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	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 115 words of the full text and any section headings.

Choi and colleagues¹ found an independent inverse association between low-fat dairy consumption and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. A plausible explanation of this beneficial association, which was not considered in the study,¹ might also be related to the marked inhibitory effect on iron absorption of milk products.^2-4

Because ferritin level, a good indicator of body iron stores, has been shown to be associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus⁵ and individual components of the metabolic syndrome,⁶ dairy foods might reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus by reducing the absorption of iron.

AUTHOR INFORMATION
Correspondence: Dr Mascitelli, Sanitary Service, Comando Brigata alpina Julia, 8 Via S Agostino, Udine 33100, Italy (lumasci@libero.it).

Luca Mascitelli, MD; Francesca Pezzetta, MD

1. Choi HK, Willet WC, Stampfer MJ, Rimm E, Hu FB. Dairy consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in men: a prospective study. Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:997-1003. FREE FULL TEXT 2. Deehr MS, Dallal GE, Smith KT, Talbee JD, Dawson-Hughes B. Effects of different calcium sources on iron absorption in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51:95-99. FREE FULL TEXT 3. Hallberg L, Brune M, Erlandsson M, Sandberg AS, Rossander-Hulten L. Calcium: effect of different amounts on nonheme- and heme-iron absorption in humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 1991;53:112-119. FREE FULL TEXT 4. Hallberg L, Rossander-Hulten L, Brune M, Gleerup A. Inhibition of haem-iron absorption in man by calcium. Br J Nutr. 1993;69:533-540. PUBMED 5. Jiang R, Manson JE, Meigs JB, et al. Body iron stores in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes in apparently healthy women. JAMA. 2004;291:711-717. FREE FULL TEXT 6. Jehn M, Clark JM, Guallar E. Serum ferritin and risk of the metabolic syndrome in US adults. Diabetes Care. 2004;27:2422-2428. FREE FULL TEXT

Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:2433-2434.