DIM and Hormonal Support
IN BRIEF
NUTRITION
Lynn Toohey
PhD
In 2014, I wrote an article for The American Chiropractor (TAC) about natural support for low testosterone. Support included diindolylmethane (DIM), a common derivative byproduct of cruciferous vegetables. DIM can support many things; it has a reputation for maintaining balance in hormones that commonly get out of sync. One of the healthful mechanisms of DIM is that it has a favorable effect on the aromatase enzyme responsible for turning steroid hormones into estrogen and preferentially converting them to the “bad” estrogens. DIM helps maintain the favorable balance of estrogens, which is helpful wherever excess estrogen or excess xenoestrogens (toxic environmental estrogens) are present.
Beneficial Female and Male Support: DIM is also reported to be helpful for hot flashes; DIM facilitates the clearance of oxidizing metabolites and estrogenic compounds in the liver. On the male side, umnetabolized estrogen accumulates in prostate tissue in men as they age, and exposure of human prostate tissue to umnetabolized estrogen in the laboratory resulted in activation and increased production of prostate-specific antigen (PSA).
Breast Health: Honnones play an important role in breast health, and excess estrogen or production of too many bad estrogen byproducts or xenoestrogens will play a role in dysfunction. A comprehensive meta-analysis of many studies showed that bioactive compounds such as diindolylmethane and sulforaphane are of special interest for researchers and clinicians “because these natural agents have multimodal action and act via multiple ways...A growing body of research has emphasized the potential of natural compounds derived from medicinal plants and microbial species as complementary for breast health treatment regimens, including probiotics” (Singla et al., 2022).
Perhaps one of the reasons that probiotics are so helpful for breast health support is because of the presence of breast microbiota, of which many are unaware. Breast microbiota includes species with immunomodulatory activity that enhance the host’s response, along with other species that produce pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with dysfunction, so it is highly important to have a healthy balance. Overall, DIM is a somewhat overlooked nutrient and antioxidant that helps hormonal balance for both men and women.
nDr. Lynn Toohey organizes seminars, acts as a nutritional consultant to Nutri-West (www. nutriwest. com) and authored the Functional Health Evaluation program that analyzes blood tests and DNA raw data (www.FHEcloud.com). Dr. Toohey can be reached at drtoohey a nutri-west. net with any questions.
References:
1. Singla, R. K., Wang, X., Gundamaraju, R., Joon, S., Tsagkaris, C., Behzad, S., Khan, J., Gautam, R., Goyal, R., Rakmai, J., Dubey, A. K., Simal-Gandara, J.. & Shen, B. (2022). Natural products derived from medicinal plants and microbes might act as a game-chcmger in breast cancer: a comprehensive review of preclinical and clinical studies. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 1-45. Advance online publication, https: doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022. 2097196
