Why coffee counts as a health food

Still wondering about coffee, the very drink once implicated in a variety of diseases and now touted as a possible health food? Reader's Digest weighs in this month on the mounting evidence suggesting coffee has the power to heal.

Coffee is packed with hundreds of compounds, say the Digest folks, including the all-popular and all-powerful antioxidants -- one Norwegian study reports that brewed black coffee is richer in antioxidants than a serving of blueberries, raspberries, pineapples, and fruit juice. Who knew? Not me. Maybe if I drank coffee, I would have known, because coffee might one day prove to boost the brain just as much as it does the body -- studies of sleep-deprived rats show a calming after-coffee effect.

The bottom line if you're confused about coffee is this: Moderation is key. Limit consumption to one to two cups a day; skip the whole milk, sugar, and cream; cut out or limit coffee if you're pregnant; and if you're worried about cholesterol, opt for paper-filtered and instant coffees --unfiltered varieties, often made with a French press, contain more of a cholesterol-raising substance called cafestol.