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.

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Chewing gum might help you remember names, whiten your teeth, relieve your stress, and make you thinner. What? Yep, the sticky stuff holds so much promise as a health food that the Wrigley Company last year formed the Wrigley Science Institute to fund gum studies around the world. Is it that good, really? Seems it could be.

In one 2002 study, gum-chewers performed better than non-chewers on memory tests. The act of chewing gum apparently causes your heart to pump more blood to your brain, which results in more oxygen.

Another study, this one in 2006, suggests chewing gum results in less snacking and fewer calories consumed throughout the day. It might minimize cravings for sweets too.

Don't get your hopes up too high just yet -- research is still in the early stages and sometimes different studies turn up different results -- but try a stick or two a day and see what gum does for you. At the very least, it should help you fight cavities and bad breath. Just make it sugar-free and remember that chewing gum will never be a suitable replacement for good nutrition and exercise.

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Based on my experiences, there seems to be a widespread belief that everything bought at a health food or organic store is, by virtue, healthy. Sorry to burst the bubble but this is totally not true--while organic and natural versions of foods you eat are healthier, they're not necessarily healthy. You still have to be on your guard at health food stores too.

Prevention Magazine recently looked into this misconception, and came up with a list of things to look out for. Here's what they found:

• Be careful with butter and oil alternatives -- most are still high in saturated fats
  
• Look out for prepared foods too -- macaroni and cheese is high in fat whether it's organic or not.
  
• Keep in mind that natural sugar is still sugar ... and it's still high in calories.
  
• Don't think that you can replace vegetables with any of the supplements health food stores offer.
  
• Don't trust the clerks -- they may not have proper training to know what's best for you.

However, things that typically are healthier? The health food store is a great place to pick up dairy products, meat alternatives, fresh produce and whole grain products.

Want to know more? Click here.

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When most people think of health foods, they often think of soy-based products like soy milk and tofu. But is soy really healthy? Did anybody check the facts before labelling soy as healthy? Dr. Mercola did and he has some pretty strong things to say about soy. Check out his thoughts on soy by clicking here and here.

Dr. Mercola wants everyone who thinks soy is healthy to check out The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food by Dr. Kaayla Daniel. In it, she reveals some startling things about soy. Like? It apparently impedes sexual maturation in boys and speeds it up in girls. It also supposedly can cause thyroid problems and endocrine disruption in adults. And if it's given to infants, it's hormonal effects can be irreversible.

Hm. These are some pretty strong allegations. What do you think?

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Recently, I asked my Naturopathic doctor how I could get more protein in my diet, since I don't eat much meat and have problems digesting tofu and soy. He suggested I try Miso, which despite being made of soybeans is something that will be easier for my body to digest. I've had Miso soup many times, but wasn't aware that I could eat and cook with just plain old Miso. Apparently, it can be used in a number of dishes -- not just soup. It can be a base for stir-frys, in gravy, in desserts ... the list goes on and on. There are even Miso cookbooks.

Miso has a great reputation as a health food and has been attributed to lowering cancer rates, promoting healthy aging, reducing cholesterol levels and much more.

I'm interested to know if you have any great Miso recipes.

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[In our regular feature, Home Cooking, That's Fit blogger Larissa Brown encourages us to explore with her the challenge of eating and cooking with local foods. No matter where you live or what local products are available to you, we all can benefit from the creative and healthful mindfulness of choosing to take advantage of our local resources.]

Goodbye shopping cart, hello adorable collapsible canvas basket.

As part of an "eat local" movement that is beginning to sweep the United States and the blogosphere, I'm going to focus on getting my groceries and meals as much as possible from sources within a 100-mile radius of my home. In the past year, hundreds if not thousands of bloggers have challenged themselves to do something similar.

Some eschew all corporate groceries -- a wild dare if you ask me. Just think about trying to find locally grown coffee, local baby formula, or local soft dark licorice! Others commit to preparing one entirely local meal per week for the course of the summer, which in my neck of the woods -- where there are more than a dozen farmers' markets and one operates through December -- seems too easy.

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