What exactly is DIM?
A. DIM stimulates more efficient estrogen metabolism. Supplementing the diet with DIM and eating cruciferous vegetables increases the specific aerobic metabolism for estrogen, multiplying the chance for estrogen to be broken down into its beneficial, or “good” estrogen metabolites. These “good”estrogen metabolites are known as the 2-hydroxy estrogens. Many of the benefits that are attributed to estrogen, which include its ability to protect the heart and brain with its antioxidant activity, are now known to come from these “good” metabolites. When DIM increases the “good” estrogen metabolites, there is a simultaneous reduction in the levels of undesirable or “bad” estrogen metabolites. These include the 16-hydroxy estrogens, which are not antioxidants and can actually cause cancer. Greater production of these “bad” estrogen metabolites is promoted by obesity and exposure to a number of manmade environmental chemicals. These “bad” estrogen metabolites are responsible for many of estroge
A. Diindolylmethane, or DIM for short, is a plant indole — a plant compound with health-promoting properties. DIM and other plant indoles are found in all cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables include cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. These plants have cultivated for centuries and were initially used for medicines. About twenty years ago, scientists discovered that when broccoli was added to the diets of study animals, it could prevent certain forms of cancer. In more recent scientific studies, this same cancer protection was shown to result from simply adding supplemental DIM or related plant indoles to the animals’ diets in place of the broccoli. Recently, regular use of supplementary DIM and its indole relatives has shown that many of these health-promoting effects arise from a beneficial shift in the balance of the sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone. When you chew raw or lightly cooked cruciferous vegetables, plant enzymes — substances that start
