Tests protein, blueberries and exercise for frailty and heart health in older adults
Tests protein, blueberries and exercise in older adults with frailty and heart disease.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Nova Scotia Health Authority
- Where
- Halifax, CanadaSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Investigating the Combined Effects of Protein, Blueberries, and Exercise on Cardiovascular Health and Frailty in Older Nova Scotians
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 240 people, planned
- Started
- 15 Dec 2025
- Expected to end
- 31 Dec 2028
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- intervention of protein, blueberries
- Exercise training
- Record updated
- 28 August 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults aged 65 or older who are willing to take part in a low to moderate exercise program. It tests protein, blueberries and exercise for frailty and heart health.
- Age
- 65 years or older
- Sex
- Women and men can join.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Medical or thinking (cognitive) conditions that prevent taking part in the program
- Allergy to blueberries or protein powder
- Dislike of blueberries or protein powder
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 4 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Must be 65 years of age or above
- Must be willing to participate in a low to moderate exercise program
Who cannot take part
- Medical and cognitive conditions that prevent participation in the intervention
- Allergies and or dislike of blueberries and/or protein powder
Where in Canada
- QEII Health Sciences Centre, Dickson BuildingHalifax, CanadaContact: Olivia MercerTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. While CVDs are predominantly diseases of aging, age itself does not predict CVD risk; people age at different rates. Frailty is a state of accelerated aging that increases the risk of adverse health outcomes. Frail people are at higher risk of developing CVDs, experiencing complications, and dying from these diseases than fit people of the same age. Indeed, frailty predicts the likelihood of developing CVD independently of traditional risk factors for CVD. It is known that older women are frailer than men and tend to express CVDs differently than men, but whether relationships between frailty and CVD are sex specific is unclear. It is possible that shared pathophysiological mechanisms such as chronic inflammation may help explain links between CVD and frailty. Importantly, the degree of frailty can be modified by lifestyle interventions. For example, sedentary lifestyles, food insecurity, and suboptimal dietary habits can exacerbate frailty whereas diet and exercise interventions can attenuate frailty.
Read full original descriptionShow less
The investigators propose that a comprehensive health strategy targeting diet and physical activity to reduce frailty will reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), thereby promoting healthy aging. Engaging in physical activity (e.g. exercise) helps improve aerobic fitness, increase muscle mass, promote cardiac regeneration, enhance metabolic function, regulate blood pressure, improve insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation (a key frailty mechanism), and lessen frailty. High-quality dietary protein is essential to maintain muscle mass/function, preserve mobility, attenuate inflammation, and reduce frailty. Packed with antioxidants such as anthocyanins and flavonoids, with high levels of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, blueberries, a local Nova Scotian food, can help lower blood pressure, improve blood vessel function, reduce inflammation, and help the body utilize dietary protein. These are critical aspects of a strong heart and healthy aging. To date, many frailty intervention studies have been limited by small sample sizes, underrepresentation of women, and/or by testing individual lifestyle modifications rather than synergistic effects; additionally, none have investigated how reducing frailty impacts cardiovascular outcomes. Our goal is to determine if a year-long multidomain intervention of protein, blueberries, and exercise reduces frailty and cardiovascular disease risk in older at-risk Nova Scotians of both sexes.
The 2 groups in the trial
- intervention of protein, blueberries, and exerciseExisting treatment, for comparison
Treatment groups will receive the STRONG intervention of 30g/day (1 scoop) of a colorless, tasteless whey protein isolate powder supplement and 1 cup (150 grams) of blueberries per day. An alternate suitable protein powder such as pea protein isolate powder, pumpkin, casein, rice etc. is available for participants who do not eat milk products. They will also participate in three 60-minute multimodal exercise sessions per week. Each session will include a warm-up and cool-down (\~5 minutes each), 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise and 20 minutes of moderate intensity resistance training. The intervention lasts for 12 months.
Treatment: intervention of protein, blueberries and Exercise training
- Control groupNo study treatment, for comparison
Participants receive usual standard of care.
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- The STudy on bluebeRries, prOteiN, and Exercise for improvinG Frailty and Cardiovascular Disease (STRONG)
- Plain-language title
- Tests protein, blueberries and exercise for frailty and heart health in older adultsGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
- Record updated
- 28 August 2026