Can one avocado a day sharpen the aging brain?
NCT ID NCT07752225
First seen Aug 07, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests whether eating one avocado daily for 12 weeks can improve blood flow to the brain and support heart and blood vessel health in adults with prediabetes and overweight or obesity. Researchers will measure brain blood flow using MRI, along with markers of blood vessel function, insulin sensitivity, cognition, and well-being. The trial involves 34 men and women aged 40–75 in a crossover design, meaning each participant will experience both the avocado and control periods.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Avocado (one per day for 12 weeks)
- What this could lead to
- If daily avocado intake improves blood flow to the brain and heart health, it could point toward a simple dietary strategy to support brain and vascular function in people at risk for diabetes.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 34 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The effects could be modest or not significant, and the study does not test long-term health outcomes.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 34 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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40 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Men and women, aged between 40-75 years * Pre-diabetes: (A1C of 5.7%-6.4%, a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) of 100-125 mg/dL, or a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) result of 140-199 mg/dL) * BMI ³ 25 kg/m2 * Fasting serum total cholesterol \< 8.0 mmol/L * Systolic blood pressure \< 160 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure \< 100 mmHg * Willingness to give up being a blood donor from 8 weeks before the start of the study, during the study and for 4 weeks after completion of the study Exclusion Criteria: * Age less than 40 years old or older than 75 years * BMI \< 25 kg/m2 * Type 1 or type 2 diabetes * habitual consumption of more than 1 avocado/ week * Left-handedness * Fasting serum total cholesterol \> 8.0 mmol/L * Current smoker, or smoking cessation \< 12 months * Abuse of drugs * More than 3 alcoholic consumptions per day * Use medication to treat blood pressure, lipid or glucose metabolism * Use of an investigational product within another biomedical intervention trial within the previous 1-month * Severe medical conditions that might interfere with the study, such as epilepsy, asthma, kidney failure or renal insufficiency, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, auto inflammatory diseases and rheumatoid arthritis * Active cardiovascular disease like congestive heart failure or cardiovascular event, such as an acute myocardial infarction or cerebrovascular accident * Contra-indications for MRI imaging (e.g. pacemaker, surgical clips/material in body, metal splinter in eye, claustrophobia) * Blood donation in the 8 weeks before the start of the study * Difficulties to draw blood
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences
Maastricht, Limburg, 6200MD, Netherlands
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