Hormone struggles are so common for all of us that it’s easy to write them off as “normal.”
I know that when I was in my 30s and was literally too exhausted to get out of bed some days, dealing with migraine pain stabbing through my eye several times per month, and experiencing lumpy breasts, excruciating periods, and so many other symptoms that made every single day so hard…
I thought this was just what life was like.
I was busy, my body was tired, and I just had to push through… right?
But then I hit a wall. I couldn’t go on like this. I shouldn’t have to go on like this.
I deserved more.
And so do you.
Crippling pain around your period, unexplained stubborn weight gain, extreme mood swings, insomnia, energy crashes, and a body you don’t even recognize are not your destiny.
You CAN live a vibrant, healthy, energized life no matter your age, but to get there, you need to take a little dive into your hormones.
Hormone dysfunction (especially estrogen dominance) is raging in our world, so much so that our conventional doctors write these symptoms off as a “normal part of aging.”
But you deserve better.
I cover SO much in my newest book The Essential Oils Menopause Solution about getting back to the root cause, choosing foods, supplements, and daily rituals that will rebuild your hormone health at any stage, and so many other amazing tips…
But today I want to shed some light on a powerful hormone-support supplement that could really help you turn the corner to feeling better, safely, and quickly: and that supplement is DIM.
What Is DIM?
Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a compound produced in your body during the process of digesting cruciferous veggies (things like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale).
What’s the difference between indole-3-carbinol and DIM?
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) is another popular health supplement you may have heard of, and it is a precursor to DIM. When you eat cruciferous veggies and greens, your body takes compounds in the veggies and turns them into I3C (which has its own benefits), and then converts it to DIM.
I recommend DIM for hormones because it skips that in-between stage. So many of us struggle with conversion anyway that I like to just skip to the most potent part that we’re really going for!
DIM for Estrogen Dominance
Estrogen dominance is the #1 hormone struggle I see in women over 35 (and full disclosure: I was dealing with it in my mid-to-late-30s, as well).
Thanks to a buildup of toxins, estrogenic exposures in our environment, high levels of inflammation, and a heavily burdened liver, estrogen dominance is one of the major contributors to the hormone hell you may suddenly find yourself in.
Unless you are actively working to prevent it, estrogen dominance WILL happen to every woman at some point before, during, or after menopause.
And that’s because estrogen dominance is actually an umbrella term for several different scenarios:
- You could have high estrogen. This is probably what comes to mind when you hear the term, but this is actually the least common type of this hormone dysfunction.
- You may have high estrogen in relation to progesterone. This is MUCH more common (and is the reason why you can be estrogen dominant even post-menopause or if you test as having “low” estrogen levels).
Estrogen and progesterone are designed to work synergistically in a delicate ratio. If progesterone levels are low (which naturally happens during perimenopause), the estrogen may outweigh the progesterone and lead to a whole host of symptoms.
- Finally, your liver may not be breaking down estrogen in a healthy way, leading to a high concentration of toxic estrogen metabolites in your body. This sounds complicated, but it’s a super common occurrence. Your liver’s job is to break down estrogen into a form that can be safely expelled from your body. But if it’s struggling, it will not complete the process.
Basically, estrogen has 3 different pathways it can follow to break down:
The first, 2-OH pathway, is the safest, least cancerous pathway. This is the one we want to encourage (I’ll share how below).
Next, 4-OH pathway is a dirty pathway. Estrogens that follow this path increase your risk of cancers.
Finally, 16-OH pathway is the one that causes things to proliferate or grow. The estrogen remains in your body, leading to estrogen dominance. It also causes things like heavy or fibrous breasts during PMS and heavy periods, clots, uterine fibroids, and cancers.
So to reverse estrogen dominance naturally, there are a few areas to focus on:
- Making sure your estrogen levels are stable and that excess is detoxified and expelled
- Supporting your liver so it can break down estrogen in a healthy way and encourage the 2-OH pathway
And here’s the good news! DIM is a great supplement to help with both of these stages.
How DIM Improves Estrogen Balance
DIM is perfect for optimizing estrogen production, metabolism, and detoxification—all critical stages where any dysfunction could land you with estrogen dominance!
DIM stimulates the milder, more beneficial form of estrogen (2-OH) while lowering the 16-OH (the one that’s linked to cancers, weight gain, and estrogen dominance). (1) Improving this ratio is critical for preventing estrogen dominance along with breast or uterine cancers down the road. (2)
An additional benefit of DIM for women with high testosterone: If you have too much testosterone, your body will, by default, convert it to estrogen which contributes to high estrogen levels and places a greater burden on your body. DIM stops this process and helps your body actually cycle out the hormones instead of keeping them in your body as toxic excess.
DIM for Liver Phase 1 Detox
Your liver’s health is always the #1 thing I tell women to look at when it comes to estrogen dominance. Because it is HERE that the estrogen metabolism happens primarily and determines which metabolic pathway it follows (i.e. 2-OH or 16-OH).
Making sure your liver is supported in directing toxins and excess hormones to the least harmful, most neutralized option is essential for your long-term healing. And DIM is an amazing tool for this job!
DIM helps your body clear estrogen safely, instead of converting it to the dangerous 16-OH metabolite that wreaks havoc on your body. It helps your liver neutralize toxins along with estrogen so they can safely leave your body instead of being recycled into your bloodstream or damaging your digestive tract along the way.
I recommend combining DIM with a methylated B-Complex Vitamin as well as my Liver Support Blend to really hone in on optimizing your liver health.
Other Benefits of DIM
Lots of these things are big-picture, long-term-health focuses for DIM. And yes, these are critical!
Estrogen dominance may feel like a collection of disruptive and even painful symptoms right now, but if it’s left unchecked, there are more serious concerns down the road.
But how does this help you today? DIM has some immediate benefits to help you feel some instant wins on this journey to rebalancing your body:
DIM can help boost weight loss. Estrogen regulates your fat accumulation, especially around your midsection.
Too much estrogen = belly fat
Upping DIM intake with a quality supplement can stimulate fat breakdown and prevent your body from storing more fat, not by starving yourself, but by addressing the hormones that govern weight gain in the first place. This is SO important for those of us in perimenopause who are suddenly facing a bulge in our midsection, even if you aren’t doing anything different!
It’s because of the hormone fluctuations that are natural at this stage of life—but you don’t have to settle for it. DIM may be a great, helpful tool to use along with an anti-inflammatory diet and other lifestyle tools to lose that stubborn weight for good!
DIM helps combat hormone-driven symptoms, including:
- Acne
- PMS
- Hot flashes
- Headaches or migraines, especially around your period
- Mood swings, anxiety, and irritability
- Other symptoms of estrogen dominance (see the full list here)
DIM can help alleviate these by addressing what’s causing them in the first place so you feel better safely and naturally.
Do I Really Need a Supplement? Can’t I Just Eat Lots of Broccoli?
I mean, you could.
But it would take POUNDS and pounds of cruciferous veggies each day to even get the possibility of getting a beneficial amount of DIM.
And even then, you wouldn’t be guaranteed to actually get any DIM at all. Since DIM is a byproduct of digesting other compounds in your stomach, there are lots of processes that have to be in perfect working order to get optimal levels of DIM from food.
You need to be able to convert between compounds, which can be hard if you have any sort of inflammation, gut dysfunction, or hormone imbalance.
This is why DIM supplements are so wonderful!
You skip straight to exactly what you need, it makes it easier on your body, and you are able to see results faster than if you were to try to do it all through diet alone.
Get the Most Absorbable Form of DIM Today!
Essentially Whole® DIM Complete has been tested and proven to deliver therapeutic levels of DIM to your body, safely and naturally. This DIM is a perfect tool to help you:
- Flush out excess estrogen in a healthy way
- Reduce the pain and irregularities during your period
- Lessen hormone-driven symptoms like acne and headaches
- Stabilize mood swings
- And so much more!
DIM Complete is a safe and effective supplement for estrogen dominance and perimenopause in particular, but so many women in different stages of life can benefit from its effects!
Reference:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5059820/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28560655/
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