI 25 to ≤40 kg/m2 (or body fat % ≥25% in males or ≥36% in females)
  • 3\. Capable of providing informed consent.
  • 4\. COVID-19 negative and/or asymptomatic.
  • 5\. Willing to abstain from drinking alcohol or consuming marijuana and CBD products during the 4-day study meal period
  • 6\. HbA1c: 5.7-6.4% or fasting glucose 100-125 mg/dL

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1\. Participant who does not/will not eat animal protein sources.
  • 2\. Allergy to wheat, soy, or common ingredients in plant-based protein products.
  • 3\. Body mass index <25 kg/m2 or >40 kg/m2.
  • 4\. Hemoglobin <10g/dL at screening.
  • 5\. Platelets <150,000/uL at screening.
  • 6\. History of chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer in the 6 months prior to enrollment.
  • 7\. History of gastrointestinal bypass/reduction surgery.
  • 8\. Pregnant or lactating individuals.
  • 9\. History of a chronic inflammatory disease (e.g. Lupus, Crohn's disease)
  • 10\. Currently receiving androgen (e.g., testosterone) or anabolic (e.g., GH, IGF-I) therapy.
  • 11\. Currently using prescription blood thinning medications.
  • 12\. Currently using corticosteroid medications (cortisone, hydrocortisone, prednisone, etc.).
  • 13\. Unable or unwilling to suspend aspirin use for 7 days prior to Visit 3 and Visit 7.
  • 14\. Unwilling to avoid using protein or amino-acid supplements during participation.
  • 15\. Unwilling to fast overnight.
  • 16\. Unwilling to avoid alcohol, marijuana and CBD products for the four study days.
  • 17\. Participants on glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1-RA) medications for <1 month or with less than one treatment dose (injection) every two weeks

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

active comparator: High Quality Protein Intake - Lean Pork

Meal patterns will mimic a standard American diet (50% carbohydrate, 15% protein, 35% fat), providing an isonitrogenous 0.8 g/kg/d protein, and meeting individual estimated daily energy requirements. We have chosen 0.8 g/kg/d as it is the recommend dietary allowance for protein in the US. This arm's protein source will be from lean pork.

active comparator: Low Quality Protein Intake - Plant-Based

Meal patterns will mimic a standard American diet (50% carbohydrate, 15% protein, 35% fat), providing an isonitrogenous 0.8 g/kg/d protein, and meeting individual estimated daily energy requirements. We have chosen 0.8 g/kg/d as it is the recommend dietary allowance for protein in the US. This arm's protein source will be from plant-based protein (ie impossible burger, black bean burger, soy, etc).

Interventions

Lean Pork vs Plant-Based Protein

Participants will eat prepared study meals for three days that have either protein sourced from lean pork or plant-based sources.

Primary outcome measure

  • Muscle Protein Synthesis [ Time Frame: 24 hours ]
  • Whole Body Protein Balance [ Time Frame: 24 hours ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

David Church, PhD

501-526-5769dchurch@uams.edu

Amanda Gwin, PA-C

5018380096algwin@uams.edu

Locations

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Recruiting

Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, 72205

Contacts

David D Church, PhD

dchurch@uams.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of Arkansas

Last update posted

Jun 8, 2026

Last verified

Jun, 2026

Keywords

  • Lean pork
  • Muscle Protein Synthesis
  • Protein
  • Plant-Based

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Arkansas on 2026-06-08.