Andrew Huberman· PhD
Now, typically the amount of iron intake that's recommended or more or less is for men, it's about eight milligrams per day. For women, it's anywhere from 18 to 27 milligrams per day, depending on whether or not they're pregnant, lactating or menstruating, et cetera, the ranges can vary. But, and indeed, it's true that if iron levels in the blood go too high, like over 45 milligrams per day can be very toxic to the system. But the theory that's prominent in the biology literature and in the health literature is that the reduction in appetite is actually an attempt to reduce iron intake specifically because many bacteria and other forms of infection seem to thrive when levels of iron in the blood are high.