Avocado Consumption, Nutrients in Human Milk, and Infant Cognitive Development

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Breastfeeding, Exclusive

In brief

The goal of this interventional study is to establish a whole food, avocado, as a viable study material to supplement mothers and infants with nutrients that support optimal brain development. Eighty-eight breastfeeding dyads, 3m postnatal, will participate in this study designed to: 1. To document whether lactating mothers will comply in the consumption of 5 avocados a week for 12 weeks. 2. To ascertain the choline, lutein, and fatty acids present in human milk in women who eat avocado. 3. To measure the cognitive advantage conferred to infants whose mothers consume avocados while breastfeeding compared to a non-avocado-eating reference group. To this end, healthy, lactating women who are 13 weeks postpartum and their infants will be enrolled. Mothers will be provided avocados on a bi-weekly basis and will be asked to consume an avocado a day. Infant cognition will be tested when the infants are 4.5 and 6 months of age. Milk samples and diet data will be collected and assayed on a bi-weekly basis.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06208085

Run by

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

People needed

88

Starts

2024-02-08

Expected to finish

2028-12-31

Last updated by the study team

2026-04-21

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 40. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Healthy lactating women at 13 weeks postpartum
• Planning to exclusively breastfeed to 6 months of age
• Gave birth at 38 weeks or greater gestation without remarkable incident
• Pre-pregnancy BMI <30

You may not qualify if…

• Gestational diabetes
• Infant with diagnosis or documented suspicion of developmental delay
• Any documented seizure activity in infant
• Family history of avocado, latex, or banana allergies

Where it is running

• Nutrition Research Institute — Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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