It's a hot summer afternoon, and the benches outside my local Starbucks are packed with people who share the craving that brought me here-iced coffee. I love hot coffee, but in July, adding ice transforms it from my favorite pick-me-up into the perfect summer refreshment.

During iced coffee season, my consumption increases, and the extra caffeine gets my mind racing. Does coffee counts toward the eight glasses of fluids we're supposed to drink each day? And what about the headlines I've seen about coffee raising risk of heart disease and cancer? I know what my iced coffee is doing for me. But what's it doing to me?

Quite a bit, it turns out-most of it surprisingly beneficial. The caffeine in coffee (and tea, colas, and to a lesser extent, cocoa and chocolate) is, quite possibly, the world's most frequently used drug. Like any drug, it should be used consciously and carefully. Fortunately, for those of us who drink no more than a cup or two of coffee a day, the good news outweighs the bad.

COFFEE BENEFITS, COFFEE RISKS

First, about those eight glasses of fluids: Coffee has some diuretic action, raising a red flag that it might contribute to dehydration. But in a recent report, the National Institutes of Health's Institute of Medicine, concluded that caffeine's diuretic effect is fleeting and does not contribute to significant fluid loss. Beyond that, the scientific pendulum is swinging away from the notion that it's best for health to "stay ahead of thirst," that is, to load up on fluids so we never actually get thirsty. According to recent reports by the British Medical Journal, the and USA Track and Field, the governing body for American track and field sports, forcing fluids causes more harm than minor dehydration, and thirst is the best way to gauge when and how much to drink. So if coffee quenches your thirst, enjoy it. You don't have to obsess over the fact that it's a mild diuretic.

The main benefit of coffee-no surprise-is the buzz that gets us up in the morning, keeps us alert while driving, and prevents nodding off in boring meetings. But the latest research shows that in addition to boosting alertness, coffee also improves brain power. British researchers gave people either roughly the amount of caffeine in a 16 oz cola (60 mg), or the amount in an 8-ounce Starbucks coffee (250 mg). Both doses improved performance on intellectual tests. Coffee also elevates mood. So if you want to appear perky and smart, a little java couldn't

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