Assessing the Impact of a Plant-Based Diet for Diabetes Prevention

December 4, 2025 updated by: Jean L. Fry
The primary purpose of this study is to determine the sex-specific metabolic and molecular response, among adults with prediabetes, when moving from a Western Diet to plant-based diet.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Plant-based diets that are abundant in myoinsitol and D-chiro inositol (MI and DCI) increase insulin sensitivity by promotion of insulin signaling lowering serum insulin and improving insulin resistance. The Western diet contributes to chronic metabolic inflammation often leading to the development of metabolic diseases. There is known metabolic improvement among men compared to women when following a plant-based diet or intensive lifestyle modifications. Through this study we look to identify the pathways in which plant-based diet impact skeletal muscle inositol metabolites among sexes (men vs. women) and improve insulin sensitivity.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
9

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Kentucky
      • Lexington, Kentucky, United States, 40536
        • University of Kentucky CCTS

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Body mass index greater than or equal to 27
  • High waist circumference (women greater than or equal to 35"; men greater than or equal to 40")
  • Prediabetes (based on fasting glucose 100-125 mg/dL, HbA1c 5.7-6.4, or 2-hr post-oral glucose tolerance test glucose screen between 140-199mg/dL)
  • Physical activity below national guidelines
  • Aged 30-55 (premenopausal for women)
  • Following a Western diet

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diabetes diagnosis
  • Take medications that may affect insulin sensitivity
  • More than 5% weight change within 6 months of screening
  • History of bariatric surgery
  • Report any dietary supplement, medication, or medical condition known to significantly affect weight or metabolism
  • Take hormone replacement therapy
  • Consume 3 or more servings of combined fruit and vegetables daily and/or 3 or more servings of whole grains daily
  • Any food allergy more severe than grade 1 on the CoFAR Grading Scale for Systemic Allergic Reactions, Version 3.0 or allergy to lidocaine

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Other: Plant-based diet
5 weeks of plant-based meals and snacks.
Other: Plant-based diet
Standard plant-based meals will be provided directly to participants. The dietary intervention will begin with a one-week Western diet run-in; hereafter, participants will consume plant-based meals for approximately 5 weeks. Total energy provided will be equal to REE X 1.4 to account for light physical activity to support weight maintenance. High-inositol snacks will be provided to meet energy needs. Meals and snacks combined will provide a minimum of 20mg total inositol/kg body weight. For example, a 200lb participant will consume 1.8g daily, which is consistent with doses used in prior studies.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Insulin sensitivity (glucose infusion rate)
Time Frame: The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.
This gold standard test for IS will be performed at baseline and post-intervention with support of the COBRE Phenotyping core. After ≥8 hour fast, participants will be admitted to our Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) and two IVs inserted; one for infusion, the other for blood draws (see Phenotyping core). The primary outcome is the glucose infusion rate (GIR), a direct measure of whole body IS, which will enable us to detect even small changes in IS in response to the intervention. COBRE mentor Dr. Kern is proficient in use of these methods The primary clinical outcome is the change in GIR from post run-in to post intervention.
The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.
Skeletal muscle d-chiroinositol content
Time Frame: The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.
Muscle samples will be homogenized, then inositol compounds will be extracted using solvents. In the prepared samples, D-chiroinositol content will be assessed by a commercial service using LC-MS/MS.
The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Phosphorylation status of insulin signaling molecules in skeletal muscle
Time Frame: The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.
Upon insulin stimulation, insulin-responsive signaling proteins are phosphorylated to initiate downstream effects. The ratio of phosphorylated and unphosphorylated, as well as total protein, per standard unit of skeletal muscle will be determined.
The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.
Absolute change in visceral fat (g)
Time Frame: The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.
Computed tomography will be used to measure visceral fat
The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.
Fasting blood glucose
Time Frame: The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.
Baseline measure of fasting blood glucose are measured via YSI before the start of the OGTT
The first measure is taken immediately after the run-in and the final measure will be taken immediately after the completion of the plant-based diet intervention five weeks later.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Jean L. Fry

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jean L Fry, PhD, University of Kentucky

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 14, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 25, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 25, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 22, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 22, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 26, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 11, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 4, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 95349

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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