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DIMPRO™ Diindolylmethane
Estrogen Metabolism Support
for Women and Men
DIM™ is a naturally occurring phytonutrient that is found in cruciferous vegetables. Though discovered over ten years ago, the connection between plant-derived dietary ingredients and estrogen metabolism are just now beginning to be understood. Research has shown that DIM has the ability to act as an estrogen balancer in both women and men. Dr. Wong recommends its use for those addressing estrogen dominance problems and seeking to reduce conditions such as uterine fibroid tumors, fibrocystic breasts, and other women's fibrosis related conditions.
Dr. Michael Zeligs not only suggests DIM for balancing women’s hormones, he also recommends DIM for the symptoms of hormonal imbalance in men, such as weight gain, hair loss, and prostate enlargement. A balance of hormones can help bring the health advantages all of us would like to achieve. |
Benefits of DIM
- Promotes healthy estrogen metabolism
- Protects against conditions related to estrogen dominance
- Protects against cancer, heart disease
- Promotes fat loss, healthy skin and bones
- Supports healthy prostate tissue in men
What Is Estrogen Dominance?
Many women in their twenties, mid thirties through forties, and even women who are menopausal can be overloaded with estrogen. At the same time they may be suffering from a deficiency of progesterone due to a severe drop in the body’s production, which leads to insufficient progesterone to counteract the amount of estrogen in the body. It is most noticeable among peri-menopausal women who do not ovulate, which is quite common. You may have a fairly normal cycle, but no egg is released and very little progesterone is produced.
Even if a woman has low estrogen levels, she can have symptoms of estrogen dominance, because she may have little or no progesterone. However, estrogen dominance can be caused by more than the body’s production of hormones. For example, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), birth control pills, environmental estrogens, plant estrogens, stress, obesity, poor liver function, peri-menopause, and glandular dysfunction.
The end result of an imbalance between estrogen in relation to progesterone adds up to a condition Dr. John Lee has termed “estrogen dominance.” Dr. Lee’s books, What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Premenopause and What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Menopause explains this and more, in-depth. These books are available on our website.
Men too can suffer from estrogen dominance. Estrogens from plant estrogens and environmental sources, also known as xenoestrogens, produce hormonal stimuli that can contribute to inappropriate growth of mammary tissue cells, resulting in a problem society is calling “man boobs.” Some theorize that estrogen dominance in men is contributing to hair loss, atherosclerosis, prostrate problems, lowered libido, weight gain, and impotency.
Therefore, both women and men who are suffering from estrogen dominance can benefit from taking an estrogen metabolizer such as DIM that can help bring hormones back into balance.
How DIM Works
The dietary use of micronutrients found in plants, which are also known as phytochemicals, encompasses what we now know as Phytonutrition. The phytochemical DIM (diindolylmethane) that naturally occurs in broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts has been shown to increase the regulation of hormone metabolism. The plant indoles in these cruciferous vegetables promote health and scientists have discovered that adding these plants to the diets of animals could prevent certain forms of cancer. DIM is more biologically active than other indoles found in the cruciferous vegetable family.
Supplementing with Dim can help overcome the need to eat 3 pounds of broccoli per day and can effectively shift the balance of sex hormones. “An optimal estrogen balance has implications for cancer prevention and successful aging in both women and men,” according to Dr. Michael Zeligs, M.D., co-author of the “All About DIM” book.
DIM can help increase the specific aerobic metabolism for estrogen, multiplying the chance for estrogen to be broken down into its beneficial or "good" estrogen metabolites. Many of the benefits that are attributed to estrogen, which includes its ability to protect the heart and brain with its antioxidant activity, are now known to come from these "good" metabolites.
A slow metabolism of estrogen can result in too much active estrogen known as estradiol in the body; this can be problematic for both sexes. In women, elevated estradiol levels have been shown to cause weight gain (waist, thighs, hips), moodiness, and breast pain. Men tend to suffer from weight gain, loss of sex drive, prostate enlargement, and male patterned baldness, to name a few.
When supplemental DIM increases the ‘good’ estrogen metabolites that are known to be antioxidants, there is a simultaneous reduction in the levels of undesirable or ‘bad’ estrogen metabolites which are not antioxidants and can actually cause cancer.
Taking DIM not only promotes healthy estrogen metabolism, it can also promote a more desirable action from testosterone. “Testosterone supports energy and mood and helps sustain interest in sex for both men and women”, according to Dr. Zeligs.
DIM and Estrogen Receptor Tumor Growth
DIM has a unique ability to affect estrogen metabolism, as mentioned above. Normally, estrogen metabolizes along one of two very distinct pathways, one pathway leads to tumor growth, and the second leads to tumor suppression. One physician hypothesizes that this second pathway may prevent estrogen from entering certain cellular receptor sites causing tumor growth.
As DIM works to regulate hormones by increasing the body’s production of healthy estrogen by decreasing the undesirable forms, cells are protected and tumor growth is inhibited. It is important to remember that there are different forms of the three main estrogens that are important to women and they are estradiol, estrone, and estriol.
Research involving DIM has identified two good estrogens, 2-hydroxy estradiol and 2-hydroxy estrone. These are the antioxidants of the estrogen world and induce the self-destruction of tumor cells. When these two estrogens are low, tumor growth is more likely to occur. DIM increases the body’s production of these healthy estrogens.
Supplementing with DIM helps reduce the estrogen metabolites now known to be responsible for the cancer initiating and cancer promoting effects of estrogen by lowering the two bad forms, 16-hydroxy estrone and 4-hydroxy estrone, which are linked to tumor growth. These so called “bad” estrogens can have a negative impact by allowing oxidation of cells, damage of DNA, and the promotion of cancer. It can be said that DIM interferes with cells that are prone to divide and grow in the presence of these two particular forms of estrogen.
In short, DIM increases the good estrogens, and decreases the bad estrogens. Research suggests DIM may reduce the risk of breast, uterine, cervical, and prostate cancers. These cancers are estrogen related and that is why it is so important to reduce estrogen dominance in both women and men. The following chart demonstrates how estrogen is metabolized into its beneficial forms:
DIM and Women
For women, estrogen is a good thing when metabolized correctly. It improves mood, memory, assists with overall function, and lowers the risk of breast and uterine cancer, all of which are associated with estrogen dominance, as mentioned above. Furthermore, properly metabolized estrogen can produce beneficial effects from testosterone which also helps support moods, as well as libido and energy.
In menstruating women, estrogen may not be metabolized due to many different factors, such as stress, diet, poor liver function, obesity, xenoestrogens from environmental chemicals, and pesticide residues in food. DIM’s conversion of unhealthy estrogen metabolites into the beneficial forms will not only help protect against hormone related cancers, it can also help with the symptoms associated with hormonal imbalance, including PMS, as suggested by Dr. Zeligs.
In premenopausal women, the first age-related hormonal imbalance involves a decreased production of progesterone. This reduction in progesterone output during the second half of the menstrual cycle, can cause irregular periods and contribute to premenstrual mood disorders. The “good estrogen” metabolites stimulate increased progesterone production from ovarian cells. Hormonal imbalances in premenopausal women can also be attributed to the same factors as menstruating women listed above.
Another cause of hormone imbalance in menstruating and premenopausal women is birth control pills. Taking DIM can have a balancing effect benefiting disorders associated with estrogen-progesterone imbalance, including chronic, recurring breast pain, fibrocystic diseases, endometriosis, and irregular periods.
In Menopausal women with prolonged exposure to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), DIM can help decrease estrogen-related breast cancer and other estrogen related disorders.
It was once believed that women who are menopausal/postmenopausal have low levels of estrogen. However, this may no longer be the case. While it may be true that women in this phase of life are no longer producing as much estrogen as they did in prior years, many are still remaining estrogen dominant due to the long term use of hormone replacement therapies, exposure to environmental estrogens, obesity, poor liver function, and declining progesterone production.
DIM supplementation is an effective means to insure positive estrogen metabolism, especially for those who are or have used long term HRT, as it can provide a margin of safety while reducing the negative consequences of “bad” estrogen metabolites.
DIM is generally recommended for those who are menstruating (early thirties), premenopausal (mid-thirties on) with high estrogen levels. Menopausal women using HRT, as mentioned above can also use DIM to help counter balance the negative effects associated with this type of hormone therapy.
Menopausal women who are not using HRT can use Myomin which is a Chinese herbal formula that can help reduce excess estrogen, as well. This product is not as strong of a metabolizer as DIM and is often suggested for those who are menopausal to post-menopausal because they are not producing as much natural estrogen.
Myomin and DIM can also be used safely by women in their twenties and thirties. Because DIM has actions that differ from Myomin, many women who are not menopausal choose to take them both for a more aggressive approach. Women taking birth control pills (BCP) should use another method of contraceptive while taking DIM or Myomin, as they may reduce the effectiveness of the BCP due to their ability to metabolize excess estrogen.
Dr. Wong also recommends using a Natural Progesterone Cream and/or Myomin for women's fibrosis conditions. Read Dr. Wong's newsletter: Women's Fibrosis Related Illnesses.
DIM and Men
Dim is not only beneficial in reducing symptoms of estrogen dominance in women such as, fibroid tumors, fibrocystic breasts, endometriosis, breast pain, moodiness, and loss of sex drive, it can also benefit men by improving estrogen-dominance related health issues such as hair loss, atherosclerosis, prostate problems, lowered libido, man boobs, and impotency.
German Researchers have documented a correlation between age related accumulations of estrogen in human prostate glands with the presence of benign prostate enlargement.
This research suggests the role of estrogen as a growth promoting hormone in men, as well as women. Dr. Zeligs states, “the accumulation of this particular hormone is indicative of male ‘andropause’. Increased PSA (prostate specific antigen) production was shown to be specifically inhibited by 2-methoxyestradiol, the beneficial form of estrogen metabolites, which is promoted by DIM.” Therefore, supplementing with DIM is the ideal way for men to get rid of unwanted estrogen, as too much estrogen not only leads to prostate problems, it can also lessen the action of testosterone.
DIM works by promoting more “free” testosterone that can help maximize the body’s response to weight training and dramatically changes the fat-burning ability of men. When a man is estrogen dominant, the body produces a protein that testosterone can bind to, and then it is no longer considered to be in its “free” beneficial form; bound testosterone can have undesirable effects similar to that of excess estrogen. For example, low libido, excess weight gain, impotence, and depression.
Scientific studies have shown that high levels of “free” testosterone and low levels of estrogen have been linked to lean body mass, an efficient fat-burning metabolism, and low abdominal obesity. Other benefits from “free” testosterone are improved moods, cardiovascular health, memory, libido, and better overall physical conditioning.
According to Zeligs, “testosterone exerts its actions differently depending on whether it is free or bound to carrier proteins in the blood.” When estrogen is metabolized into the good hydroxyl forms, as mentioned above it has the ability to set testosterone free by bumping it off of the testosterone binding proteins.
Other uses for DIM
Weight loss
DIM supplementation can help promote fat loss by reducing the levels of unhealthy estrogens that can cause excess weight to be deposited around the abdomen, thighs, and hips in both women and men. Naturally, DIM can be even more effective when combined with a low-fat, high-fiber diet, as well as exercise.
Furthermore when studied, the combination of “good” estrogen metabolites in conjunction with an increase in “free” testosterone promoted by DIM, is responsible for a more active release of fat cells that have been stored in the body by increasing metabolism.
Muscle Development
“Improving estrogen metabolism with DIM results in direct and indirect support for more efficient weight training. Using DIM can help provide the first estrogen-management system for women and men. ‘Good’ estrogen metabolites directly support muscle well-being through their antioxidant action,” says Dr. Zeligs.
DIM can be used during intense workouts with maximum weights to develop larger and stronger muscles quickly. Dr. Zeligs also states, “You can start out with this as your goal, then move to lighter weight and more reps to encourage complete growth of new muscles. This regimen will maximize your metabolic rate and keep you fit and trim.”
Absorption of DIM
DIM in its pure crystalline form requires an absorption enhancing delivery system for use in dietary supplements. For this reason, Energetic Nutrition uses patented DIM available only from BioResponse under the name DIMPRO, which is the bioavailable DIM with the patented absorption-enhanced formulation.
DIM Research
Scientists discovered that broccoli was able to prevent certain types of cancer when given to study animals over twenty years ago. Recent scientific studies have shown when animals were given supplemental DIM in place of broccoli, the same cancer protection resulted.
DIM’s estrogen balancing and anti-tumor properties, especially for prevention, have been well-documented. A 1999 study on human breast tumor cells found that DIM blocked estrogen receptor tumor cells. This is due to the fact that DIM and estrogen are not only similar in structure; they also share similar metabolic pathways.
Researchers concluded that DIM possessed anti-estrogenic properties and in effect frees testosterone. All this, teamed with the apparent fat-burning activity of DIM, leads experts to conclude that DIM is safe, effective, and has many potential uses.
These articles about DIM and estrogen dominance are quite informative:
The Estrogen Connection - DIM
DIM - Studies Reinforce Benefits
Current Research:
http://www.dimfaq.com/site/abstracts3.htm
Suggested Further Reading
Hormonal Balance - for more information about balancing hormones when you have fibroid tumors.
Estrogen Dominance - For further information about hormones, estrogen dominance, and environmental estrogens.
Fibroid Tumors – to learn about fibroid tumors.
Progesterone Creams and Myomin - for other products which may also assist with obtaining hormonal balance.
Other Important facts:
Women who are on oral contraceptives as a means of birth control are advised to use an alternative method of contraception, as DIM may reduce the pills contraceptive's effectiveness.
DIM supplementation has not been studied on pregnant or nursing women and should be avoided unless recommended by a health care professional.
DIMPRO also contains phosphatidylcholine. Phosphatidylcholine's role in the maintenance of cell-membrane integrity is vital to all of the body's basic biological processes. Clinical studies have demonstrated that choline is essential for normal liver function. When the liver is functioning properly, it is able to efficiently metabolize estrogen.
Supplement
Facts
Serving Size: One
(1) Capsule
Servings per Container: 120
Capsules, 75mg
Amount per Serving:
Proprietary blend 75mg including:
- DIM™ (as
diindolymethane)
- Vitamin E (as d-alpha
tocopheryl succinate)
- Phosphatidylcholine
Daily Value not established for these ingredients. Other ingredients: Rice flour, gelatin, vegetable stearate. Contains no added sugar, salt, wheat, gluten, corn, coloring, dairy products, flavoring or preservatives. Contains phosphatidylcholine (derived from soy), in a form that does not include any phytoestrogens.
Suggested Use: As a dietary supplement, take 1 to 4 capsules per day (75 to 300 mg), or as directed by your healthcare professional.
Dr. Wong suggests 2 to 4 per day for most women with fibroid tumors.
The further from menopause you are, generally the higher the dose you can take. Most customers not experiencing menopausal symptoms take 4 per day.
Men can take up to 6 capsules (400 mg) per day. Please do check with your health care practitioner to determine the proper dosage for you.
Caution: Not for use if pregnant, planning to get pregnant, lactating, or using birth control pills. If taking prescription medications, consult your health care professional. Harmless color changes in urine may occur - drinking extra water will help reduce this.
Manufactured for Energetic Nutrition, Inc. Licensed from BioResponse, LLC. DIMPRO™ is a trademark of BioResponse, LLC
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DIMPRO™
Diindolylmethane
Estrogen Metabolism Support
for Women and Men
120 Caps - 75 mg.
$34.00 - Discount Price (Retail $44.95)
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Fibroid Starter Paks
$148.00 – FIRST TIME ORDER
- $114.00 - Vitalzym 450 Capsule Bottle - 500 mg.
- $29.00 - DIMPRO
- $5.00 - Premium Customer Support:
This packet may also be of interest to women and men wanting to use Vitalzym and to control problems with estrogen dominance by the use of DIMPRO or Myomin. |
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$143.00 – REPEAT ORDER
- $114.00 - Vitalzym 450 Capsule Bottle - 500 mg.
- $29.00 - DIMPRO
Save $5 off our regular prices (Retail Value $210)
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Fibroid Ultra Paks
$203.00 – FIRST TIME ORDER
- $114.00 - Vitalzym 450 Capsule Bottle - 500 mg.
- $29.00 - DIMPRO 120 Capsule Bottle – 75 mg.
- $31.00 - Myomin 120 Capsule Bottle
- $24.00 - Progesta-Care 4 oz. Pump
- $5.00 - Premium Customer Support:
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$198.00 – REPEAT ORDER
- $114.00 - Vitalzym 450 Capsule Bottle - 500 mg.
- $29.00 - DIMPRO 120 Capsule Bottle – 75 mg.
- $31.00 - Myomin 120 Capsule Bottle
- $24.00 - Progesta-Care 4 oz. Pump
Save $11 off our regular prices (Retail Value $285)
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References:
Chang YC Rilby J, Chang GH, Peng BC, Firestone G, Bjeldanes LL. Cytostatic
and antiestrogenic effects of 2-(indol-3-ylmethyl)-3,3'-dinndolymethane, a major
in vivo product of dietary indole-3-carbinol. Biochem Pharmacol, 1999 Sep 1;58(5):825-34.
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