Once suspected in a variety of diseases, coffee now has an impressive résumé: Mounting evidence suggests that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, gallstones, Parkinson's disease, cirrhosis, and certain types of liver, breast, and colon cancers.

Better than fruit juice?
Hundreds of compounds, including antioxidants, seem to be responsible for coffee's many protective benefits. In a recent Harvard University study, coffee drinkers had a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular causes than nondrinkers. Black coffee is probably even better for you than high-calorie beverages. A Norwegian study found that a typical serving of brewed coffee is richer in antioxidants than a serving of blueberries, raspberries, pineapples, or many fruit juices.

Brain bonus
Coffee might help your mind as much as your body. One study found that sleep-deprived rats were much calmer after simply inhaling roasted coffee beans.

Sipping tips
Many dietitians believe moderation is still best and recommend drinking only one or two cups of coffee a day-without whole milk, whipped cream, and sugar (which jolt only your waistline). Drink much more than that and the caffeine can dehydrate you or raise your blood pressure. Pregnant women will want to limit their intake, too, as coffee can boost the risk of miscarriage.

If you're worried about cholesterol, stick to paper-filtered and instant coffees. Unfiltered coffees, which are typically made with a French press, contain more of a cholesterol-raising substance called cafestol.

咖啡曾經被疑為各種疾病的始作俑者，現在飲用咖啡卻有了全新理念：大量研究表明喝咖啡的人不易得2型糖尿病、膽結石、帕金森氏癥、硬化癥及某種類型的肝癌、乳腺癌和結腸癌。

較果汁孰優孰劣？

咖啡的保健功能源自其豐富的復合成分，包括抗氧化劑。哈佛大學近期研究表明，常喝咖啡的人因心血管疾病死亡的機率較不喝咖啡的人要小，黑咖啡甚至比高熱量的飲料要好得多。挪威一項研究發現，一份煮制的咖啡比越橘汁、樹莓汁、菠蘿汁或其他果汁含有更加豐富的抗氧化劑成分。

補腦
咖啡益腦，一項研究發現，睡眠不足的老鼠在吞咽了烤咖啡豆后情緒變得較為穩定。

飲用貼士

適度飲用，營養學家建議，每天飲用一到兩杯咖啡，不要加入那些只會使你的腰圍變粗的全脂奶、生奶油和糖。如果飲用過量，咖啡因會使你脫水并使你血壓升高。孕婦也需減少咖啡攝入量，因為咖啡會增大流產的機率。

如果你擔心膽固醇含量，堅持飲用過濾咖啡或速溶咖啡。未經過濾的咖啡，尤其是法式壓制咖啡，因其提升了咖啡醇，因此膽固醇含量偏高。