Experts at King's College, London have found that drinking 8 cups of tea a day can fight the risk of heart disease, boost brain power and even allow drinkers to live longer.

Research has shown that drinks that contain caffeine have positiove effects on preventing coronary heart disease (CHD), strokes as well as improving alertness, a sense of well-being and even lowering the risk of developing Alzheimer' s disease.

The King's College, London study reviewed over 40 research papers and the effects of drinking caffeine. The review highlighted that drinking 8 cups of tea (or 4 cups of coffee) increased shirt term memory, mental alertness, as well as aiding the prevention of heart disease. Perhaps surprising, the research also highlighted that those people how cut up caffeine from their diet in a bid to increase their health may actually be doing more harm than good.

Surprising the researcher behind this study, Dr Carrie Ruxton even suggested that children shouldn't necesserily avoid drinking tea and coffee and that doing so may give them more benefits than drinking fruit juice.

Dr Ruxton also found that, contrary to popular belief, drinking caffeinated drinks doesn't increase dehyration and that people who exercise can improve performance, increase muscle contractions and even stimulate the burning of excess body fat.