What's Your Coffee Order?

kay, I'll admit it: I've got a coffee habit. I know you all relish the knowledge that your nutritionist has a vice, but my five cuppa joe per week habit does not affect my weight and it may even boost my antioxidant intake. Now I'm going to share with you some of my coffee-tweaking secrets to help you maximize its benefits and minimize its caloric contribution to your diet.

If you are a healthy adult, without high blood pressure or gastric reflux or other digestive disorders, coffee in moderation can have some health benefits. Our favorite reason to drink coffee is for its stimulant effect-it wakes us up in the morning! It also appears to have some anti-pain properties. Most recently, it seems that scientists have recognized that, like tea and cocoa, coffee beans, which are derived from plants, are very high in antioxidants, maybe even higher than tea and chocolate. Brewed filtered coffee contains more protective nutrients and fewer undesirable chemicals than espresso drinks such as cappuccinos and lattes. Both decaf and regular coffee may help prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the arteries, therefore helping to prevent atherosclerosis. Coffee has also been linked with lower risks of developing diabetes, Parkinson's disease, gallstones, and colon cancer. Most studies that link coffee to diseases are usually disproved and those that are not are associated with very large doses of coffee. On the negative end, coffee and caffeine in general can cause heart burn, anxiety, temporarily raise blood pressure slightly in susceptible people, and can prevent you from having a good night's sleep. Coffee does not cause hypertension.

Since the dose makes the poison, have a moderate amount of coffee to help reap the benefits and avoid the dangers. Moderation is considered one to two cups (8-16 ounces) - that means no "Ventis!" Medium, or "grande," is the largest size you should order. Caffeine is addictive, and should be used carefully. If you drink coffee, you probably notice that you get headaches when you try to go without. That's a symptom of withdrawal. You may also notice some diminishing returns on your coffee, meaning that it takes more of the stuff to get you going than it used to. That's another sign of addiction. In order to combat both of these issues, I suggest that you examine your coffee habits. Do you need it to wake you up on weekday mornings? Do you just enjoy the ritual of drinking coffee? Do you do it out of habit? Do you drink it because you can't function without it, even on the weekends?

Let's start with a clean slate. Here's my plan for shaking the caffeine addiction and replacing your coffee with a lower calorie, more effective cup of joe:

1. Start to wean yourself off of coffee (and any other caffeine-containing beverages, like soda) by decreasing the amount you drink by 8 ounces each day (if you drink a lot). If you only drink 8-16 ounces a day, decrease by 4 ounces. Be sure to drink plenty of water.

2. When you get down to 4 ounces, give yourself three days to get it out of your system. A weekend or ideally a long weekend is probably better than during the week for your detox. Do not have any caffeine for those three days. If you have a headache, avoid any pain relievers that contain caffeine, such as Excedrin. At the end of three days, you should have the addiction licked.

3. At this point, you may want to give up coffee altogether, which I would support. Alternatively, you may want to switch to green or black tea, which I would also support. Or, you may just want to go back to coffee, but do it better. Do not go back to drinking soda, which has no health benefits and is deleterious to your health in any of its incarnations.

4. On day four, have up to 8 ounces of coffee and set a permanent limit on the amount you will consume. I'd say 12 ounces is a good upper limit. Just so you know, Starbucks does have 8-ounce cups, but Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf does not.

5. Depending on your reasons for drinking coffee, I strongly suggest you take two consecutive days a week (such as Saturday and Sunday) off from drinking caffeinated coffee. This should help prevent you from becoming addicted again and it will help make your cup of coffee on Monday morning more effective (and that's the day we need it most, right?). For a good night's sleep, cut yourself off by noon.

To clear up a common misconception, drip coffee has a lot more caffeine than espresso drinks. Therefore, choose accordingly. If brewed coffee tastes burnt or too acidic, ask for a mild blend. Coffee can add lots of extra calories to your diet. Each weekday morning as I stand in line at Starbucks, I notice people inadvertently adding hundreds of calories to their beverages. Please remember a few things:

• The bigger your drink, the more calories it has (a small nonfat latte has 120 calories, while a large has 210 calories)

• Nonfat milk has fewer calories than other types of milk (for every eight ounces, nonfat milk has 80 calories and whole milk has 150 calories)

• A teaspoon of sugar (one packet) has just 16 calories while artificial sweeteners pose health risks and have never been shown to help people control their weight

• If you get a flavored syrup, ask for one squirt instead of three or four (each pump has 20 calories)

• Skip the whipped cream (save 110 calories)

• Use the powdered cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate flavor enhancers to add interest to your coffee (cinnamon helps control blood sugar!)

• Avoid fat-free half-and-half and flavored creamers, both in powder and liquid forms (they contain unhealthful ingredients)

Just in case you were wondering, my coffee order is a "tall" mild drip coffee with one packet of Sugar in the Raw, a couple of shakes of vanilla powder and two ounces of whole milk (60 calories).