Kathy Dettwyler writes:

"A good place to start for the controversy about how much iron humans need
is
a book edited by Patricia Stuart-Macadam and Susan Kent, titled "Diet,
Demography, and Disease: Changing Perspective on Iron Deficiency Anemia."
It was published in the early 1990s, by Aldine de Gruyter.  The gist, in one
sentence, is that current standards for iron levels are set way too high,
and that the level of iron in breast milk is exactly right for humans, and
that too much iron feeds bacteria and viruses."

As a scientist who has worked in the area of iron needs during pregnancy and

lactation, I would not recommend this book as a place to start reading about

human iron nutriture.  It is not a balanced review.  Several excellent
studies that contradict their viewpoint are omitted.  While iron dextran
injections can promote the growth of siderophilic bacteria, the evidence for

oral iron intake causing the same outcome is very poor and sparse.  Samuel
Fomon's book "Nutrition of Normal Infants" has a good review of infant iron
nutriture, but is somewhat clouded by Dr. Fomon's belief that the iron
content of human milk is inadequate beyond three or four months of life (a
view I DO NOT share).  A more general review can be found in the
International Life Science Institute's book "Current Knowledge in
Nutrition."  With a more balanced knowledge of human iron nutriture, the
book
Dr. Dettmyler recommends can be quite entertaining.

Paul Zimmer, Ph.D.