A ‘duh’ moment to launch the new year: A diet rich in vitamins and fish may protect the brain from aging while junk food has the opposite effect, research suggests.

Who is it, I ask myself, who dishes out shedloads of money for research like this?

Here you have it: A study published in Neurology has found that the elderly with high levels of vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids in their blood had less brain shrinkage and better mental performance. Trans fats, on the other hand, found in fast foods were linked to lower scores in tests and more shrinkage typical of Alzheimer's.

To keep your brain functioning tickerty-boo, the best current advice, says Alzheimer's Research UK, is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, not smoke, take regular exercise and keep blood pressure and cholesterol in check.

Who, I’d like to know, is responsible for repeated funding into investigations such as these? It’s not just in the UK.

US experts who analyzed blood samples from 104 healthy people with an average age of 87 who had few known risk factors for Alzheimer's found those who had more vitamin B, C, D and E in their blood performed better in tests of memory and thinking skills.

I’d write more – but we’ve been reading all this stuff for some time now. And we still have a population in the developed world that takes not the blindest bit of notice of how to eat healthily, even when they’re not staggering towards decrepitude.

Perhaps we should just be glad there are some people who still excited by finding studies such as these a cause for exhilaration and hope.

Gene Bowman of Oregon Health and Science University said: "These results need to be confirmed, but obviously it is very exciting to think that people could potentially stop their brains from shrinking and keep them sharp by adjusting their diet."

Maret Traber of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University and co-author with Bowman of the study said, "I'm a firm believer these nutrients have strong potential to protect your brain and make it work better."

Yay!