Do you have any information on DIM (Diindolymethane)?

Hi Catherine,

Do you have any information on DIM (Diindolymethane). It is sold in Australia as Indolplus and is made from broccoli extract. I believe it is an excellent anti-oxidant and is also helpful for endometriosis, as it gets rid of excess Oestrogen through the urine. Could you comment.

Thank you,

Nadia

Dear Nadia,

Di-Indoly Methane (DIM) supplementation is a nutritional approach to achieving a safer and healthier estrogen metabolism.

Recent reports indicate a higher intake of cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, rutabaga, and turnip) are protective for hormone-sensitive cancers. These plants have been cultivated for thousands of years and were initially used for their medicinal benefits.

However, to notice any beneficial shifts in estrogen metabolism, you would have to eat at least two pounds per day of raw or lightly cooked cruciferous vegetables to derive the same benefit as specially formulated DIM.

The liver breaks estrogens into two main forms: a “good” form, called 2-hydroxyestrogen, and a “bad” form, called 16a-hydroxyestrogen.

Since 16-hydroxy is an unregulated form of estrogen prone to behave like “super-estrogen,” higher levels create a particularly unhealthy form of estrogen dominance. 16-hydroxy estrogens can result in mutations, abnormal growth (as in cervical dysplasia), and an increased risk of future breast cancer.

Overproduction of 16-hydroxy estrogen is also seen in obesity, high-fat diets, and exposure to a host of “estrogenic” environmental chemicals. Therefore, this dangerous form of estrogen dominance can result from inheritance, diet, and environmental chemicals.

Analytical Reference Laboratories (ARL) in Melbourne offer 2 & 16 Hydroxy Estrogen Metabolites (Urine) hormone testing to assist in determining and maintaining a healthly 2/16 ratio.

The formulation you refer to here, Nadia, is locally compounded by a pharmacist in Sydney. However, a quick search of the internet suggests Aussie women can, if they feel so inclined, shop around and source cost-effective product overseas.

Bottom line: Many of the benefits traditionally ascribed to estrogen (protection from heart disease, healthy skin, bones, and brain) may actually reside with its beneficial metabolites, the 2-hydroxy estrogens. And that taking DIM in an absorbable formulation actually encourages healthy estrogen metabolism.